# Pollino: 171,132 or 192,500 hectares, by source

> The Pollino park spans Basilicata and Calabria. The ministry lists 171,132 hectares, second in Italy; UNESCO gives 192,500, which makes it the largest.

URL: https://myitalia.it/nature/parco-del-pollino
Last updated: 2026-09-11

The Pollino National Park, set up in 1993 across Basilicata and Calabria, is the largest national park in Italy on the UNESCO figure of 192,500 hectares and the second largest on the environment ministry's 171,132.

## Two official sizes, two different rankings

The environment ministry's register of protected areas gives the Pollino 171,132 hectares, behind the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni park at 178,172.

UNESCO, which recognized the park as a Global Geopark in 2015, gives 192,500 hectares for the geopark that coincides with it, and on that number the Pollino comes first.

The ministry entry is an older figure that hasn't been updated, and neither number is wrong on its own terms. So "the largest national park in Italy" is true with a source attached and not without one. Compare the others in [national parks by surface](/best/national-parks-by-surface).

## Basilicata tells it one way, Calabria another

The park is split across 55 comuni: 31 in the province of Cosenza in Calabria, 22 in Potenza and 2 in Matera in Basilicata.

Read from the Basilicata side, the park is the ministry's second, with its headquarters in the monumental complex of Santa Maria della Consolazione at Rotonda. Read from the Calabrian side, it's UNESCO's largest, and most of its comuni are Calabrian.

The geopark area has 135,898 residents, 78 per square kilometer. That's a park with towns in it, not an empty wilderness, and the two regions promote it separately.

## Set up on November 15, 1993

The park was created by presidential decree on November 15, 1993, and carries the code EUAP 0008 in the national register.

The Cilento park that outranks it on the ministry's numbers came two years later, in 1995. Both are among the 24 national parks with an operating authority in 2026, on the ministry's own map.

## The other national park in Basilicata

Basilicata has a second national park, the Appennino Lucano, Val d'Agri and Lagonegrese, set up in 2007 over 68,996 hectares in 29 comuni, all in the province of Potenza.

It's the only national park lying entirely in Basilicata, with its authority at Marsico Nuovo. That's the difference in one line: the Pollino is shared with Calabria, the Appennino Lucano isn't.

## What isn't on this page

The official park website, parcopollino.gov.it, didn't resolve when this research was done on September 1, 2026, and another site that states it isn't official publishes 192,565 hectares.

Trail conditions, visitor centers and the park's own rules aren't quoted here for that reason. Check them with the park authority at Rotonda once its site answers again. See [Basilicata](/regions/basilicata), [Calabria](/regions/calabria) and [seven days in Calabria and Basilicata](/itineraries/7-days-calabria-and-basilicata).

## FAQ

### What is the largest national park in Italy?

It depends on the source. On UNESCO's 192,500 hectares the Pollino is first; on the environment ministry's register, 171,132 hectares, it's second behind the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni park at 178,172.

### Is the Pollino in Calabria or Basilicata?

Both. Its 55 comuni split into 31 in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria, and 22 in Potenza plus 2 in Matera, in Basilicata. The park authority's headquarters are at Rotonda, in the province of Potenza.

### Is the Pollino a UNESCO site?

It's a UNESCO Global Geopark, recognized in 2015, which is a different label from the World Heritage list. The geopark coincides with the national park, and UNESCO gives it 192,500 hectares.

### When was the Pollino National Park created?

By presidential decree on November 15, 1993. Its entry in the national register of protected areas is EUAP 0008, and the park authority sits at Rotonda, on the Basilicata side.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il Parco Nazionale del Pollino, istituito nel 1993, si estende su 171.132 ettari a cavallo fra Basilicata e Calabria ed e' il secondo parco nazionale italiano per superficie secondo i dati del MASE, dopo il Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni (178.172 ettari); l'Ente Parco ha sede a Rotonda, in provincia di Potenza | [MASE - Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica](https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/web/guest/parco-nazionale-del-pollino); [doc 2](https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/web/guest/parco-nazionale-del-cilento-vallo-di-diano-e-alburni) | medium | 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 |
| Il Parco Nazionale dell'Appennino Lucano - Val d'Agri - Lagonegrese, istituito nel 2007, copre 68.996 ettari su 29 comuni tutti in provincia di Potenza ed e' l'unico parco nazionale interamente lucano; l'Ente ha sede a Marsico Nuovo | [MASE - Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica](https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/web/guest/parco-nazionale-dell-appennino-lucano-val-d-agri) | medium | 2029-12-31 |
| In Italia i parchi nazionali con ente gestore operativo sono 24 (2026); la mappa ufficiale del Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica ne georeferenzia 24. | [Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica (MASE)](https://www.mase.gov.it/aree-protette/mappa-parchi-nazionali) | medium | 2027-12-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/nature.pollino.v2.1600.jpg
Author: Rocco Sordetti. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parco_del_pollino-pini_loricati.jpg

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/natura/parco-del-pollino.md
- es: https://myitalia.it/es/naturaleza/parco-del-pollino.md
- fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/nature/parco-del-pollino.md
- de: https://myitalia.it/de/natur/parco-del-pollino.md