Sibillini Mountains
Sibillini Mountains - Italian National Park, spread over the ridge of the same name on an area of 714 km2. This mountainous region was declared a national park in 1993. A lot of legends exist about these local ones, so the park is also called the "machine mountain park".
According to legend, one of the Monti Sibillini lakes contains the body of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea, during whose reign they executed Jesus. According to one version, Pontius ordered the execution of Emperor Vespasian. After the body was taken away on a cart with bulls to these lands, and thrown into the lake.
It is believed that the clairvoyant Sibill lived in these mountains, which God punished for eternal wandering because she refused to recognize the Mother of God. Monte Vettor Peak is also called the "Rubina Sibyla Crown". Local residents claimed that Sibilla was a good fairy and went off the mountains with her whole retinue to dance with village guys and teach girls how to sew. By dawn, they had to return to the cave, otherwise they became ordinary mortals. However, once they completely forgot about the time and late saw that the Sun was beginning to rise. Then they ran to Mount Monte Vettor, crashing stone blocks on the way. Fairies entered the cave in time, and the road from the wreckage of the rocks, which they left behind is called "Tropa Fey".
Images of the cave on Mount Sibyl are available even on frescoes in the Vatican Museums. The abundance of legends gave rise to mass hearing. For example, it was believed that these mountains were suitable for the consecration of books of black magic, and the cave was called the "ad cave of Sibyla". Some scholars believe that pagans hid in this cave during the process of Christianization.
200 million years ago, on the site of Monti Sibillini Park, there was an ancient sea that dried up, leaving behind limestone mountains with the highest point of 2476 meters. An important role in the formation of the relief was played by glaciers, which gave the basis to glacial lakes. One of these lakes is Lake Pilate, the volume of water in which depends on precipitation and snowmelt. When the lake begins to dry, it will be divided into 2 lakes, hence the nickname "lake with glasses". A very rare crustacean also lives in Lake Pilate, because of which you can’t swim and come closer than 5 meters to the lake.
Fans of walking can take the route "Big Sibillin Ring", 120 km long and covering almost the entire park. On the way you can also ride a mountain bike. Places for relaxation are arranged along the entire length of the route: restaurants, places for an overnight stay and picnics. The route is divided into 9 stages, each of which is well marked. There are also various guides along the route.
In the Monti Sibillini National Park, I am very rich in flora and fauna. From animals here you can see wild cats, porcupines, wolves, roe deer, noble deer, and at times you can see a bear. Of the birds there are golden eagles, owls, sappes, partridges. Vegetation is typical of Apennine, with a predominance of deciduous trees at lower altitudes, which then give way to the beech forest.
