The Lagoni Park
The Lagoni Park is a wildlife reserve and outstanding archaeological area. The area, 444 hectares wide, is comprised between the municipalities of Arona, Dormelletto, Oleggio Castello and Comignago, and is surrounded by woods and grazing land where the horses of some important stables can be admired.
The Lagone, a fairly wide pool is the centre of the oasis and nesting grounds for various species of aquatic birds such as water chicks, wild ducks, little grebes, grey herons and kingfishers. The flora of the park consists of water-lilies, oaks, poplars, alders, pines, chestnut trees and elders. The fauna includes red woodpeckers and green woodpeckers, kestrels, kites, barn owls and mammals as foxes, weasels, martens and dormice, amphibians (frogs, toads and salamanders) and fishes (carps and perches).
The Lagoni area is also an important archeological site that has been acknowledged by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage. The first excavations were undertaken in 1860, leading to the discovery of the remains of a XVIII-XIII B.C village. The peaty ground has favored the preservation of the findings that are now displayed in the Archeological Museum of Arona. In the seventies, during some excavation works an incineration necropolis and tombs made of stone slabs were discovered and restored and can still be seen at the Lagoni park.