Pian dell'Elmo: Monte San Vicino
This mountain has a special feature: seen from the south it has a camel hump shape, from the north it has a triangle shape and from the east or west it looks like an extinct volcano. On some photos taken in circumstances of special visibility from the coast of Croatia, Mount San Vicino is easily recognized.
At the top of the mountain is a large iron cross. On Easter Monday, residents from neighboring villages always go for a picnic with Easter pizzas and cold cuts at the top of the mountain.
Since time immemorial there has been a proverb linked to the San Vicino, which helped predict the climate in winter. There are two versions of the proverb. The first is: If San Vicino puts on his hat, sell goats and buy the cloak; if San Vicino puts on his breeches, sell the cloak and buy the goats. The hat and the breeches are the clouds that respectively cover either the top of the mountain or the base, leaving the top visible; in the first case it is expected to rain, in the second it will be good weather.
The second version is that of the elders of Frontale di Apiro, the last village on the slopes of the mountain, and is perhaps the most truthful: if San Vicino puts on his hat, sell the goat and buy the cloak; as San Vicino unravels, sell the cloak and buy the goat. The village elders say that the hat does not refer to the clouds, but to the first snowfall of the winter: if it covers only the upper part of the mountain (like a hat!) Then the winter will be cold and harsh (sell the goat and buy the cloak); if, on the other hand, the first snowfall is minimal, meaning that it will "widen too much", the snow will not only affect the top of the mountain, but also the city (sell the cape and buy the goat because the winter will not be bleak).
It has been considered by sailors and fishermen of the Adriatic Sea in recent centuries as a reference and orientation because the mountain is clearly visible from the coast.
Contact
- Unione montana Potenza Esino Musone
Viale Mazzini 29, 62027 San Severino Marche - +39-0733-637246
- www.riservamontesanvicino.it
Other
- From the parking lot on top of the mountain, a signposted walking path (approximately 45 ') runs to the cross at the top.