Calabria > La Sila

La Sila

La Sila, or Silva Brutia of the ancient Romans, constitutes the heart of Calabria, delimitated in the north by the Plain of Sibari, in the south by the Isthmus of Catanzaro, east by the Jonio coastline and west by the Valley of Crati. La Sila is a huge plateau of roughly 2500 km (square) and contains one of Europe’s largest coniferous forests. The flora, dominated by the Calabria variety of the larch pine, with it’s imposing erect trunk can grow up to 40 meters high, to be found also at a higher altitude alongside the white pine amongst thick undergrowth. Extensive forests of beach trees alternate with conifers, usu-ally found in a typical alpine landscape dotted with lakes. The Sila, older than the Pollino: its crests not as high and peaks just touching 1900 meters: a continental climate with very cold winters, frequent snowfall and sub zero temperatures which freeze the lakes. At a lower altitude great prairies give their way to the Mediterranean landscape stretching out to the Jonio Sea. With regards to animals, rarely to be found a pack of wolves, the wildcat more or less extinct, whereas more widespread are wild boar, hares and foxes.

Near Camigliatello silano are the famous woods of Fallistro, with its majestic larch pines, 40 meters tall and nearly 400 years old; in ancient times a scented resin was extracted and used in the preparation of perfume. Inspiring also, the forests of Fallistro and Gariglione, once a hideaway for highwaymen, where the houses in the little villages clutch and seem to almost hang on spurs of rock. The Sila is divided into three distinctive areas: the Sila greca in the north, so called due to the migration of the Ancient Greeks and Albanese, with the largest wood in the regione, the Gallopane; in the central belt, the Sila grande, covering most of the province of Cosenza with the highest mountain crests; south, in the province of Catanzaro the Sila piccola hosts crests of around 1000-1300 meters.