SHARRYLAND
Torre di Ruggiero - Mount Cucco (959 m)
The Calabrian Serre are known for their magnificent beech forests, and Mount Cucco is one of the places where this forest occurs in spectacular form
Where is
A relevant peak in the Serre ridge
The forested Mount Cucco (959 m), a landmark peak of the Calabrian Serre, lies on the watershed line between the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, which also serves as the boundary between the municipalities of Torre di Ruggiero and Vallelonga, that is, between the provinces of Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia, respectively.
The evocative world of the beech forest
Mount Cucco is known for the beech forest that grows on its north-central slopes. Despite its southern latitude, the beech forest grows at relatively low altitudes, descending in purity to the 800-meter contour line, as very rarely elsewhere. This is due to the very special habitat of the Serre and in this case to the currents that flow up it from two seas, the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian, which are almost uniquely opposed.
On the route of the most ambitious trek.
The beech forest of Mount Cucco is traversed by the Sentiero Italia, the CAI hiking route that traverses the peninsula following the Alpine arc and then the Apennine ridge with dutiful extensions to Sicily and Sardinia. In this case, the stage between Torre di Ruggiero (m 581) and Serra San Bruno (m 788), a little less than 20 kilometers on dirt tracks and trails, 768 meters of positive elevation gain, 568 meters of negative elevation gain, alternating between scenic stretches and the dimness of the dense forests at altitude.
But what could this cucco be?
The name of the mountain likely refers to the cuckoo, 'u cuccu' to be exact, themigratory bird that in fine weather - confirming the binomial Cuculus canorus - makes its repetitive and unmistakable song resound in the beech forests of the Serre. It is understood that the word is also used, as in the Italian language, to refer to an old and baleful person, but whether this could also refer to the mountain in question is not immediately understood.
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