Vienna started on March 26th from Serre and step by step it is crossing Basilicata!
And now Vienna Cammarota, 72 years old, Ambassador of Archeoclub of Italy, has arrived in Castelluccio Inferiore where TODAY – WEDNESDAY 30 MARCH – at 10:30 am she will meet the city in the school complexes, accompanied by the mayor Paolo Campanella.
Among ancient postal routes of the 19th century, viceroys, villages with great cultural and popular traditions, the Via Regia delle Calabrie is the synthesis capable of enhancing Naturalistic Heritage and Historical Heritage by becoming Cultural Heritage of Italy!
“I arrived in Castelluccio Inferiore, with the mayor Paolo Campanella I met teachers and school managers. TODAY I will be at 10.30 am in schools to talk to the children about their Cultural Heritage. I thank the mayor who warned the population by giving ample news of my arrival. In the late afternoon I visited the San Giovanni spring and it was the mayor who guided me. The Pollino can be seen a lot in the Castelluccio area, while in the initial part in the Lauria area the area is very busy “. He said it a few minutes ago, Vienna Cammarota, Ambassador of Archeoclub of Italy who is attempting the feat at the age of 72 in crossing as many as 22 villages on the Via Regia delle Calabrie.
And now Vienna is crossing the Pollino National Park.
Here are the images while the mayor of Castelluccio Inferiore, Paolo Campanella, accompanies her to the Source of San Giovanni – https://wetransfer.com/downloads/2ffe7942f26681d5986f72a72ad0ba0c20220329220208/63636979d1e365f9694699662dc9032520220329220251/6d0253
Historical itineraries dedicated to the Napoleonic wars.
“In the Pollino Park it is possible to follow itineraries dedicated to the period in which Napoleon shocked the world by arriving with his humans in the villages and valleys of the Pollino, leaving an imprint in our memory and changing our history forever. For example, on March 9, 1806, the battle of Campotenese was held which saw the entire Bourbon army clash – said Giuseppe Cosenza, Environmental Hiking Guide – with the Napoleonic troops stationed in Southern Italy. It is possible to visit the San Martino Valley, the “French way”, the Bourbon Fort, the Campotenese Plateau, the Valico delle Teste, the Dirupata and Morano Calabro. And of great interest are also the urban trekking routes following the great historical events such as the itinerary that starts from the Ruggiero Castle, Sanctuary of the Armo, then continues through the historic center of Lauria Superiore, the Church of San Nicola di Mira, the Villa, the Ravita, and ends at the Church of San Giacomo in Lauria Inferiore.
From a naturalistic point of view, the Pollino National Park has rare natural environments. Eg Bosco Defense in the Pollino National Park is a locality, at about 800 m above sea level, which extends between the municipalities of Castelluccio Inferiore and Castelluccio Superiorewhere is Vienna Cammarota now, characterized by the presence of a wonderful forest of Cerro (Quercus Cerris) an oak with imposing and columnar specimens.
Here in Bosco Defense I have met the endemic several times Black SquirrelThe Green Peak, Woodpecker the mason, the beech marten. In the woods I found the quills of the porcupine, the footprints of the badger. Once I met a good group of deer, but the area is also frequented by roe deer and wolf. In the surrounding open spaces I often observe the Buzzard flying (Buteo buteo), the Red Kite (milvus milvus) and a few years ago I spotted the Biancone (Circaetus gallicus) which probably nests in this area.
From here there are also paths to reach the Madonna del Soccorso, the starting point for more demanding hikes such as Monte La Spine and Zaccana
Piano Ruggio, on the other hand, is a large plateau at an altitude between 1500 meters surrounded by important peaks: Timpa della Capanna, Timpone di Viggianello, Coppola di Paola (m. 1919), Monte Grattaculo and the majestic Serra del Prete (m. 2180) third peak higher than the Pollino Massif. Here I had my first adventure experience in nature. It is by far the most visited location in the Pollino National Park. For me it is an obligatory passage to reach Colle Impiso from where the most demanding excursions start or to climb one of the peaks that surround it.
Currently it is easily reachable from the Campotenese junction or from the towns of Rotonda, Viggianello and San Severino Lucano.
There is the Malvento path, where every year they accompany schools and families, which allow you to reach the panoramic terrace of the Belvedere from where you can admire the Loricati Pines that stand out on the rocky ridges of Timpone della Capanna and Serra del Prete. I also saw them here for the first time.
