Woodland
covers all the slopes from 500m up to the summits (approximately 1500m),
and the varying altitudes have favoured the growth of various kinds of
trees which can be used in different ways. The hill areas are populated
mainly by broad-leafed trees: manna-ash, maple, chestnut, oak, hazel,
etc. Higher up, from 800m upwards, there are beech, but also silver fir
and Austrian pine, which have recently been introduced in wood planting
projects. Lower down, the most familiar tree is the cypress, which for
centuries has been chosen as a reference point to indicate a country parish
church, a chapel, the entrance to a villa, or the route of a track along
the ridge of a hill.
The wood craftsmen drew their primary material from the wood of these
trees - chestnut, walnut, cherry, maple, elm, olive, but also fir,
pine, etc., - and their expert hands transformed it into diverse forms.
Translated by Jeremy Carden
Picture by Kee-Ho Casati |