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Vanoise National Park
The Vanoise National Park is a French national park in the Alps, created in 1963. It was the first French national park. This park is in the
département of Savoie. On the Italian side of the border, the park is continued by the Gran Paradiso National Park. Together, these two parks
cover over 1250 km². The village of Nancroix sits on the edge of the national park and allows access to this area of natural beauty. The flora
of the Vanoise National Park includes more than a thousand species of different bio-geographical origins. As well as alpine species there are
eastern and southern species, and arctic-alpine remnants of the ice ages. The Park has the largest population of Alpine ibex in France, that is to
say, 2000 individuals, a third of the total French population. There are even more chamois - about 5500. Among the smaller mammals, there are the
rodents, such as the Alpine hare, with its white winter coat, and the marmot, living in alpine meadows. The carnivores include foxes, badgers,
pine martens, stoats and weasels. Among the birds, there are golden eagles, (20 pairs), the ptarmigan and the black grouse. A total of 120 bird
species breed in the Vanoise. For more information visit www.vanoise.com.
History of Savoie Region
Savoie existed as an autonomous country for nearly a thousand years, and continues to shine as a distinct cultural beacon in the France of today.
Inhabited since the melting of the great continental glaciers, the area was occupied by Stone Age peoples some ten thousand years ago, as attested
by archeological evidence, as in the Balme de Thuy rock shelter. Later civilizations brought the Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages to the area before
the Roman invasion of the 1st Century B.C.E..
Known as Sabaudia in Roman times, the area was again invaded by warring peoples from the East, most notably the Alaman tribes in the 3rd century
C.E.. Traces of their incendiary raids can still be found in archeological sites such as those at Le Thovey in Faverges. Christianity became the
dominant religion in the area by the 4th Century, and has left elegant early monuments such as the St. Martin basilica in the town of Aime.
It is in the Middle Ages that the Earls of Savoie and the House of Savoie first gained great reknown and power; at times, the territory of Savoie
included parts of what is now France, Switzerland (including Geneva), and northern Italy. The first and most famous of the Dukes, Amédée VIII
(seen at left on a wax seal from 1410) was named Pope and took the name Felix V; he renounced the papacy in 1449, by this act bringing an end
to the schism of the western Church. Over the centuries, the Royal house of Savoy ruled over a country whose borders changed with the fortunes
of the family. At various times, the dynasty ruled Savoie, the Piedmont, Sicily, Sardinia, and eventually all of Italy.
Savoie itself became part of France in 1860, when the people of Savoie were asked by referendum whether they wished their country to join France
or Italy. Since the area was French-speaking, the Savoyards voted overwhelmingly to join France, leaving the King of Savoie without a country to
rule. However, the King was invited at this time to become King of Italy, which had just unified into a single country. A king was seen as a
unifying influence by the politicians of the day. And so, the Savoie dynasty ruled over Italy until the last days of World War II, when the last
king abdicated from the throne of Italy.
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