Trekking along the Frassati Path of the Serre Calabre

Ready to explore the mountain at the exact centre of Calabria?

The Frassati Path, in the heart of the Serre Regional Park, in the province of Vibo Valentia, is the way through a unique forest, suspended between nature, ancient crafts and spirituality.

Let us discover together the route of the Frassati Path in a trek that links two centres of great historical and naturalistic importance in the hinterland: Serra San Bruno and Mongiana. 

The Frassati Path

Nature, historical sites and a "slow" experience come together in the excursion through the woods of the Serre Calabre, along the lush Frassati Path, to be followed by guided trekking or in total autonomy, as it is well signposted.

A pleasant route within everyone's reach, lasting about 7 hours, the Frassati Path extends into the heart of the Woods of Santa Maria, one of the most important and ancient protected reserves in Calabria, whose controlled exploitation originated in Roman times and continues to the present day, passing through the important Bourbon interlude, with Europe's largest iron and steel pole. 

Established in 1996, the "Frassati" Trails are a special category of CAI footpaths dedicated to the Piedmontese Pier Giorgio Frassati, a mountain lover who died when he was very young, which cross every region of Italy.

The Frassati Path in Calabria is an opportunity to get to know some of the most important naturalistic attractions within the Serre Regional Park, whose symbol is the precious silver fir.

This is a fundamental species for the local ecosystem: a forest of firs and centuries-old beeches, giants, alternating with valleys furrowed by springs and torrents, such as Vallone Fondo and Vallone Vasafìmmini, with their fountains where one can fill up with crystal-clear water.

The Frassati Path is a ring-route linking the localities of Serra San Bruno and Mongiana, stages of arrival and/or departure whose identity is a concentration of "material and spiritual culture".

The itinerary along the Frassati Path starts from the magical atmosphere of the Hermitage-Shrine of Santa Maria del Bosco and the Carthusian Monastery of Serra San Bruno and, passing through ancient artefacts and traces still evident linked to work in the woods (charcoal burners, stonemasons, woodcutters, blacksmiths, etc.), ends with the Ecomuseum of the Royal Ironworks and Bourbon Foundries of Mongiana, a symbolic place of Calabrian industrial archaeology.

From Serra San Bruno to Mongiana

After a visit to the town of Serra San Bruno, which gives its name to the entire Serre Regional Park - whose historic centre is a jewel of Southern Baroque with churches and palaces sculpted in granite by local and Neapolitan craftsmen - we set off along the Frassati Path to reach Mongiana and finally return to our starting point, passing through the following sites

• Charterhouse of Serra San Bruno
• Hermitage-Shrine of Santa Maria del Bosco
• River Allaro
• Hamlet Ninfo-Contrada Micone (Cropani-Micone State Nature Reserve)
• Mongiana (Villa Vittoria Park and Royal Bourbon Ironworks)
• Sambuco Lake and Small Lake (Cropani-Micone State Nature Reserve)
• Serra San Bruno

Between one stop and the next on the Frassati Path, it is possible to refresh oneself at the purest of springs and pause in the shade of centuries-old trees (Mongiana Monumental Tree and the Monumental Fir Tree ‘Albero delle Fate’, in Serra), pick some fruit from the undergrowth, including the prized Porcino delle Serre mushroom, admire specimens of local flora and fauna, including those under the protection of the Carabinieri Environmental Unit, at the not-to-be-missed visit to Villa Vittoria Park in Mongiana.

A highly recommended "off-trail"?

The opposite side, which welcomes the Archiforo Wood reserve and connects the two territories (Serra-Monte Pecoraro) passing through places with ‘big stones’ (panoramic monoliths), the Tree of the Three Allampàti and old houses.