Montagne di Calabria

Extreme offshoot of Europe that extends into the heart of the Mediterranean, Calabria is the most complete synthesis of the natural environments and landscapes of the "old continent". Although it has 750 kilometers of coastline, it is nevertheless a region of rugged and extensive mountains, which occupy a large part of its territory and which for centuries have guarded extraordinary naturalistic treasures and fascinating cultures. To the north rises - seductive as a natural architecture - the Pollino Massif, a mountainous bastion of the Calabrian "peninsula". To the north-west extends the wild Dorsale del Pellegrino (better known as Monti dell'Orsomarso), considered one of the last European wildernesses. Also to the west runs parallel to the coast the Coastal Chain, whose name reveals its vocation as a true balcony overlooking the sea. In the centre, the vast and woody Sila Plateau expands, the forest par excellence of the Greeks and Romans. To the south, the Serre Massif, with its centuries-old monastic traditions, represents the very meaning of the link between the mountains and the soul of man. Until, in the extreme south, the legendary Aspromonte Massif radiates from its "Andean" valleys. Six distinct orographic complexes, therefore, with their strong personalities that make them original and different compared to all the other European mountains but also dissimilar from each other, as does not happen, in such a short space, in any other part of the continent: dizzying rock walls, atavistic forests, giant trees, thunderous waterfalls, impressive canyons, picturesque lithic monuments etc. This book gives an account of all this, and much more. In the first part, it retraces the long historical evolution of the Calabrian mountains, reviewing their ecological characteristics and analyzing their problems. In the second part, the individual massifs are also described with the help of the testimonies of foreign travelers and scholars who followed their paths at various times. The third contains 83 excursion proposals for all abilities, whose routes, meticulously described, allow anyone with a minimum of sensitivity and preparation to reach the most evocative and spectacular places that the Calabrian mountains can offer. The fourth includes a series of useful appendices to consult, from lists of protected areas to an essential bibliography, from practical advice to rules of conduct. Finally, in the fifth part, an analytical index of the places in the excursions and photos and the reproduction of the route maps are included. The volume is completed by an impressive and largely unpublished iconographic apparatus of over 385 color photographs which portray the countless beauties of the Calabrian mountains at all times of the year and in all weather conditions.