The Gran Paradiso National Park was Italy’s first national park and opened on 3 December 1922. King Vittorio Emanuele III donated 2100 hectares for the scheme in 1919 and the territory now covers 70,000 hectares between the Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta regions. Glaciers and streams have shaped the mountains creating the current valleys in this alpine environment. The valley’s woods consist of larches, mixed with spruce firs, Swiss stone pines, and occasionally silver firs. The alpine pastures are rich in spring flowers and the highest peaks of the massif reach 4000 metres at the Gran Paradiso peak.