ROYAL HUNTS

King Victor Emmanuel II added some areas used for hunting, including some in Aosta Valley at the feet of the Gran Paradiso, to his existing hunting reserves. Sarre Castle was purchased specifically to be used as a pied-à-terre for royal hunting trips to the mountains, in the Cogne, Rhêmes and Valsavarenche valleys. Trips hunting ibex and chamois had a huge economic impact due to the complex management and organisation required: hunting trips continued under Umberto I and to a lesser extent Victor Emmanuel III, who was less interested in hunting than his predecessors. Indeed, in 1922 he decided to donate his property in Aosta Valley to the State to allow the foundation of the first national park in Italy.