GeoNet: a cross-border journey into the heart of the Alps

The networking event organised as part of the Interreg Italy-SwitzerlandGeoNet project has just come to an end. Over four action-packed days, it brought together institutional representatives, tourism operators and representatives from nature parks fromItaly, Switzerland and France in theUNESCO Sesia Val Grande Geopark.

An international meeting designed to share experiences, knowledge and best practice on promoting the geodiversity of the cross-border heritage. The GeoNet project, led byGAL Terre del Sesiaas lead partner, aims to create anaccessible, integrated and sustainable geotourism district that links together geosites and areas of geological and mining interest across Piedmont and the Canton of Valais.

The event clearly demonstrated that our mountains are not merely destinations for winter sports and summer trekking, butliving places steeped in history, science and culture, and guardians of a geological heritage stretching back thousands of years – a heritage that needs to be shared and promoted in order to foster a more diverse and informed form of tourism.

The trip set off on Monday 20 October fromVogogna, in the heart of the Val Grande National Park, with a welcome address by Director Michele Zanelli and introductions of the Italian and Swiss partners. Among the guests of honour was a delegation fromthe UNESCO Chablais Geopark, which, together with the Swiss partners fromthe Binn Valley, enriched the event with a valuable international contribution.

The programme combined training sessions, field visits and direct discussion. The group, comprising hiking and tourist guides, geologists, officials and senior managers from the Piedmont Region, park officials and directors, local councillors, and PhD students from the University of Turin accompanied by their supervisor, Prof. Marco Giardino, visited symbolic sites such as theGeoLab in Vogogna,the Antica Cava Moschini, theSacro Monte di Varallo, theWalser Museum in Alagna,the Angelo Mosso Scientific Instituteat2,890 m, theKreas Mining Parkand thegeosites of the Sesia Supervolcano.

Each stage was led by local experts, allowing us to journeynot only through space but also through time, from the geological origins of the Alps to the cultural heritage of the earliest Walser communities.

Not just rocks, but silent yet indispensable protagonists in the history of communities, featured in monuments, art and culture.

The event was a genuine outdoor team-building exercise, characterised by a constant exchange of ideas and insights amongst the participating geoparks.

The event concluded at the Historical and Ethnographic Museum of Lower Valsesia inVilla Caccia(Romagnano Sesia)with a joint discussion on the future of cross-border geotourism, which is increasingly focused on inclusion, accessibility and sustainability.

Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who took part in this intense experience.

Special thanks to:

Michele Zanelli, Director of the Val Grande National Park, for the official opening of the event;
Marco Giardino, lecturer at the University of Turin and scientific coordinator of the UNESCO Sesia Val Grande Geopark, for his ongoing scientific contribution throughout the project;
Andreas Weissen, project manager at the Binntal Nature Park;
Carla Navarro, representative of the Chablais UNESCO Geopark;
Roberto Veggi, director of GAL Terre del Sesia,for his valuable contributions and for coordinating the initiative;
Elena Rame, Curator of the Sacri Monti Management Authority, for the fascinating guided tour of Sacro Monte;
Ilaria Selvaggio andDiletta Zanella, nature guides specialising in hiking, for tours of the Supervolcano’s geological sites;
Alice Freschi, vice-president of the Sesia Val Grande Geopark Geotourism Association, for the presentation of the documentary film on the Sesia Supervolcano;
Lucia Pompilio and Chiara Leonoris, director and geologist respectively of the Valsesia Protected Areas Management Authority,for their accounts of public and school involvement;
Elena Storta and Arianna Negri, PhD students at the University of Turin;
Francis Fogarty,UNESCO Sesia Val GrandeGeopark, for his professionalism and expertise in translating the presentations into English;
Cristina Viani, GAL Terre del Sesia and the UNESCO Sesia Val Grande Geopark, for their invaluable organisational and technical-scientific contribution throughout the event.