When an element is so central to a landscape that it comes to define it — as water does for the territory around Ivrea — it can even become a park in its own right. That’s the case with the Parco dei Cinque Laghi, set in the heart of the Anfiteatro Morenico, one of Italy’s most important glacial landscapes. This terrain was shaped by the great Balteo Glacier, which over the course of the last ice ages carved out the deep basins now occupied by Lake Sirio, San Michele, Pistono, Campagna and Nero. The landscape still bears countless traces of the ancient ice: moraine hills, smoothed and striated rock, glacial grooves, and great erratic boulders. The wider amphitheatre is also home to other lakes — among them Viverone, Candia, Bertignano, Alice and Meugliano — as well as ponds and peat bogs.
The lakes have always been a gathering place and a source of leisure for the Canavesani. Lake Sirio especially, for the Eporediesi and for visitors alike: framed by moraine hills, by the Castello di Montalto, and by the small settlements reflected in its waters, it remains a much-loved destination, especially among the young. But these stretches of water were never just for recreation — over time, they were put to economic and productive use too. Their waters served, depending on the lake, for retting hemp, as at Lago di Campagna; for powering a small hydroelectric plant, as at Lago Nero; or, as at Lago Pistono in Montalto Dora, for feeding a mill set lower down at its foot.
The area also holds significant archaeological evidence. Between 1400 and 800 BC, during the Bronze Age, pile-dwelling settlements rose along the shores of these lakes, as finds from Lago Pistono and Lago di Viverone attest.
The local climate is also of particular interest, fostering a striking diversity of ecosystems. Species typical of cooler environments, like the birch, grow within close reach of plants adapted to hotter, drier conditions, such as juniper, hackberry and prickly pear. Damp woodlands, reed beds and marshy areas are also home to rich wildlife, birdlife above all: with over 70 recorded species, the Parco dei Cinque Laghi is a destination of real interest for nature lovers and birdwatchers alike.
