Beech of the King-Hope
From Faggio del Re, an evocative location in the heart of the Serre, we immerse ourselves in the Marchesale Biogenetic Reserve, an unavailable state heritage site, the mountainous slopes of Mount Arrugiato and the upper Mesimadaranno river basin step alocalità “La Speranza.”
Route info
MUNICIPALITIES AFFECTED: Arena (VV), Acquaro (VV), Fabrizia (VV)
DEPARTURE: King’s Beech SP 9, Fabrizia (VV)
ARRIVAL: King’s Beech SP 9, Fabrizia (VV)
PATH TIMES: about 4 h A/R, about 2 h 30 A, about 1 h 30 R
DISTANCE: 13 km.
DEVELOPMENT: 340 m
MAXIMUM ALTITUDE: 1,162 m above sea level.
MINIMUM ALTITUDE: 822 m above sea level.
DIFFICULTY: medium
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Description
Mountains covered with centuries-old beech and fir trees, springs and green meadows, fascinating vistas that are clothed in something magical when fog envelops them. It is said that King Ferdinand of Bourbon often frequented these places because of the abundance of game, and he is credited with the name given to the starting location of this route. We do not know the reason behind the second toponym, which remains no less evocative, however, “the Hope.”
To reach Faggio del Re from the A2 SA/RC highway, we take the exit for Vazzano and head toward Serra San Bruno and Mongiana. Once we reach the mountain we continue to the Marchesale Biogenetic Reserve (we will find signs along the way). Having passed the Monte Crocco pass, we find ourselves on SP 9 to Laureana di Borrello, just before Faggio del Re locality, which has a forestry barracks with a fenced picnic area on the left and the ruins of a second barracks on the right, we leave the car. On the right, relative to the direction of travel to Laureana, there is a small natural-bottomed road with a wooden fence. This is the starting place of our itinerary. We take the small road nestled among beech and fir forests and with banishment signs hunting along the per-course. After about 15 minutes we will reach the “Pietra Tonda” forestry barracks, a one-story building with red fixtures, nestled in predominantly larch pine forest. A little further on we will find a fork in the road. We take the road to the right. Along the way we will find several small roads, often closed by bars, let’s avoid them by staying on the main path until we reach a small clearing, here we take the branch off to the left. After about 40 minutes we will find the presence of wooden fences again at the junction to the ruins of the “Jocà” barracks, we continue to descend continuing to the left. A dirt road characterized by the presence of a manhole will cut perpendicularly our path, we bend to the left. Moving forward we will reach a paved road. We are located in the “Cerasara” locality of Arena. We turn left and, at the next fork, take the dirt road again, which in about 15 minutes will take us to “La Speranza” picnic area. Here we can stop, quench our thirst and rest before resuming our return journey by taking the dirt road in front of the “La Speranza” forestry barracks.
LARICIO
When we talk about how the special conditions of this land have created distinctive and valuable ecotypes, we should not limit ourselves to thinking only of white spruce. Along the way we will often encounter real colonnades formed by brown-gray plates. We are talking about the larch pine, a subspecies of Pinus nigra. This variety, most widely found in Calabria itself, on the Silan plateau in extensive forests recorded by Pliny, Livy and Virgil, has been differentiated in ancient times. Over the course of the various ice ages, the black pine, a northern species, extended its range southward. As the glaciers receded, many specimens remaining in the southern mountains, no longer having relationships with plants of the same species, began an evolution that led them to take on distinctive characters. In fact, this species is more slender, can reach well over 40-50 meters, provides better quality lumber, and is more durable and adaptable to different temperatures and soils than black pine. Today the larch or silane pine, along with the Byzantine cross, the enhanced cross, and the Doric capital, is one of the symbols of Calabria.
VOLPE
There are few species in the animal kingdom that possess such a strong and ambivalent presence in the human imagination as the fox. This small mammal, despite being classified as a carnivore, has a fairly varied diet that also includes blackberries and apples when in season. Foxes tend to have a very obsessive attitude toward food and rarely share it with other specimens, so they tend to hunt alone and tend to hide the surplus in many small hiding places. They are thought to act this way so as not to risk losing the entire stock at once.
Great adaptability, there are 24 different species in the wild, they manage to live in a variety of environments from Vulpes barbara in West Africa to Alopex lagopus in the Arctic. More than any other animal, the fox symbolizes cunning. An example? She often pretends to be dead in order to attract prey to herself.
FRAGARIA VESCA
There is a living relationship between food and land, which in the Greenhouses is expressed in flavors and aromas that are rich in contrasts and often recall the woods. Fragaria vesca, more commonly called wild strawberry, is a clear example. This wild undergrowth species is the basis for the production of one of the delicacies of these areas: the well-known “Fragolino” liqueur with its gentle and tasty flavor. Along the way we will come across many of these plants that, when in optimal vegetative condition, spread out in the form of colorful colonies filling the air with their intense fragrance.
POLYPODIUM
It will happen, along the way, to cross wet and shady areas due to the presence of streams or spring waters. It is here, perhaps by fallen trees or clinging to a cliff, we will find polypodium. Among ferns, this species is known as sweet fern, false licorice or mountain licorice because its slender roots taste akin to true licorice. Polypodium is laxative, anticatarrhal, expectorant and emollient. If you look at the underside, you will notice small circular buttons called sori, containing the sporangia, structures in which spores form.