Calabria

Calabria is located at the very south of the Italian Peninsula, making up the "toe" of Italy's famed 'boot". It boarders with Basilicata and Puglia, the three commonly known as the Mezzogiorno region.  The region is a long and narrow peninsula which stretches 248km north to south and 110km from east to west.

 

Calabria is surround by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, and is separated from Sicily by the strait of Messina..

 

Almost 50 percent of Calabria's area is mountanious in nature with only approximately nine percent of the land area level plains. There are three mountain ranges within Calabria: Pollino; La Sila and Aspromonte. All three maountain ranges have their own distinct flora and fauna, with some heavily wooded, whilst others are vast with little vegetation.

 

The Pollino Mountains in the north region are rugged and form a natural barrier separating Calabria from the rest of Italy. The rare Bosnian Pine can be found in the Pollino National Park. The mountains make this region quite cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Sila mountain range is a mountainous range of many lakes and dense coniferous forests. It is 1 200 metres above sea level and stretches nearly 2000 square kilometres along central Calabria. The highest point, Botte Donato is 1 928 metres above sea level.

 

The Aspromonte massif is located on the southermost tip of the peninsula and is surrond by sea on three sides. It reaches 1 995 metres above sea level and is dotted by man-made terraces for farming that slope downwards to the sea. The climate in this region is Mediterranean, with mild rainy winters and hot dry summers.

 

In general, most of the lower terrain in Calabria has been agricultural for centuries, and exhibits indigenous scrubland as well as introduced plants such as the prickly pear cactus. The lowest slopes are rich in vineyards and citrus fruit orchards. The Diamante citron is one of the citrus fruits. Moving upwards, olives and chestnut trees appear while in the higher regions there are often dense forests of oak, pine, beech and fir trees.