The Giants of the Sila

Centuries-old black pines in the Fallistro reserve

In the heart of the Sila plateau, in the municipality of Spezzano della Sila, near Camigliatello Silano, lies one of the most extraordinary natural places in Calabria: the Riserva Naturale Biogenetica dei Giganti della Sila, also called "Giganti di Fallistro", a small wood where some sixty enormous Calabrian black pines (pino laricio) and a few maples grow, about 350 years old, planted according to tradition in the seventeenth century by the barons Mollo, owners of the land, around a hunting lodge. These trees, the "Giants", reach a height of up to 45 metres and a trunk diameter of nearly two metres, so large that several people are needed to embrace them, and they are among the tallest and oldest trees in Italy.

Since 2016, the reserve has been entrusted to the FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano), which takes care of it and organises visits, guided by a short path among the trees, with panels illustrating the history of the wood and the ecology of the pine. Walking among these silent colossi, with the scent of resin, the light filtering through the branches and the ground covered with needles, gives a feeling of great peace and smallness, an encounter with a forest that has seen centuries of history. The Sila was once covered with forests like this, but centuries of logging have reduced them; the Giganti are a living testimony of the ancient "Silva Brutia". In the surroundings, the village of Camigliatello Silano offers restaurants with mushroom dishes and the cheeses and cured meats of the Sila.

Tip: the reserve has a small entrance fee and seasonal opening times: check them on the FAI website before you go.

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