Sila - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

SILA, a mountainous forest district of Calabria, Italy, to the E. of Cosenza, extending for some 37 m. N. to S. and 25 m. E. to W. The name goes back to the Greek period, and then probably belonged to a larger extension of territory than at present. In ancient times these mountains supplied timber to the Greeks for shipbuilding, the forests have given way to pastures to some extent; but a part of them, which belongs to the state, is maintained. Geologically these mountains, which consist of granite, gneiss and mica schist, are the oldest portion of the Italian peninsula; their culminating point is the Botte Donato (6330 ft.), and they are not free of snow until the late spring. They are very rarely explored by travellers.