Aspromonte

Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the province of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, southern Italy). The name means "rough mountains," so named by the farmers who found its steep terrain and rocky soil difficult to cultivate. It overlooks the Strait of Messina, being limited by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas and by the Pietrace river. The highest peak is the Montalto (1,956 m). The constituing rocks are mostly gneiss, and mica schists, which form characteristic overlapping terraces. The massif is part of the Aspromonte National Park.

In the short coastal strip citrus fruits, vine and olives are grown, while at high elevations the vegetation is composed mostly by oak and holm oak under the 1,000 m, and by pine, Sicilian fir and beech over it. Olive trees grow in abundance. Also, the rare bergamot, the lemony-yellow fruit used in perfumes and flavoring for Earl Grey tea, only grows in the southern Aspromonte.

Points of attraction include the Gambarie ski resort (1,311 m) and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi, in the "comune" of San Luca. Part of the population has retained Greek culture and language (the so-called Griko language).

Giuseppe Garibaldi, landing here with 3,000 volunteers in his march towards Rome, was defeated and captured on August 29 1862 in the Battle of Aspromonte.