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The province of Calabria, in Southern Italy, boasts miles and miles of seashore, and offers a mild climate for long periods even in late autumn and winter. Calabria's great native poet Franco Costabile characterized this with the phrase "winter hot  as milk". Its rough and mountainous territory is crossed by rivers and streams. One can find many medicinal herbs and spices and various specimens of edible mushrooms in autumn. The micro-climate of the Calabrian mountains is influenced by the surrounding sea and generates a rare and unique biosphere.  The Pino Loricato, an ancient tree,  often called a ‘living fossil’,  is found among the rocks of the Pollino Mountains.  On the Sila slopes, near Camigliatello,  another variety of tree, the Pino Silano, grows in its own reserve, The Giants of Fallistro.

Food
Calabrian cuisine begins with the olive tree whose fruit gives the extra virgin oil which is the base for all preparations in the kitchen.  The vegetables grow throughout the summer and they are preserved in the fall to be enjoyed year round -  tomatoes transformed into sauce,  eggplants, hot peppers,  ammaccate olives, sun-dried tomatoes, pumpkins,  Tropean onions, called ‘ the velvet of the ground’. From Roman times one can enjoy cake recipes, some made with figs, some made with honey, others made with raisins.  These ancient recipes never call for sugar as it did not exist in Calabria 2000 years ago.

Foresta Sottana operates under the auspices of AIAB, the italian organisation member of IFOAM, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE MOVEMENTS, which guarantees the genuineness of its products and the equilibrium of the present ecosystem.The farm overlooks the Busento River valley, where in 410 AD Alaric, King of the Visigoths, was buried. Paths leading down to the river offer challenging exercise for both cyclists and hikers.    The area around Dipignano is of great interest for its quaint villages and churches dating back to the Middle Ages.  You can go upstream to reach the romantic historical centre of Domanico, where a 13th century church overlooks the valley.  The province of Cosenza is easily explored by car,  and features the Park of Monte Pollino, the Sila mountains, forests and beautiful lakes.  The Tyrrhenian Sea is on its Western shore and the Ionian Sea to the east.  Beaches are quite accessible and well organized.

Agriturismo La Foresta Sottana C.da Foresta - 87045 Dipignano (Cosenza) P.I. 01946550785