Foreword
Francesco Alaimo
Having been dwelt since the remotest times the Madonie territory bears vivid signs of Man's persisting action upon it; signs which are evidente of the intimate relationship between landscape and culture. Merging Heritage and Nature, the Madonie District represents the outcome of that secular interaction between the physical components of the land and the symbols that Man has chosen to engrave upon it.
This is ONE of the Island's prime mountain ranges, second in elevation only to Etna, and endowed with such extraordinary landscape and natural resources that it is now a Regional Natural Park.
The District's notable extension, coupled with the varying geomorphologic, climatic conditions and local history thus allows us to recognise at least three sub-zones within the limits of the Natural Park. While the Higher Madonie tower at the very heart of the District, smooth clayey hills gently bridge the Southern front of the range to the chalky Central Sicilian Plateau; to the North of the Centrai Massif, lie the low hills and the Tyrrhenian plain.
The carbonate peaks soaring up to 2000 metres is what makes the environment of the Higher Madonie so original. The vegetation in the high peaks changes according to height and exposure to the elements. While the north coastal side is more intensively populated and dominated by crups, that of the high peaks is rich in extensive and well preserved woods: Mediterranean scrub Land and bushes, found along gorges and rivers, oak and becch woods.
Some individual areas such as Monte Quacella, Vallone Madonna degli Angeli, Piano Pomo, Pizzo Carbonara, are of extraordinary naturalistic rele vance, be it fur the high concentration of local species as well as for the Karstic phenomenon characteristic of the higher central massif peaks.
To the South - where the Madonie meet the central Sicilian plateau - the profiles smooth off, the geology changes to clay and chalk and woods give way to a more rugged landscape, typical of the more remote arcas of central Sicily.
The Tyrrhenian coastlinc of the Madonie complex is particularly interesting. For the most part it is characterised by a high toast with narrow beaches interspersed with alluvial plains and wide beaches.
Apart from the conspicuous portion of the actual Park, a good part of the remaining territory is also a heritage and /or nature reserve. Thus, any visi tor to the Madonie district should take into account the natural resources as well as the art /historical ones of each town. Any project to promote the area should set off from the awareness of three two basic ingredients: historical memory and respect for the environment.
It is, in fact, impossible to think of a geographical area in terms other than a union of natural and monumental resources.
