Sibillini Mountains - Monti Sibillini

Sibillini Mountains they are located in the Regions Marche is Umbria.

To know

The Sibillini Mountains are a mountain massif located between the Marche and Umbria, in the Umbrian-Marche Apennines along the primary watershed of the central Apennines. It is the fourth highest mountain group of the continental Apennines after Gran Sasso, Maiella and Velino-Sirente and is located between the provinces of Ascoli Piceno, Stop, Macerata, Perugia and hosts the Monti Sibillini National Park.

Geographical notes

They are basically made up of limestone rocks, formed on the bottoms of warm seas. The peaks in some cases exceed 2,000 m asl, such as the largest of the group, Mount Vettore (2,476 m asl), Pizzo della Regina or Mount Priora, Mount Bove and Mount Sibilla. in three subgroups, made up in turn of several massifs with numerous peaks. Southern Subgroup, from Forca di Presta (south) to Passo Cattivo (north):

Consisting of limestone and calcareous-marble rocks of the Mesozoic-Lower Tertiary, the Sibillini group can be considered as a relatively young geological formation. he current range of the Sibillini Mountains was the site of large distension movements that led to the formation of underwater ridges. About 20 million years ago, the compression and consequent folding of the rocks led to the emergence of the first buttresses. After 10 million years , important telluric phenomena led to overlaps along the faults, with the formation of today's major peaks, on a ridge approximately north-south. Another series of seismic movements, 2 million years ago, due to compression on the Adriatic side, it has led to overthrust and overlapping phenomena on other fault systems and has given the group its present appearance.

The entire area of ​​the mountainous arc, which falls within the Sibillini Mountains National Park, comprises a total of the territory of two Umbrian municipalities and sixteen Marche municipalities. In Umbria There are Norcia and Preci, both in the province of Perugia. In the Marche there are three in the province of Ascoli Piceno, two in the province of Fermo and eleven in the province of Macerata.

• In the province of Ascoli Piceno there are: Arquata del Tronto, Montemonaco and Montegallo.
• In the province of Fermo there are: Loving it is Montefortino.
• In the province of Macerata there are: Acquacanina, Bolognola, Castelsantangelo sul Nera, Cessapalombo, Fiastra, Fiordimonte, Pievebovigliana, Pievetorina, San Ginesio, Ussita and Visso.

Flora and fauna

The flora and fauna are very rich. Among the mammals there are the wild cat (Felis silvestris), the porcupine (Hystrix cristata), the wolf (Canis lupus), the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and recently reintroduced the Abruzzo chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica Sub. Ornata) ) and the red deer (cervus elaphus). Also noteworthy are the sightings of Marsican brown bears (ursus arctos marsicanus) linked to attacks on hives by domestic bees, but almost certainly a wandering male from the Abruzzo Apennines.

Among the birds, there are the golden eagle, the eagle owl, the peregrine falcon and the reintroduced rock partridge (Alectoris graeca). Among the reptiles, the Orsini viper and the common viper (vipera aspis).

In the area of ​​Mount Vettore there are two endemics, the Duvalius ruffoi beetle and, in the waters of Lake Pilato, the Marchesoni chirocephalus, a small crustacean.

The vegetation is typical of the Apennine area, with a prevalence of deciduous trees at low altitudes which then give way to the beech forest and, higher up, to pasture. Of note as floristic species are the Eugenia violet (Viola eugeniae), the Apennine genepì (Artemisia petrosa sup.eriantha), the distorted adonis (Adonis Distorta), the gentian lutea (Gentiana lutea), the Neapolitan gentian (Gentiana Sp.), The potentilla (various), the martagon lily (Lilium martagon), the ramno (Ramnus alpina) (Ramnus catartica), the bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), the Nigritella widderi Teppner et E. Klein, l androsacea villosa and the edelweiss of the Sibylline (Leontopodium nivale).

Since 1993 the area has been included in the territory of Monti Sibillini National Park.

Background

Legends

These mountains have been the forge of ancient and magical legends that give them an aura of mystery still today. The Grotta della Sibilla, located just below the summit of Mount Sibilla, was already known and known in 69 AD, when Suetonius wrote that Vitellius "celebrated a sacred vigil on the yokes of the Apennines". The fame of the places continued also in the period of the high Middle Ages in the whole area of ​​central Italy; a representation of it can also be found in some frescoes inside the Vatican Museums. According to legend, made famous by the chivalrous novel Guerin Meschino by Andrea da Barberino, and the book The paradise of Queen Sibyl, by Antoine de La Sale, the cave housed a fairy kingdom, in which wonderful creatures lived in a sort of perennial feast, only to be transformed for one day a week into monstrous and horrifying creatures, and that of a lake at the top of Mount Vector , Lake Pilato, at an altitude of 1,941 m, gave strength to the creation of mythical pagan fables around this chain; in particular it is believed that these were mountains suitable for consecrating books for black magic and that that cave, now collapsed today, was the infernal cave of the Sibyl (from which the mountain range takes its name) which, according to some scholars, there he took refuge after the process of Christianization of the Roman Empire.

Surely this process of conversion of the population was slow and gradual and, above all, the places further away from the main roads or peripheral than the big cities have absorbed the new Christian religion much more slowly; not only that, given their amenities they could represent a safe place to take refuge for those who did not want to abandon the pagan cults.

Perhaps in this period, between the time of the classical ancient world and the medieval age, the first great legends were born that will lead these mountains to be a place of pilgrimage for many sorcerers, but also for errant knights who passed here to challenge the sorceress or to ask her for some prophecies as in the famous chivalric novel Il Guerrin Meschino by Andrea da Barberino, a part of which is set here.

