![Pizzo Russa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Pizzo_Russa._Peloritani%2C_Sicilia.JPG)
The Peloritani (
Sicilian: , it, Monti Peloritani) are a mountain range of north-eastern
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, in southern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, extending for some from
Capo Peloro
Faro Point (Italian ''Punta del Faro'') is the northeastern promontory of Sicily situated in Messina district at northeast of the city.
The village is connected to the city center by two ATM bus lines: line 32 (Ponte Gallo - Mortelle - Terminal M ...
to the
Nebrodi
The Nebrodi ( scn, Munti Nèbbrudi; it, Monti Nebrodi, ; la, Nebrōdēs montēs) is a mountain range that runs along the north east of Sicily. Together with the Madonie and the Peloritani, they form the Sicilian Apennines.
The mountains run ...
Mountains. On the north and east they are bordered by the
Tyrrhenian and
Ionian Seas respectively, and on the south by the
Alcantara River
The Alcantara ( scn, Alcàntara) is a river in Sicily, southern Italy. It has its source on the south side of Monti Nebrodi and its mouth in the Ionian Sea at Capo Schiso in Giardini-Naxos. The river is long.
The name ''Alcantara'' is of Arabic ...
.
The highest peaks are the Montagna Grande (), the
Rocca di Novara
The Rocca di Novara (also called “Rocca di Salvatesta” and “Cervino di Sicilia”) is a peak in the Peloritani mountains, situated in the northeastern part of Sicily, between the territories of Novara di Sicilia and Fondachelli-Fantina f ...
(), the
Pizzo di Vernà
Pizzo di Vernà (also known as Montagna di Vernà, Pizzo Polo, Muntagna i Po) (1287 m) is a peak of the Peloritani Mountains, located in the province of Messina, Sicily. It is located in the South Western part of the Peloritani range in the te ...
(), the Monte Poverello () and the
Monte Scuderi
Monte Scuderi ( high) is a mountain of the Peloritani range located in northeast Sicily. It boasts a flat rocky peak from where it's possible to view a superb panorama including the Strait of Messina, Mount Etna, the Aeolian Islands and the Cal ...
(). The range is made up of a long series of peaks, with an average height of , intermingled with ridges and ravines. The deep gorges house numerous streams that create the typical rivers of this land called , often full of
deprises in their inferior flow. The most common rocks are of
igneous
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...
and
metamorphic
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...
origin.
Sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
soils are also present. Of unusual origin are the
megaliths
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
rocks of the
Argimusco
One of the "megaliths" in the Argimusco plateau.
The Argimusco is a high plateau situated just north of Mount Etna in Sicily, southern Italy, between the Nebrodi and Peloritani Mountains. It lies within the boundaries of the communes of Montalb ...
plateau.
Vegetation includes
holm oak,
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
cork oak
''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...
,
beech,
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...
and
chestnut, which once formed large forests but are now, mostly due to human presence, reduced to sparse woods so that the landscape is largely
steppe-like. Several pine woods have been reconstituted by the local authorities since the 1950s.
An ancient path, , runs along the ridge line from
Monte Dinnammare
The Monte Dinnammare (1130 m) is the mountain that dominates the city of Messina on the eastern edge of Sicily, belonging to the Peloritani range. From its top it is possible to enjoy the panorama of the two seas, Ionian and Tyrrhenian, the A ...
above the
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily ( Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian S ...
to the
Rocca di Novara
The Rocca di Novara (also called “Rocca di Salvatesta” and “Cervino di Sicilia”) is a peak in the Peloritani mountains, situated in the northeastern part of Sicily, between the territories of Novara di Sicilia and Fondachelli-Fantina f ...
.
References
Mountain ranges of Italy
Mountains of Sicily
Mountain ranges of Sicily
{{Sicily-geo-stub