Peloritani

A pine forest in the territory of Mili San Pietro, in the comune of Messina.

The Peloritani (Template:Lang-it) are a mountain range of north-eastern Sicily, in southern Italy, extending for some 65 km from Capo Peloro to the Nebrodi Mountains. At North and West they are bordered by the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, respectively.

The highest peaks are the Montagna Grande (1,374 m) and the Rocca Novara (1,340 m). The range is made up by a long series of peaks, with an average height of 800-1,000 m, intermingled with ridges and ravines. The deep gorges houses numerous streams, often full of deprises in their inferior flow. The most common rocks are of igneous and metamorphic origin. Sandstone soils are also present. Of unusual origin are the rocks of the Argimusco plateau.

Vegetation include holm oak, oak, cork oak, beech, pine and chestnut, which once formed large forests but are now, mostly due to the human presence, reduced to sparse woods, so that the landscape is largely steppe-like. Several pine woods have been reconstituted by the local authorities starting from the 1950s.