Territories and tourist destinations

Other destinations

• Lake of Pilate - The morphology of the area is the result of the glacial action of the Quaternary which is recognized in the typically "U" shaped valleys and in the large still recognizable glacial cirques. Karst phenomena also contribute to defining the morphology of the group. The group is characterized by a complex system of backbones in the NNO and SSE senses which divides the area into three sub-zones:

• Northern sector;
• Central-Southern sector;
• South-Western sector.

The Central-Southern sector includes the major mountains of the group, culminating in Mount Carrier. It is characterized by two main ridges, the first of which connects Mount Porche with Mount Sibilla while the second completes an articulated path that goes from Mount Palazzo Borghese to Mount Prata touching the major peaks of the group.

The Northern sector includes Mount Bove, a limestone massif with imposing walls, and is limited by the Val d'Ambro and the Fiastrone Gorges.

The South-Western sector does not include mountains worthy of particular note but includes some of the most interesting geological formations of the Sibillini, such as the Piani di Castelluccio.

How to get

By plane

Falconara Marittima Airport

By car

Highways:

• A14: North Civitanova Marche exit; East Pedaso, Porto San Giorgio; South; S. Benedetto del Tronto.
• A1: Orte exit; Val di Chiana.

Ordinary viability:

• SS4 Salaria
• SS77 Val di Chienti
• SS78 Picena
• SS209 Valnerina.

On the train

Stations:

1. Station of Ascoli Piceno
2. Station of Spoleto
3. Castelraimondo-Camerino station

By bus

Bus lines:

• SSIT (Spoleto)
• START (Ascoli Piceno)
• STEAT (Stop)

How to get around

What see

What to do

Shopping

Where to eat

• Bella Napoli Restaurant (Loving it). 
• La Rimessa Pub (Loving it). 
• La gorbe and L'Ua (Loving it). 
• From Fernanda (Loving it). 
• Farmhouse Madonna di Piana (Loving it). 
• The Casolare (Loving it). 
• 42.9083313.306771 The Linden (Loving it, Isola San Biagio locality), ☎ 39 392 039 7238, @[email protected]. Restaurant. 
• Hotel Paradiso (Loving it). 
• Source of the Valley (Montefortino). 
• The Kiosk in the Woods (Montefortino, locality Ambro). 
• The Ara of the Queen, Via Ruffini (Pretare), ☎ 39 0736 804750. Restaurant and pizzeria. 
• From Horse, Via Subappennina, n. 129 (Pretare), ☎ 39 0736 804689. Restaurant, bar. 

Where stay

• Guest house Il Palazzo (Loving it). 
• Beautiful Naples (Loving it). 
• Hotel Paradiso (Loving it). 
• ^{[link not working]}B&B "Villa Caponi", Via Ruffini n. 6 (Pretare), ☎ 39 0736 44329, 39 349 6046085, @[email protected]. Double room at a cost of 50 euros, triple room at a cost of 70 euros per day including breakfast (September 2015). Pets are not allowed. 
• Pilato's hut. located in the heart of the Sibillini National Park. Rooms and holiday apartments. 

Safety

List of telephone numbers that can be useful during a stay:

• Carabinieri Command Station, Via Roma, 1C (Arquata del Tronto), ☎ 39 0736 809152. Arquata barracks. 
• State Forestry Corps, Via Bucciarelli, 11 / A, Borgo hamlet, Arquata del Tronto, ☎ 39 0736 809151, @[email protected]. Seat of the Regional Coordination of the State Forestry Corps - Ancona 

The Ascoli Piceno Alpine Rescue can be contacted via the single national health emergency number 118.

How to keep in touch

Around

• Ascoli Piceno - It is known as the City of a hundred towers. Its historic center is famous for having houses, palaces, churches, bridges and elevated towers in travertine. Here, history and architectural styles have settled their passage from the Roman age to the Middle Ages, up to the Renaissance. Artists such as Cola dell'Amatrice, Lazzaro Morelli, Carlo Crivelli, Giosafatti and other talented sculptors, stonecutters, painters have left a mark of their talent. It welcomes one of the most beautiful squares in Italy: Piazza del Popolo, center of cultural and political life, framed by arcades with loggias, Palazzo dei Capitani and Caffè Meletti. Every year in August the Quintana is held there, a historical re-enactment in costume with a procession and competition of six knights vying for the conquest of the Palio.
• Amateur - A town in the province of Rieti, it can be reached by taking the SS4 in the Arquatano area towards Rome and turning right at the crossroads that indicates it. It is home to the agri-food hub of the Gran Sasso Monti della Laga National Park and famous for Amatriciana sauce. Of particular interest are the 13th century civic tower, the church of Sant'Agostino with a late Gothic portal and bell towers. The interior is rich in frescoes among which the Annunciation and the Madonna with Child and Angels stand out. The Sant'Emidio church, dating back to the fifteenth century. The "Nicola Filotesio" Civic Museum of sacred art set up in the church of Sant'Emidio.
• Norcia —Norcia lies on the plateau of Santa Scolastica, on the edge of the Sibillini Mountains which mark the border between Umbria and Marche. It was a center of the Sabines and came under Roman rule at the beginning of the third century. In 480, San Benedetto, founder of the Benedictine monastic order, was born there. It was later a possession of the Lombard dukes who had their headquarters in Spoleto. It became a free municipality in the 13th century and retained its independence until 1354, when it was confiscated in the Papal States.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Sibillini Mountains
• Commons contains images or other files on Sibillini Mountains

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