Bivongi
Ferdinandea: a territory rich in forests and history
Ferdinandea is a 3,600-hectare area located in the Calabrian Serre of the municipalities of Stilo, Bivongi, Brognaturo, Mongiana, and Serra San Bruno, offering an experience immersed in nature and history.
Geology and Geography
The area is almost entirely covered with beech and Abies forests and is located at the foot of the Serra di Chindilli. There are three streams running through Ferdinandea: Folea, L'Azzarola, and Stilaro. The climate of Ferdinandea is typical of a warm mountainous fagetum with annual rainfall of 2000 mm and a dry period from July to mid-September, with humidity always above 50% throughout the year. The flora consists mainly of Abies alba, beech, and Pinus resinosa, but there are also chestnut, oak, and poplar trees. The territory has five springs of the Stilaro, Assi, and the torrents Ruggero, Don Luca, and Mula.
History
Ferdinandea takes its name from the "Royal Foundry Ferdinandea," dating back to the 18th century, located in the territory of Stilo at an altitude of 1061 meters. In 1833, Ferdinando II of Bourbon inaugurated the new ironworks built on the ruins of the "Ironworks of the Church Plain," giving the area its name in his honor. The ironworks were used to produce pig iron in support of the Mongiana ironworks, reachable through a tratturo. The barracks, residential and administrative buildings, stables, and barns were built.
With the birth of the Italian state, the Italian government sold all the steel mills and forests in the surrounding area at an auction won by the former Garibaldian and later parliamentarian of the new kingdom, Achille Fazzari, in 1874. Fazzari tried to reactivate the iron center closed at the beginning of the Kingdom of Italy for political reasons, but in the end, he abandoned the Mongiana assets due to the absence of help from the government and converted everything into an agricultural-pastoral company. He devoted himself to the Ferdinandea area, where there was the production of mineral water, a small hydroelectric power plant, and sawmills. In the late nineteenth century, two railway lines were also built, one of which, 20 km long, started from the Cerasella locality, passing through Ferdinandea and reaching the Caulonia fraction in Ziia. For forty years, Ferdinandea became an important economic center in Calabria. Matilde Serao was a guest of the area.
Today
Currently, the area is a destination for tourists who wish to visit the Bourbon villa and the ironworks, as well as hiking on the trails marked by the Italian Alpine Club. The area offers a perfect blend of nature and history with its wooded landscape and historic architecture. An experience that is difficult to forget.
