HISTORY AND FAITH

The Sila Park is located further south. Here, among very ancient human settlements there are the remains of a Neolithic village dating back to 3500 BC, which emerged on the southern shore of Lake Cecita. In the past the park represented a wood reserve for the ancient Greek cities of the Ionian Coast. In the Middle Ages it became a refuge for groups of Basilian monks, who built monasteries that are still accessible today, such as the Monastery of Santa Maria del Patire near Rossano. Spirituality is palpable in the worship places founded by hermit monks, blessed and saints, including the extraordinary Abbazia Florense di San Giovanni in Fiore, built in the 13th century, close to the abbey wanted by scholar Abate Gioacchino da Fiore, which was destroyed by a fire in 1214. It is also worth mentioning the Santuario di Sant’Umile, a sanctuary established by Blessed Pietro Cathin, sent by Saint Francis of Assisi to set up the religious order of the Franciscans in Bisignano, an ancient town and bishop see, historically related to the noble family of Sanseverino. The Greek Sila, on the other hand, testifies to the widespread presence of Arbëreshe communities, starting from the town of San Demetrio Corone. At the foot of the Sila Piccola, further south, lies the town of Taverna, where the famous painter Mattia Preti was born in 1613. The Civic Museum houses precious works of the artist. If you continue along the path towards the Serre you arrive at Tiriolo, a town that has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. From its high peaks, you can see the two seas that border the region, just like in the nearby Grifalco, a village of medieval origin located in the narrowest point of the Catanzaro isthmus. The ancient road of Magna Grecia that connected the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian Seas passed through this point.

Once at the heart of the Aspromonte, the cycle network crosses Fabrizia, the city founded by the Prince of Roccella, Fabrizio Carafa, in the 16th century, which has always been a place of exchange of mountain and sea products. From Passo del Mercante, a pass that in the Magna Graecia era connected the two Calabrian coasts, and the Piani di Zervò, where, among dense beech and conifer forests lies the former Vittorio Emanuele II sanatorium, the route takes you to Canolo, a magnificent mountain village nestled between two canyons in the "Southern Dolomites". The journey continues in the direction of Gambarie, crossing the paths of the brigands that lead to Montalto, the highest peak of the Aspromonte from which you can enjoy breathtaking views over eastern Sicily, the Sila, the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian Seas. Looking towards the sea you can also spot the centuries-old pine forest of Sant'Eufemia di Aspromonte, where Giuseppe Garibaldi was wounded, near a giant tree, in August 1862. A mausoleum was built here in memory of the Italian general. In the direction of the Ionian Sea, instead, there is the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Polsi (862 m), known as "A Madonna dâ Muntagna” (the Virgin of the mountains). Here, one of the most heartfelt festivals by the local populations is celebrated, in some unparalleled natural scenery that enchanted the writer and illustrator Edward Lear, who wrote, on his trip to Calabria in 1847: "Without doubt, one of the most remarkable scenes I have ever seen.” The last stretch of the cycle network goes from Mount Basilcò, listed among the most beautiful peaks of the Aspromonte, directly to the sea and the wonderful city of Reggio Calabria. Known as the "place of the wind", this city is one of the oldest in Europe and among the first Greek colonies in Italy, a land that was already inhabited by the ancient populations of Ausones and Oenotrians. Its thousand-year history is embodied by the amazing Riace bronzes that are on display at the National Archaeological Museum, together with many other interesting finds.