The site of the park, located in Cort de Giardola, near Pontscodugna, was opened in the municipality of Colicio on 24 May 1999 by the Minister of the Environment, Edo Runci. It is an ancient monastic complex from the Middle Ages that was acquired in the public domain in 1998 and then rebuilt.
province
The park includes parts of the territory of five municipalities: Parma, Colicio, Fornoovo de Taro, Medesano, Noceto.
This area of the Taro is at the foot of the Apennines. From here, the river bed expands and shows several islands of sand and gravel.
Garden areas can be divided into: riverbed, wetlands, forest strips, dense areas, cultivated areas and populated areas. Generally these areas constitute the ecosystem of the Taro River Garden.
Plants and animals
There is a large variety of plants and animals. More than 700 species of plants, including rare species such as Myricaria germanica, Himantoglossum adriaticum and Laxmann tipha, have been screened.
For bird life, the list includes about 260 species of birds, including cormorant, cyclist, owl, Burminus oedicnemus, Sterna hirundo, Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) and nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus).
Among the mammals there is a prosperous number of roe deer, wild pigs and there are foxes, badgers and wolves. The rabbit and the lizard are missing. Fish animals are also important, with species protected by European directives, such as cockroaches and berbils.
