Masseta Coast, Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, Campania. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA.
Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, established by decree on 6 December 1991, is the largest national park in Italy by total protected area. Its 395,503 hectares span terrestrial, coastal, and marine environments in the Campania region of southern Italy, extending along the Tyrrhenian coast between the Gulf of Salerno and the Calabria border. The park holds dual UNESCO recognition — World Heritage Site status (1998) and Biosphere Reserve classification (1997) under the Man and the Biosphere Programme — making it one of a small number of Italian protected areas to carry both designations simultaneously.
Area Breakdown: Terrestrial and Marine
Of the total 395,503 hectares:
- 319,839 hectares constitute the terrestrial protected area
- 75,664 hectares comprise marine protected zones along the Tyrrhenian coastline
The terrestrial component ranges from sea level at the coast to 1,898 metres at the summit of Monte Cervati — the highest point in Campania. This elevation gradient supports a transition from dry coastal garrigue through maquis scrubland, holm oak (Quercus ilex) woodland, mixed deciduous forest, and natural beech (Fagus sylvatica) stands in the interior massifs.
UNESCO World Heritage Designation
The park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998 under criteria (iii) and (iv) as a cultural landscape. The formal inscription title is "Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archaeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula." The cultural landscape designation recognises the area's historical role as a route for cultural, political, and commercial exchange between the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian coasts — a function documented through archaeological evidence from Bronze Age settlements, Magna Graecia colonial foundations, and Byzantine-period monastery networks.
The UNESCO committee's decision text notes that the area "demonstrates important interactions between people and the natural environment" and constitutes an "outstanding example of a traditional human settlement."
The parallel Biosphere Reserve classification (1997) applies to the natural biodiversity dimension and requires monitoring under the Man and the Biosphere framework, including periodic reviews of conservation effectiveness and sustainable use zones.
Mediterranean Biodiversity: Species and Community Types
The park contains 28 sites listed under EU Habitats and Birds Directives as Sites of Community Importance, including two marine sites and eight Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Mediterranean vegetation communities recorded within the park include:
- Coastal garrigue with Cistus spp. and Euphorbia characias
- Maquis dominated by strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), and phillyrea
- Holm oak (Quercus ilex) and cork oak (Quercus suber) woodland
- Natural beech forest stands in the interior — among the southernmost in the Apennine chain
- High-altitude grassland on siliceous substrates above 1,600 m
Vertebrate fauna of note includes the European otter (Lutra lutra), for which Cilento's river systems represent one of the most viable populations in peninsular Italy. Additional flagship species include the Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae), nesting on sea cliffs and feeding on migratory passerines; the Corsican hare (Lepus corsicanus), listed as a near-threatened endemic of the central Mediterranean; and the Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale), dependent on the park's cave systems and mature woodland.
Conservation Governance Structure
The park operates under Italy's Ministry of Environment (Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica), following the standard national park framework established by Law 394/1991. Day-to-day administration is managed by the park authority (Ente Parco), which coordinates with the 80 municipalities within the park boundary. A Territorial Community Assembly (Comunità del Parco) provides representation for local authorities in decisions affecting land use and development permits.
The Biosphere Reserve framework adds a second governance layer requiring periodic reports to UNESCO MAB. These reports assess changes in core zone integrity, buffer zone management, and transition zone socio-economic indicators. The last full review was submitted under the standard 10-year Periodic Review cycle.
Land Use and Economic Activities
The park's buffer and transition zones include significant agricultural activity. Cilento is recognised for several geographically specific food products: Cilento DOP olive oil, Trecchina white figs, and small-scale wine production under the Cilento DOC designation. Sheep farming and transhumance routes through the Vallo di Diano remain active, though at reduced scale compared to mid-20th century levels. The park authority has promoted organic certification for agricultural holdings within the buffer zone as part of its conservation and rural development strategy.
Tourism concentrates along the coastline — particularly around Palinuro, Camerota, and Capo Palinuro — and at the Paestum archaeological site. Inland ecotourism infrastructure is less developed relative to the park's size, with walking and mountain-biking trails connecting rural nuclei in the interior.
Data sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Cilento, UNESCO MAB Programme, Wikipedia. Last updated: May 2026.
