La Sila

This article is about the region of Italy. For other uses, see Sila.
Sila
La Sila

300px

Highest point
Peak Botte Donato
Elevation 1,928 m (6,325 ft)
Coordinates 39°17′5.02″N 16°26′49.53″E / 39.2847278°N 16.4470917°E / 39.2847278; 16.4470917
Geography
Country Italy
Region Calabria
Provinces Cosenza, Crotone and Catanzaro
Range coordinates 39°22′N 16°30′E / 39.37°N 16.5°E / 39.37; 16.5Coordinates: 39°22′N 16°30′E / 39.37°N 16.5°E / 39.37; 16.5

La Sila, also spelled Sila, is the name of the mountainous plateau and historic region located in Calabria, southern Italy.

Geography

The Sila occupies part of the provinces of Cosenza, Crotone and Catanzaro, and is divided (\from north to south) into the sub-ranges Sila Greca, Sila Grande and Sila Piccola ("Greek", "Greater" and "Lesser Sila", respectively). The highest peaks are the Botte Donato (1,928 m), in the Sila Grande, and Monte Gariglione (1,764 m) in the Sila Piccola. The Sila houses the eponymous national park, the Parco Nazionale della Sila, formerly called National Park of Calabria; it was created in 2002.

History

The first known settlers of the Sila plateau were the Bruttii, an ancient tribe of shepherds and farmers. After the destruction of the Greek city of Sybaris in 510 BC, Rome began to extend its sphere of influence over Calabria, Sila included to the extent that any outside rule affected these mountains. Later it was nominally occupied in turn by the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines and, from the 11th century, the Italo-Normans. The latter favoured the creation of several monasteries, like the Matina of San Marco Argentano, the Sambucina at Luzzi and the Florense Abbey at San Giovanni in Fiore, founded by Joachim of Fiore.

In 1448-1535 immigrants from Albania settled the area towards the Ionian Sea, creating the communities of Sila Greca ("Greek Sila").[1]

After the annexation to the Kingdom of Italy (late 19th century), Sila remained a base of brigandage. New routes were opened to reduce the isolation of the mountain centres, which was dramatic especially in winter: these included the Paola-Cosenza-Crotone road, and specialised mountain railways such as the Cosenza-Camigliatello Silano-San Giovanni in Fiore narrow-gauge line (now operating only for tourist special excursions), operated by the Ferrovie Calabro Lucane, and the Paola-Cosenza rack railway, operated by Ferrovie dello Stato.

The 1949 film The Wolf of the Sila was set in the area, and much of it was shot on location.

Today several centres, such as Camigliatello and Palumbo Sila, are becoming tourist resorts.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sila.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 10, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.