The old park surrounding medieval castle has been recently changed into a spectacular natural oasis with many of endangered species local, and exotic like ones from Amazon forest.
oasi di sant alessio
Most probably around year one thousand it was already a Lombard-Byzantine settlement with walls surrounding massive tower, but the first date mentioned in documents is year 1413, when
Franceschino Beccaria buys or usurp the ancient fortress of the family Canepanova.His son, Jerome Beccaria,transformed the fortress into a castle, which witnessed and sufered the 16th century war with Spanish kings. Later the life came back to the castle, but finally it was turned into a hospice for poor people, to be left abandoned in 19th century, until came to hands of Antonia and Harry Salamon, who created the park called Oasi di Sant’Alessio.
The natural oasis is a reconstruction of original fauna an flora from the Po plain, rain forest and Amazon forest. On the area of two square km one can observe ibis, spatulas, pikes,sloths, but also the beavers and white storks, which population in Italy is dangered. Aflowered green grass and herbal plants attract many exotic butterfly species. The castle rooms host Exploranatura, an interactive museum where it is possible to observe and to recreate biological,chemical and meteorological phenomena.
Opening hours
( February, 1-15 Nov ) Sat,Sun, feasts 10.00-16.00
( March, October ) Sat,Sun, feasts 10.00-17.00
April -September weekdays ( 10.00-18.00 ) holidays ( 10.00-17.00)
( 15 Nov – January ) closed
27016 S.Alessio con Vialone (Pavia) ,PV
Phone : 0039-0382-696229
[ photo courtesy of Quotta]