The prairies in spring are full of flowers and I can guide you to get to know the most important ones.
Currently the Refuge De Gasperi is closed, but behind the refuge in a wooden house it is possible to have a coffee and buy some kind. For me it is a must after a nice hike. Not far from the refuge, on the road there is a fountain, but it is also possible to reach the higher source “.
The Via Regia delle Calabrie, built at the end of the 18th century by the Bourbons, is truly a symbol of the importance of the Italian Cultural Heritage.
And all the villages have evidence of the Bourbon era.
“The Via Regia delle Calabrie represents a great opportunity for tourism development for the whole of Italy – concluded Luca Espositoarchitect, historian of the Cartography of the Kingdom of Naples, delegate Archeoclub of Italy to the Redevelopment Program of the Villages on the Via Regia delle Calabrie and author of the study: The Strada Regia delle Calabrie. Historical-cartographic reconstruction of the postal itinerary between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, from Naples to Castrovillari”Such as the stretch from Lauria to Castelluccio Inferiore, for example.
We find the small Chapel of S. Antonio marked on the map starting from 1877 and further evidence of the passage of the Cammino Regio along this route. Or the Abbey of S. Filippo, probably following a landslide event around the mid-nineteenth century. Remains of foundations and bearing walls of what must have been a large architectural system, today there are the animal shelters, in the agricultural land in which it falls, some testimonies of the inhabitants of the area describe the remains of a bell tower still visible up to 1940. Many of the works of art and friezes that adorned the church, following its destruction, were transferred to the nearby churches of Lauria and Nemoli. According to recent studies, the monastery was founded around the 10th century by Italian-Greek Basilian monks from Sicily and was dedicated to St. Philip of Agira, also revered by the Orthodox cult. Subsequently, starting from the 11th-12th century, the Act was entrusted to the large Benedictine monks as part of the project of the Roman church to slow down the Byzantine penetration into Italy. At times, particularly along the Galdo plain, it is a very demanding area also for the construction of a work such as the Via Regia delle Calabrie.
Yet the work was built and with numerous taverns, the rest areas of the past. For example, after Lauria the Taverna del Postiere.
Along the way there is an old Anas roadman’s house, still intact in its original appearance from the early twentieth century. On the facade you can still see the old acronym AASS (Autonomous State Roads Company) which dates back to the foundation of the body during the Fascist period (starting from the 1950s the body then took on its current name). The building is on two levels with a lateral body of shelter for vehicles, while on the back you can see another small building, not painted in red, with a beautiful stone entrance arch. It could be a nineteenth-century tavern, given that, almost completely hidden by the vegetation, an old stretch of road can be glimpsed at the edge of the building, left abandoned following the construction of the modern Provincial ramp. The road continues tortuously along the slopes of Mount Sabino, overcoming mountain spurs and small channels crossed thanks to numerous bridges, unfortunately completely hidden by the dense vegetation.
The Municipal Palace of Castelluccio Inferiore itself bears witness to the importance of the Via Regia delle Calabrie, as a building already indicated in the map of the time “.
And tomorrow Vienna Cammarota will be in the schools of Castelluccio Inferiore, at 10.30 am accompanied by the mayor of Castelluccio Inferiore, Paolo Campanella.
Cammarota of Vienna, 72, Ambassador of Archeoclub D’Italia is therefore crossing numerous villages that are located on the Via Regia delle Calabrie. Vienna left on March 26 from Serre, in the province of Salerno and crossed: Postiglione (Sa), Sicignano degli Alburni (Sa), Petina (Sa), Auletta (Sa), Pertosa (Sa), Polla (Sa), Atena Lucana (Sa), Sala Consilina (Sa), Padula (Sa), Montesano (Sa), Casalbuono (SA). On Sunday afternoon Vienna began to cross Basilicata with the villages of Lagonegro (Pz), Rivello (Pz), Nemoli (Pz). Now Vienna is near Lauria (Pz), then without difficulty it will try to reach Castelluccio Superiore (Pz), Castelluccio Inferiore (Pz) where it will arrive this afternoon. Wednesday Vienna Cammarota who is walking with the flags of Ukraine and Italy will approach Laino Borgo (Pz), then Rotonda (Pz) and will arrive in Morano Calabro (Cs) in the afternoon to finish the journey in Castrovillari (Cs) Saturday April 2, in Calabria.