The pre-Italy Savoia realm extended from Lake Geneva in the north to the Mediterranean Sea at Nice, from the Rhone River in the west to the beginning of the Po plains. In essence, the whole of the Western Alps was under their wing, including the control of some of the Alps' most important alpine passes. Yet the Savoia's prime location was to be the cause of much of their trouble over the centuries: from the mid-15th century on the alpine state had to deal with increasingly overbearing, heavyweight neighbors, in particular France and the Empire. To keep both at bay required skilled diplomacy, and in many cases successful warfare - often the Savoia State was the first target at the outbreak of a European war. The Savoia counts-dukes-kings thus had their share of difficulties over the centuries. While some rulers handled things more adeptly than others, in the end it was enough to keep their domain intact down to mid-19th century, at which time, thanks to the astute Count Cavour, the mountain realm managed to unite the entire Italian peninsula under its sovereignty.

A rather telling story arises from the unification process: in order to appease their ally Louis Napoleon of France, who was to help the Savoia kick the Austrians out of Italy, the Savoia had to cede their lands west of the alpine divide to France. The soon-to-be king of Italy agreed but stipulated that a certain favorite hunting area over the divide would remain his. Apparently, giving up what had been his ancestor's homeland for eight centuries did not much concern him (as it infuriated Garibaldi, who felt betrayed upon learning that his hometown Nice had been handed to the French) as much as losing a small mountainous hunting domain. And yet this is clearly within the personality of the Savoia, who, if they may be attributed with one common trait over their entire nine hundred year rule, were passionate hunters. The great hunting residences surrounding their capital Turin, the mountain lodges still visible today in the Gran Paradiso National Park attest to the fact that the Savoia were in thoroughly love with the hunt.

The ibex was one undoubtedly their favorite prey. A magnificent long-horned animal, the ibex has a most astounding ability to climb, far surpassing that of humans. It can in fact rest with ease in places where even the most expert rock-climbing man would have difficulty. Its origins in Italy stem back to the last Ice Age, when it was a plains animal; warmer temperatures forced the ibex into the Alps, where they have remained to the present day notwithstanding near extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries. Realizing that continued hunting would eliminate their beloved animal, in 1821 the Savoia banned its hunting in Gran Paradiso, for all except the royal family. King Victor Emanuel II in 1856 established stable borders for his royal hunting demesne - and his conservation efforts worked, as ibex numbers rose from 300 in 1850 to more than 2000 in 1878. The disasters of the First World War once again threatened the population: after the war it was King Victor Emanuel III who in 1922 established Italy's first national park from his former hunting domain of the Gran Paradiso. By the end of the Second World War the ibex, which historically had been present throughout Europe's mountains, remained only in the Gran Paradiso National Park. Over the last few years the Gran Paradiso ibex has thrived, its population now exceeding 6,000. Furthermore park animals have been used to repopulate other mountain parks throughout Europe. With the establishment of the adjoining Vanoise National Park in France in 1963 and official twin status with Gran Paradiso set in 1972, there are now some 123,000 hectares of contiguous protected wilderness, a fine habitat range not just for ibex and chamois but also the royal eagle.

Wildlife is not the only thing protected in the Gran Paradiso Park. It is a land rich with forests, rivers and lakes, virgin peaks and glaciers - unscrupulous industrial or tourist development would permanently damage the territory, ruining it not just for wildlife but also responsible human enjoyment. In addition, a human cultural aspect of the park is also preserved: former grazing huts and mining camps are preserved alongside royal hunting lodges. With over 50% of the region completely unproductive and with the severe climatic conditions, one can imagine the difficulty natives had in merely surviving from year to year. Only with the recent rise in tourism have park natives begun to see any significant improvement in their lot.

There is then a great deal of both natural and cultural beauty to discover in Gran Paradiso. Ironic perhaps that it was the obsessive hunting personality of the Savoia that began the process of its conservation, but in the end it has been the collaboration of environmentalists, Italian government and local authorities to preserve and help revitalize the region.