«The Val Grande National Park was founded in 1992 as the largest wilderness national park in the Alps. The park is situated between Lago Maggiore and the Ossola valley in Piedmont (Italy). The Val Grande was for centuries an intensively used alpine cultural landscape. After the Second World War the area quickly reverted to wilderness – a secondary wilderness, that is, a cultural landscape that has returned to its original natural state. The area of the National Park was extended in 1998, and a further extension is planned for the future.

The Parco Nazionale Val Grande protects and conserves a mountain wilderness no longer directly subject to human influence. The National Park aims to make possible for its visitors an engagement with this wilderness and to impart a unique experience of nature. It thus creates a matchless opportunity for nature tourism.

The Val Grande National Park is clearly dedicated to the concept of wilderness. In order that its wilderness character is maintained, only a minimal number of overnight accommodations and marked trails are kept up. The park puts great effort into imparting natural and cultural history, highlighting, for example, the war crimes of Nazi-Fascist troops who murdered partisans in great numbers on its territory.»

Albert Mountain Award 2018