Partners

Partners of the XV Stambecco d’Oro – Gran Paradiso International Nature Film Festival

FONDATION GRAND PARADIS

From the 2011 edition on, Fondation Grand Paradis coordinates the organisation of Stambecco d’Oro Festival, through an agreement between Fondation Grand Paradis and Ente Progetto Natura, which regulates the organisation and the management of Stambecco d’Oro – Gran Paradiso International Nature Film Festival.

Fondation Grand Paradiswas created to enhance and convey the natural and cultural peculiarities of the Aosta Valley area within the Gran Paradiso National Park jurisdiction.The three valleys of the Gran Paradiso within the Aosta Valley have an exceptional heritage, that stretches over a vast mountainous area, going from the valley bottom to the Grand Paradiso’s 4,061m. It is a unique and protected area since 1922, the year when it was established as Italy’s first National Park. The aim of Fondation Grand Paradis is to make this environment’s rich and varied fauna and flora known and respected, thanks to the Park’s visitor centres, the information points and the Alpine Botanical Garden Paradisia. This territory is also characterised by its culture and traditions: medieval castles, traditional rural buildings and areas imbued with local culture and history are enhanced through eco-museums, exhibition centres, guided visits and didactic activities. The objective is to develop a new sensibility towards nature and to revive local culture by creating temporary exhibitions and themed events throughout the whole year. Fondation Grand Paradis brings together and represents the different stakeholders from the three valleys: the Aosta Valley Autonomous Region, the Gran Paradiso National Park body, the Municipalities and the Mountain Community, in order to  create cultural and nature-based services which are integrated into the territory. www.grand-paradis.it

 ENTE PROGETTO NATURA

Ente Progetto Natura created and for 25 years organised Stambecco d’Oro Festival. Represented by its President Gabriele Caccialanza, it is the promoter of its great development at an international level and now takes care of the Festival’s artistic management. Ente Progetto Natura is an ONLUS Association, whose statutory aim is to promote the preservation of natural heritage in every aspect, through images, film shows and seasons, and scientific and educational conferences. Specifically, Progetto Natura has created, coordinated and managed Stambecco d’Oro Festival from 1984 to 2009. Between 1996 and 2004 it also managed the organisation Canavese Ecofilmfestival. Progetto Natura’s founding members are: Gabriele Caccialanza (President, Professor of the University of Pavia), Paolo Lazzarin (Vice-president, Journalist) and Beppe Preti (Counsellor, person in charge of the image of the Festival and Art Director of Economist).  Among the people actively participating in the organisation of the different events are: Marialuisa Carmellino, Mauro Coppoloa, Adriano Martinelli, Graziella Pangrazzi and Ezio Torta. www.enteprogettonatura.it

AOSTA VALLEY AUTONOMOUS REGION

The Department for Tourism, Sport, Commerce and Transport of Aosta Valley Autonomous Region has always been Stabecco d’Oro Festival’s main financial backer. It has proven a great sensitivity and attention towards the Festival and has contributed to its development and international success. The Festival’s most important prize, the Stambecco d’Oro Trophy, of 5,000€ and awarded by the public, is granted by Aosta Valley Autonomous Region. Aosta Valley, located in the Alps and surrounded by some of the highest mountains in Europe (Monte Bianco, Cervino, Monte Rosa and Gran Paradiso all rise more than 4,000 metres above sea level), is the smallest region in Italy (3,263 km² and just over 127,000 inhabitants). It was inhabited from the 1^st century BC by the Ligurian-Gallic population of Salassi. In the year 25 BC it was conquered by the Romans, who founded Augusta  Prætoria Salassorum (present-day Aosta) and exploited the region’s military and strategic importance for controlling the mountain passes in the Piccolo San Bernardo and the Gran San Bernardo. For several centuries, it was under the control of the Savoy kingdom and in 1948 it was granted autonomy and a special statute, which still today characterises the region. www.regione.vda.it

GRAN PARADISONATIONAL PARK

Gran ParadisoNational Parkhas always given Stambecco d’Oro Festival an important support. One of the prizes awarded by the technical jury is entitled to the Park. Gran Paradiso National Park, is a protected area established in 1922 by the State with the aim of preserving nationally and internationally relevant ecosystems around Gran Paradiso massif for present and future generations. The aim of the Body is to manage and to protect the area, to safeguard the territory’s biodiversity and landscape, scientific research, environmental education, and the development and promotion of sustainable tourism. Since 1947 Gran Paradiso National Park has its own guard force that keeps watch and controls the protected area’s territory. As opposed to more recently-created national parks, where the State’s forest rangers are in charge of surveillance according to the framework Law, Gran Paradiso Park keeps its own historical body of guards, continuing a tradition and an experience that has consolidated in time. It is especially thanks to the park guards that the ibex has been save from extinction, there now being almost 4,000 of them in the protected area. www.pngp.it

Municipality of COGNE

For Cogne, which has been the heart of the Stambecco d’Oro Festival for over 25 years, the Festival is the key event of the summer season.

