SHARRYLAND
Mount Pecoraro (m 1423)
The highest peak of the Serres deserves attention not only for this record but also for its wonderful forests
Where is
A verdant ridge with rising peaks
Mount Pecoraro with its 1423 meters is the highest peak in the Calabrian Serre. The peak is located in the territory of Mongiana, and from the summit there is a very wide panorama. On the clearest days the gaze sweeps from the Ionian Sea to the Tyrrhenian Sea, on the horizon of which in the light of sunset the Aeolian Islands can be recognized, while to the south at times the summit of Mount Etna stands out. From the northwestern slope rises theAncinale, which in torrential form descends toward the basin of Serra San Bruno and after lapping Chiaravalle Centrale acquires the width of a fiumara until it reaches the Gulf of Squillace.
The most striking forests of the Serre
The long diagonal that connects the two seas from southeast to northwest, that is, from Monasterace to Pizzo, transits near the summit at the disused cantoniera of Monte Pecoraro (m 875). A dirt road starts from this junction and leads to Pietra del Caricatore (m 1414), the second peak of the ridge. This section of the ridge boasts the most beautiful beech and silver fir forests in the entire massif. On the western slope, the slopes slope steeply toward the San Bruno basin, giving rise to the fairy-tale Archifòro Forest. On the eastern one stretch other magnificent forests including the famous Bosco di Stilo that harks back to the Bourbon steel epic.
When even snow had its own practicality
In the heart of these forests it may happen to recognize certain depressions in the ground, the obvious result of excavation work, evidence ofhuman activity in days gone by, specifically before the invention of refrigerators. These are the so-called 'niviere,' where the snow was first accumulated and compacted, and then insulated with straw or foliage to delay its melting as much as possible, so that in the hot season it could be made into ice blocks to be used both for refrigerating foodstuffs and for the preparation of sorbets ('scirubette') in the more traditional flavors of lemon or coffee.
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