# Calabria: three national parks, three UNESCO labels

> Pollino has been a UNESCO geopark since 2015, the Sila a biosphere reserve since 2014 and the Aspromonte a geopark since 2021. Areas, dates, comuni.

URL: https://myitalia.it/nature-and-parks/in-calabria
Last updated: 2026-09-11

Calabria's three national parks each carry a UNESCO designation: Pollino has been a Global Geopark since 2015, the Sila a Biosphere Reserve since 2014, and the Aspromonte a Global Geopark since 2021.

## Sila: 73,695 hectares inside a reserve of 307,294

The Sila national park was established by presidential decree on November 14, 2002 and covers 73,695 hectares in 21 comuni: 11 in the province of Cosenza, 6 in Catanzaro and 4 in Crotone. It succeeded the Calabria national park of 1968.

Since 2014 the Sila has also been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, recognized over 307,294 hectares, more than four times the park at its core.

The reserve's core, buffer and transition zones aren't detailed in the UNESCO record, so no zone map is described here. The ministry's area for the park may also differ from the one the park authority publishes.

## Aspromonte: 64,541 hectares at the toe of Italy

The Aspromonte has been a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2021, covering 64,541 hectares at the southern tip of Calabria and coinciding with the Aspromonte national park.

Its rocks are Paleozoic metamorphics formed between 540 and 250 million years ago, and the geopark lists marble quarries, river canyons, fossil forests and protected beech woods among its features.

UNESCO counts 256,087 inhabitants; the Italian geopark commission's page gives more than 273,000. The park authority's site didn't resolve on September 1, 2026, so the height of Montalto, the top of the range, isn't quoted.

## A Greek-speaking mountain

Around 1,000 people in the Aspromonte still speak Grecanico, on the geopark's UNESCO record. Calabria protects it by regional law 15 of October 30, 2003, together with Arbëreshë and Occitan.

The region runs an institute for each: Bova Marina for the Greek community, San Demetrio Corone for the Arbëreshë, Guardia Piemontese for the Occitans. Which villages fall inside each language area was left to provincial boundaries, so none is named here; the longer account is in [three minority languages, one law](/stories/three-minority-languages-one-law).

## Pollino: the Calabrian side is the larger

Of the Pollino park's 55 comuni, 31 are in the province of Cosenza, so more of its comuni are Calabrian than Lucanian. It was established by presidential decree on November 15, 1993 and has been a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2015.

UNESCO gives it 192,500 hectares and 135,898 inhabitants; the environment ministry's protected-area list still carries an older 171,132. With UNESCO's figure it is the largest national park in Italy, ahead of Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni at 178,172; with the ministry's, it isn't.

## More on Calabria

Three pages carry the rest: [Calabria](/regions/calabria), [nature and parks in Basilicata](/nature-and-parks/in-basilicata) for the other side of Pollino, and [how busy Calabria gets](/how-busy/in-calabria). The national picture is under [national parks](/themes/national-parks).

## FAQ

### How much land does the Sila's UNESCO label cover?

307,294 hectares, more than four times the 73,695 hectare national park at its core. The label is a Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme, awarded in 2014, and its zoning isn't detailed in the UNESCO record.

### Where is Grecanico still spoken?

In the Aspromonte, at the southern tip of Calabria, where the UNESCO geopark record counts around 1,000 speakers among 256,087 inhabitants. Regional law 15 of 2003 protects it along with Arbëreshë and Occitan, and its institute is at Bova Marina.

### Which is larger, the Sila park or the Aspromonte?

The Sila national park, at 73,695 hectares in 21 comuni, against 64,541 hectares for the Aspromonte geopark, which coincides with the Aspromonte national park. The Sila biosphere reserve around the park is far larger, at 307,294 hectares.

### How much of the Pollino park is in Calabria?

31 of its 55 comuni, all in the province of Cosenza; the other 24 are in Basilicata. UNESCO gives the whole park, a Global Geopark since 2015, 192,500 hectares, while the environment ministry's older list gives 171,132.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il Parco Nazionale della Sila e stato istituito con il DPR del 14 novembre 2002, si estende su 73.695 ettari e comprende 21 comuni in tre province: 11 nel Cosentino, 6 nel Catanzarese e 4 nel Crotonese. | [MASE - Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica](https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/parco-nazionale-della-sila) | medium | 2029-12-31 |
| La Sila e Riserva della Biosfera del programma MAB UNESCO dal 2014, con una superficie riconosciuta di 307.294 ettari, molto piu ampia del parco nazionale che ne costituisce il nucleo. | [UNESCO](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/sila) | medium | 2030-12-31 |
| L'Aspromonte e UNESCO Global Geopark dal 2021: 64.541 ettari all'estremita meridionale della Calabria, con 256.087 abitanti, rocce metamorfiche paleozoiche formate fra 540 e 250 milioni di anni fa, e circa mille parlanti dell'antica lingua grecanica. | [UNESCO - International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme](https://www.unesco.org/en/iggp/aspromonte-unesco-global-geopark); [Commissione Nazionale Italiana per l'UNESCO](https://www.unesco.it/it/unesco-vicino-a-te/geoparchi/aspromonte/) | high | 2029-12-31 |
| Il Parco Nazionale del Pollino, istituito con DPR del 15 novembre 1993 e diviso fra Calabria e Basilicata su 55 comuni, e il piu esteso parco nazionale italiano: l'UNESCO, che lo ha riconosciuto Global Geopark nel 2015, ne indica 192.500 ettari, contro i 178.172 ettari del secondo, il Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni. | [MASE - Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica](https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/parco-nazionale-del-pollino); [UNESCO - International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme](https://www.unesco.org/en/iggp/pollino-unesco-global-geopark); [doc 2](https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/parco-nazionale-del-cilento-vallo-di-diano-e-alburni) | medium | 2029-12-31 |
| La Calabria e l'unica regione italiana che tutela per legge tre minoranze linguistiche storiche insieme: con la legge regionale 30 ottobre 2003 n. 15, in attuazione della legge statale 482/1999, riconosce le parlate albanese (arbereshe), grecanica e occitanica, e istituisce tre istituti regionali - a San Demetrio Corone per gli arbereshe, a Bova Marina per la comunita greca, a Guardia Piemontese per quella occitana. | [Consiglio regionale della Calabria - Banca dati leggi regionali](https://www.consiglioregionale.calabria.it/bdf/api/BDF?numero=15&anno=2003); [Normattiva - Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri](https://www.normattiva.it/atto/caricaDettaglioAtto?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=1999-12-20&atto.codiceRedazionale=099G0557&atto.articolo.numero=2&atto.articolo.sottoArticolo=1) | high | 2029-12-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/region.calabria.1600.jpg
Author: Benjamin Smith. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reggio_Calabria_-_Lungomare_Falcomat%C3%A0_-_6.jpg

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