Cogne is located at an altitude of 1,534 metres in the southern region of Aosta Valley and has a population of around 1,500 inhabitants. Its territory stretches over 21,395 hectares, of which 13,800 are in the Gran Paradiso National Park. Cogne is considered as the little capital of the Park and has always been a synonym of nature. The village is surrounded by a velvety green expanse: Sant’Orso Meadows (551,131 m²), protected by the law on “Protection of natural beauty”. It is located at the foot of the Gran Paradiso massif, that reaches an altitude 4,061m. Cogne offers endless natural beauty, that stretches as far as the eye can see, over snowy peaks, meadows and pristine streams. This little town is a populartourist destination both during the summer, for its range of excursions and for relaxing surrounded by nature, as during the winter, with its 80 km of cross-country skiing tracks, its many itineraries for snow-shoe walking and its fantastic ice-waterfalls. www.comune.cogne.ao.it

 Municipality of RHÊMES-SAINT-GEORGES

Rhêmes-Saint-Georges, which is welcoming Stambecco  d’Oro Festival this year for the first time, is a typical mountain village of about 200 inhabitants, where the surrounding environment has been preserved intact. The little hamlets, surrounded only by prairies and by a few cultivated fields, have maintained the charm they had a century ago. Old villages, splendid paths, mule-tracks and refuges welcome tourists, who during the summer inhabit the town, the starting point for excursions and activities in Gran Paradiso National Park.www.comune.rhemes-st-georges.ao.it/default.asp?lang=ITA

 Municipality of VALSAVARENCHE

After the positive experience during the 2009 edition, Valsavarenche is housing Stambecco d’Oro Festival for the second time. Valsavarenche, which is located in a long and narrow valley, overlooked by the Gran Paradiso summit of 4,061 metres above sea level, and by the Grivola peak, of 3,969 metres in altitude, is the only municipality entirely inside Gran Paradiso National Park. Its hamlets are located at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,000 metres. The valley is characterised by the charm of typical alpine landscapes, with its woods, its pastures and is many streams. This municipality houses Gran Paradiso National Park Visitors centre, dedicated to the lynx and to the predators of the Park. From the summer of 2011 the centre will be complemented by a “Wolf Area”, dedicated to this predator which has returned to the Park’s territory permanently. www.comune.valsavarenche.ao.it

 Municipality of VILLENEUVE

The municipality of Villeneuve is a reference point for nature photography lovers in the lower valley area. This year the village will be one of the screening venues for Stambecco d’Oro Festival – Gran Paradiso International Nature Film Festival for the first time. The village, with its 5,000 years of history, is overlooked by the remains of Châtel-Argent castle, which dates back to the XI century. During the middle ages the town belonged to the lords of this peerage. In the past Villeneuve had a great strategic and military importance; it is located at the entrance of several of Gran Paradiso’s valleys and is a necessary passage for going towards Mont Blanc. www.comune.villeneuve.ao.it

 Municipality of LOCANA

Locana is one of the six municipalities of Gran Paradiso National Park in Piedmond. By being, for the first time, one of the screening venues of Stambecco d’Oro Festival, it is allowing the festival to widen its borders, expanding its area to the whole territory of the Park. Locana is located in Orco Valley, at 62 Km from Torino, in the centre of a beautiful green basin surrounded by abundant pastures, ancient forests and almost a hundred hamlets that reach out across both sides of the hills. Locana is part of Gran Paradiso National Park, and thus the area is protected by environmental laws. The municipality houses La cascata, a centre for environmental education, which allows to learn about the territory and helps understand the strategic choices made for the areas activities. www.comune.locana.to.it

 Municipality of VALTOURNENCHE

Through an agreement with Valtournenche, Stambecco d’Oro is working outside the borders of Gran Paradiso National Park for the first time, broadening its area of action in the Aosta Valley. Valtounenche is located at the end of the valley of the same name and is widely known as a starting point for ascending the spectacular Matterhorn and for many other summer hiking routes of different difficulties. Breuil-Cervinia, its most famous hamlet, has an impressive skiing complex with 200 km of skiing tracks (connecting Valtournenche and Zermatt), a scenic 18 hole golf course and various other activities for all ages and needs. The municipality of Valtournenche houses every year the famous mountain film festival Cervino CineMountain, the object of a collaboration with Stambecco d’Oro Festival, for the exchange of participating films. Cervino CineMountain, the highest festival in Europe, offers the public ten days of screenings dedicated to the best of mountain films.

Stambecco d’Oro Festival – Gran Paradiso International Nature Film Festivalhas the financial backing of:

-        Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities

-        WWF Italy

-        LIPU (Italian Association for the Protection of Birds)