Читать книгу Walking in Italy's Stelvio National Park. Italy's largest alpine national park онлайн

7 страница из 40

Other rock debris plucked off mountain flanks ends up on top of the slowly moving body of ice. Over time it rattles off to the sides in elongated rows known as moraine. When the glacier withdraws, these remain in place and are colonised by pioneer plants such as mountain avens, which consolidate the terrain, leading the way for cushion vegetation then shrubs.

As is happening across the whole of the Alps, the Stelvio’s glaciers are shrinking rapidly and over the last 50 years 40% of the total surface area – equivalent to 20 sq km – has been lost (21% alone over the period 1991–2003).

History

Before World War I, east of Switzerland the border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire extended as far south as Lake Garda and Trento. In 1915, after signing a secret treaty with the Triple Entente of the UK, France and Russia, Italy entered WWI, declaring war on its former ally and neighbour and opening a new, urgently needed front. The fledgling Kingdom (which came into existence in 1860) had been promised the extension of its border north to the Brenner Pass as well as Istria. Troops were sent to dig in along the northeastern Italian Alps, high-altitude mountains beset with glaciers and snowed in for five months of the year. Vast labyrinths of ice tunnels spelled protection – along with disconcerting creaking as the glacier moved and sub-zero temperatures prevailed. As things turned out, there was relatively little action; however, the harsh conditions and avalanches caused shocking loss of life. When the war ended with the 1918 Treaty of Versailles the Südtirol (South Tyrol) became Italy’s Alto Adige.