Nov-2014
The Sila and its extraordinary beauty
The blogtour in Sila, the first one in Calabria, organised by the National Park of Sila with the collaboration of the Associazione We like concluded last week, after 4 days (from November 6th to 9th 2014) in exploration of the beauties of nature.
The blog tour involved me and other 6 bloggers coming from nationwide with the intent of telling, witnessing and shooting the beauty of this unrevealed part of Calabria, the Sila.
The blog tour had, in fact, the aim of promoting the Sila and its National Park that extends over 71,000 hectares and includes 21 districts in the provinces of Cosenza (Sila Grande and Sila Greca), Catanzaro e Crotone (Sila Piccola), with an extraordinary flora and fauna patrimony, 9 naturalistic reserves, where you can breathe the cleanest air in Europe, according to Prof. Stefano Montanari and Prof. Antonietta Gatti’s studies.
In these intense 4 days we had the chance to visit the Golia-Corvo Reserve, the visitors centre Cupone, with its rich botanic garden paths, the visitors centre Monaco, a biodiversity oasis and centre with many environmental education programs for both children and adults.
It was a tour through nature, traditions, gastronomy and history in which the rich heritage of this land came out. A place that gave shelter to the Brutii and bandits and fascinated many authors of the past that wanted to narrate its peculiarities and charm in their works. Authors such as Norman Douglas and Edward Lear.
Autumn is yellowing and reddening the nature and the landscapes of the Sila, giving a feeling of peace and tranquility. By walking through the silent paths, surrounded by gigantic laricio pines,The Giants of the Sila, that raise up, scraping the sky, maples and alters charting the course, you reach the hidden lake Golia, an enchanted place inspiring silence and meditation, and the view point of Cozzo del Principe that offers to your eyes a spectacular breathtaking view over the Lake Cecita.
We walked through the woods escorted by a very special guide, Mr. Cupone, the guardian dog of the National Park, that led our paths inviting us to contemplate and admire what the sight itself cannot always perceive.
The #welikesila was simply the tour of an untouched and perfect nature that changes its sceneries by travelling from one part to the other and preserving ancient traditions passed down from generation to generation. Two significant examples are the Spadafora family’s craft goldsmithing that still make holy crowns and jewels in perfect respect for the tradition or Mr. Domenico Caruso, a craft-tapestry master, who still realises unique masterpieces with the use of the loom. Some of its carpet collections are dedicated to the great theologian Joachim of Flora (founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore, today the largest town of the Sila Grande), still interest of many scholars and researchers worldwide.
But I do not want to anticipate more … I will tell about this tour, stop by stop in my next posts, hoping that through my words you can breathe and feel the emotions this extrardinary part of Calabria inspires.
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