DarkSky is a worldwide organisation combating light pollution. It offers certifications for protected areas and facilities that preserve dark skies through responsible lighting policies and public education. The existence of dark areas allows us to stay connected with nature and protect ecologically sensitive zones.
It all started when Flagstaff, Arizona, was named the first International Dark Sky City in 2001. Now there are over 200 places in 22 countries of the world and a total of 160,000 square kilometers of protected land certified by the International Dark Sky Places (IDSP) program.
The certifications DarkSky confers are six: International Dark Sky Parks, International Dark Sky Sanctuaries, International Dark Sky Reserves, Urban Night Sky Places, International Dark Sky Communities and DarkSky Approved Lodging. Additionally, they also have a list of approved luminaires and retailers, together with outdoor sports lighting guidelines.
To request a certification, there is an application process consisting in an initial inquiry, a formal application finally a certification if all criteria are met.
I used DarkSky’s map to find International Dark Sky Places in my countries, Austria and Italy. I found Naturpark Attersee-Traunsee in Upper Austria, but was surprised to find out that there are none in Italy.
In fact, according to an article published in the magazine Science Advances in 2016, Italy and South Korea are some of the countries of G20 with the brightest night skies, with the Pianura Padana being the most polluted Italian area. Efforts have been made to certify dark areas such as South Tyrol, Maremma (Tuscany), and the Saint-Barthélemy valley (Aosta Valley), but without any results.
The Attersee-Traunsee Nature Park is the largest natural park in Upper Austria with some of the darkest night skies remaining in central Europe. With the size of 77 square kilometers, it lies between the lakes Attersee and Traunsee and spans across the eponymous Traun and Atterseer Flysch Mountains. It was certified as International Dark Sky Park in 2021. On its website the certification is not mentioned, but there is a separate one dedicated to the “star park“.