Journey. A word that stirs memories and strong emotions in each of us. You set off with or without a destination, with luggage or without, with expectations or not. You come back laden with memories, with experience, sometimes with cultural notions, knowledge or deep human wisdom. The journey in the mountains, as I've already said, also enriches our spiritual and inner world.
Discovery
The middle mountains, dotted with woods, clearings, tall beech woods or low scrub, are the best place to allow yourself a moment of exploration and discovery. Messner maintains that in the mountains everything has by now been tried. Speak for yourself... most illustrious, most respectable duke of the mountains. But we ordinary citizens can still measure ourselves against exploration. Many places, especially in the Apennines, on the eastern slopes of the Gran Sasso or of the Monti della Laga. At mid altitude, in the most out-of-the-way hollows of the Monti Ernici and the Simbruini, it's still possible to launch yourself into real explorations.
It's true that the whole world has been explored, many territories have been crossed. It's also true that by now we have photos of every kind of every single place on the planet. It would seem that no more discovery is possible. Instead I believe that discovery is an individual matter. Discovery counts for oneself... Some time ago I put forward the idea of setting off without a destination and without a map; this is just one of the ways of experiencing the mountains while still being able to make a "discovery". A dangerous provocation, of course, I'm well aware of that but... it says a lot about how much we can still do if we approach things in the right spirit.
Cultural discovery.
How many little mountain villages can leave us enchanted. How many are already sadly deserted. Each of them has a particular charm. Like the village of Frattura Vecchia (an old hamlet of Scanno). You can still breathe the scent of times gone by; you walk through the empty streets and have the impression of hearing the voices of the people of long ago.
There are villages like Opi dell'Alto Sangro or like Santo Stefano di Sessanio. These are already better-known names, as are Pietracamela at the foot of the Gran Sasso or Amatrice at the foot of the Laga.
There are dozens of chances to discover an Italy that is disappearing.
Taking our children, our friends, hiking groups to visit them should be a more frequent habit. If we can't bring life, work and people back to the mountains, we must start again by bringing tourism. It should be everyone's commitment: groups, associations, guides and leaders. A mountain hike can easily be combined with a visit to the old village.
Families should give up the Sunday spent in a shopping centre, perhaps in favour of a Mass attended in a mountain village. Whether you're believers or not, the charm of a church, with its weight of history, can only give a dimension to your past. Something the shopping centre really can't do.
You come home with a wealth of culture, of knowledge and of personal growth of great value.
Mountains are little dirt roads, paths, mule tracks...
Mountains are wayside shrines, churches, crosses and little Madonnas...
Mountains are the most Beautiful villages in Italy... and in the world...
Mountains are the old man sitting outside the bar... every wrinkle speaks of winters spent in the cold.
Mountains are the thousand faces of the seasons.
Mountains are the endless varieties of flowers, herbs, shrubs and trees...
Mountains are granites, sandstones and fossils of every kind...
Mountains are a berry, a mushroom, an old tree trunk...
Mountains are a cave, an old mill, the carcass of a dead horse fallen into the ravine...
Mountains are a waterfall, a lake, the stream of icy, clear water...
The variety of experiences you can have in the mountains knows no bounds.
Photo gallery
