Madonie National Park
Right in the heart of Sicily, the Parco Naturale Regionale delle Madonie is an oasis of pleasures. In winter you can go skiing in Piano Battaglia, and in summer go mountaineering on its peaks, or walking through its hills, forests, and glades taking in some spectacular views of Mount Etna and the Nebrodi Mountains that lie to the east, and the volcanic Aeolian Islands that are to the north.
The highest point in the mountainous park is the Pizzo Carbonara at 1,979 m above sea level, but wherever you are there is almost always a panorama to be appreciated. The energetic may even take the pilgrim route and walk to the Sanctuary of the Madonna dell’Alto, the highest Marian sanctuary in Europe at 1,850 m above sea level that finishes with a steep climb up a sheer rocky path to a monastery.
The park is also a haven for botanists, and is populated by olive, basilisk, fir, maple, cork, chestnut, beech, oak and holly trees, and is considered to be the meeting point of three continents since it is home to species endemic to Central Europe, Asia and north Africa.
But you don’t have to be a hiker or a nature lover to enjoy the area, you can also just relax in the numerous small, hilltop medieval towns that lie on its boundaries including Petralia Sottana, Castelbuono, Isnello and Gangi. These towns with their fountains of spring waters, cobbled streets, ceramic tiled church spires, castles, palaces, and Baroque and Norman churches adorned with frescoes are packed with tiny alleys, balconies crammed with pots of geraniums, and of course the locals themselves playing a hand of the scopa card game, eating a gelato, or sipping an espresso.
As ever in Sicily, there are regional delicacies to try, and this area is known for its manna. A Sicilian take on maple syrup, manna is the sap of the manna ash tree, known locally as muddia, and is harvested in July and September. It has a spongy texture, a sugary taste and is eaten raw in chunks broken from the stalactite shapes gathered from the tree, or flavoured with cheese or chocolate. Eaten as a sweetener, locals also attribute manna with various health-giving properties. Whether it bears any relation to the Biblical manna is a moot point, but it is grown in this heavenly haven at the centre of Sicily.
Contact tel: +39 0921 684 011, e-mail:
Cost Free
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Parco Naturale Regionale delle Madonie
Added 2008/07/11 @ 16:51:35
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