Itinerary in the territory of the Serre Regional Natural Park

Our nature itinerary can only start from the small "capital" of the Serre Calabresi: Serra San Bruno.

The town was founded around the year 1000, thanks to the figure of San Bruno di Colonia, who founded the first Italian Carthusian monastery here, at the behest of Count Roger the Norman.

The Carthusian Monastery of Saints Stephen and Bruno is the spiritual and cultural heart of the Serre Calabresi, to this day one of the few inhabited Carthusian monasteries in Europe. Given its strict monastic seclusion, the monastery cannot be visited, but on the other hand, one can visit the evocative adjoining museum, housed in a wing of the building itself, in which all aspects of monastic life are represented through reconstructions of rooms, sacred and valuable objects, daily utensils, original documents and audiovisuals.

The historical centre is full of Baroque churches and works of art made of granite, carved wood and wrought iron, the work of local craftsmen themselves.  

In the woods around the town, it is possible to visit the families that still produce the coal that supplies all of Europe from these mountains: the Serre charcoal burners, famous producers for generations, welcome visitors in the soot of their characteristic scaràzzi, large igloo-shaped charcoal pits that burn incessantly, night and day.  

Before continuing our itinerary through the forests of the Serre Calabresi, we have a lunch of the prized Porcino delle Serre, accompanied by typical sweets and bitters.

The itinerary to discover the Serre Calabresi continues in the direction of the wood of Nardodipace, a small municipality affected by depopulation that guards a hidden treasure.

Not far from the town there is one of the most evocative geo-site in the region, also known as the Calabrian "Stonehenge": we are talking about the Megaliths of Nardodipace, enormous blocks of semi-processed stone that have been attracting the attention of national and international scholars for years.

An excursion to the Megaliths of Nardodipace is the right opportunity to get to know the town and its surroundings, such as Nardodipace Vecchio.

Situated halfway up the hillside, on the ridge overlooking the Ionian coastline of Reggio Calabria, the old town centre tells a story of the past but still capable of moving for the simplicity of the dwellings and the humanity that inhabited them, imbued with the charm that accompanies the gradual abandonment of the old town centres of Calabria.

Did you know that in the heart of the Serre Calabresi there are the remains of what was Europe's largest iron and steel industry between the 18th and 19th centuries?

These are the Royal Ironworks and Weapons Factory of Mongiana, the industrial centre commissioned in the present-day municipality of Mongiana by King Ferdinand I of Bourbon and brought to its maximum splendour by Ferdinand II. Today, the industrial archaeology site is an unmissable ecomuseum: historical and archaeological finds, artefacts, documents and photographic evidence of a precious cross-section of Calabrian history.

Also linked to the steel plant is the so-called "Ferdinandea" estate, the king's summer residence and "hunting lodge". Visitable with a dedicated trek (falling within the municipality of Stilo, RC), the "Ferdinandea" saw illustrious guests, such as the writer Matilde Serao, and a 19th-century reuse for bottling spring water.

Before leaving Mongiana, we recommend a stop at the splendid botanical garden of "Villa Vittoria", part of the "Marchesale" Biogenetic Nature Reserve (now managed by the "Carabinieri Biodiversity" unit) and the Sambuco Pond. 

The itinerary to discover the Serre Calabresi, among what were once considered the most wooded areas in the province of Vibo Valentia, continues in a north-easterly direction and reaches the municipality of Gerocarne.

Right here, in the heart of the Serre Regional Park stands the unmissable Ariola Nursery (named after the small municipal hamlet that hosts it), to be visited in all seasons of the year. It is one of the nine regional forest nurseries that play a fundamental role in safeguarding local biodiversity (maples, hollies, lime trees, chestnut trees, cypresses and even a specimen of ginkgo biloba, a true living fossil).

A short distance from the nursery, the small village of Gerocarne tells a story of ancient men, starting with the violent and legendary story of Giuseppe Musolino, Italy's most famous brigand, who after hiding in these woods, is now the protagonist of the evocative Brigante Path, a trail that leads to the imposing Arms' Stone.

Gerocarne is famous for the very ancient production of terracotta ("pignàte"), sold throughout Italy and characterised by unmistakable apotropaic elements that draw on superstition and symbols of popular tradition.

The discovery of the Serre Calabresi, a short distance from Gerocarne, leads us to Soriano Calabro, famous for an important presence of the Dominican Order and for the local handicrafts, mainly centred on straw and wicker work.

Of 16th-century origin, the town is built around the monumental complex of the Convent of San Domenico, one of the richest and most famous in Europe, which can be visited together with the precious Dominican Library of Soriano.

A wing of the ancient convent houses the MUMAR - Marble Museum, an unmissable place to visit together with the MUTERR - Earthquake Museum, which traces the troubled seismic and geological history of this territory. 

You cannot leave the town without having tasted the famous Mostaccioli di Soriano ("mastazzòla"), one of the most popular traditional Calabrian sweets in Italy and abroad: these are hard biscuits made with honey, cinnamon and hot wine must, with different shapes (anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images, ears of corn, etc.) and characteristic coloured foil decorations. Mostaccioli evoke rural peasant life and are marked with propitiatory symbols.

Fundamental to the economic and cultural life of Soriano Calabro is its typical handicraft, which boasts wicker, wood and woven straw work.

The sixth and final stop on the itinerary through the Serre Calabresi is the splendid WWF Oasis ‘’Lake Angitola‘’, one of the Serre Regional Park's most fascinating nature reserves.

It was in the 1960s when the course of the Angitola river (from which the present lake takes its name) was diverted to allow the creation of an artificial reservoir, which immediately became a WWF Oasis because of its particular ecosystem: an uncontaminated space where you can enjoy immersive walks and real nature observations, especially dedicated to migratory birds (birdwatching) that nest seasonally.

Lake Angitola falls within the municipal territories of Maierato and Monterosso Calabro. The last one, linked to linen and textile processing, offers a visit to the ancient Filanda Massara, today home to the Museum of Peasant and Artisan Civilisation and the Museum of the Serre Vibonesi.

Not to be missed, in addition to the numerous churches and noble buildings in the centre, are the ruins of the old Church of the Addolorata (in contrada Condolìma), which witnessed the destruction of the terrible earthquake of 1783.