Cai and the Ministry of the Environment are planning a route to create the Sentiero dei parchi, a walking trail running the length of the country, from the Alps to the two islands.
If the Sentiero Italia was a magnificent rediscovery, the Sentiero dei parchi promises to be even more remarkable. It is a hiking and eco-sustainable itinerary that will pass through all 25 national parks in the country, with the Sentiero Italia Cai as its backbone. A wonderful combination of the unique features of our territory to explore, especially in this particularly special year.
It will encompass all Italian national parks and wind the length of the boot, breathing new life into the seven-thousand-kilometre, 400-stage trail that crosses all 20 Italian regions. The starting point is in fact the already well-known Sentiero Italia, for which the Cai recently "put to work" its many volunteers, who have helped to trace and improve this network of paths marked with the white and red colours and the inscription S.I.. It is therefore an evolution of an already established and appreciated route, but with the great added value of encompassing all protected areas, in an eco-sustainable visit route that links parks, biosphere reserves, Unesco natural heritage sites and intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The very best of Italy's natural landscape in a single trail.
At present, the national parks touched by the Sentiero Italia number 18 out of the 25 recorded across the country, and 85 are the stages — out of a total of around 400 — that fall entirely or partially within their boundaries. Some necessary modifications therefore need to be made to ensure that the route passes through all these protected areas; to this end, Cai and the Ministry of the Environment have jointly drawn up a memorandum of understanding that aims, first and foremost, to promote environmental education and issues, and subsequently the culture of the environment, biodiversity and sustainable development.
The ultimate goal, shared also for the Sentiero Italia, is to enhance trails in mountain areas, encouraging mindful use of the highland territories and the creation of an eco-sustainable route. The most recent Budget Law allocated as much as 35 million euros for these projects, which will be implemented between 2020 and 2033 — for the maintenance and improvement of trail networks in protected areas. A substantial financial commitment that demonstrates, especially at this particular historical, social and economic moment, that even at the highest levels of the country, mountain territory is seen as one of the areas from which to restart with renewed strength and fresh perspectives.
We only recently came to know it, but it has existed for many years: the Sentiero Italia was in fact conceived in 1983 by a group of journalist-hikers, who later came together to form the Associazione Sentiero Italia. It was Cai, however, that in 1990 "formalised" it thanks to the indispensable contribution of its local sections, which mapped out the route, the overnight stops and the signage in detail. The Sentiero Italia was thus inaugurated in 1995 with the major event organised by Cai, "Camminaitalia 95", repeated again in 1999 together with the Associazione nazionale alpini (Ana). The network of paths that make up the Sentiero Italia is currently almost completely signposted and runs the entire length of the Apennine ridge, including the islands, and along the southern slopes of the Alps.