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ganbarie |
| GAMBARIE , amid thick woods, is a fully fledged holiday town, used as a skiing resort in the winter and a cooling-off place for overheated reggini (from Reggio) in the summer. There is a ski slope from the top of Monte Scirocco (1660m), connected by a sporadically working chair lift, and a small choice of hotels , including the surprisingly good-value Grande Albergo Gambarie in Piazzale Miramare (tel 0965.743.012; L90,000-120,000/46.48-61.98). Ask here or at any of Gambarie's larger hotels about rental facilities for skiing equipment. When the mountain is not snowbound, Gambarie is also a good base for walks in the area: for Aspromonte's highest peak, Montalto (1955m), start down along the SS183 towards Melito, turning off left after three or four kilometres onto a broken road, after which it's another 16km to the top, marked by a bronze statue of Christ gazing steadily out over the Straits of Messina - a memorable view. If you still have any energy there is another track that descends steeply for another 10km to the santuario of Madonna di Polsi , inhabited only by the monks of the monastery there. A large fair takes place here every year on the first two days of September - an unashamedly pagan event that involves the slaughter and sale of large numbers of goats. The monastery can put you up, or else camp in the area. |