History and teachings
The Madonie UNESCO Global Geopark is located in Sicily, in the middle of the Mediterranean region, among the most beautiful landscapes of special interest from a geologic and geomorphologic, as well as from a didactic, point of view. Its position in the central portion of the Sicilian Apennine, its geological-structural arrangement and the morpho-dynamic processes acting in it make this mountain group a fundamental area for knowledge and reconstruction of the geological history of the Apennine-Maghrebine chain and hence of the central Mediterranean. Because of these characteristics, the Madonie have constituted and continue to constitute an exceptional study area, as well a teaching “gymnasium” for generations of university students in geological sciences and natural history.

Cross-cultural dimensions
The Madonie UNESCO Global Geopark preserves a very rich and rare natural heritage. In a very small area, about 2 percent of the surface area of Sicily, over half of the species of the most evolved flora grows: about 2,600 plants, almost the same number as the species present in Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. In Madonie there are also hundreds of endemic plants which are unique in the world; often there are very few exemplars of these, so that they risk extinction. Equally interesting are the signs left by man in the landscape: fields, watercourses, village and hamlets bear witness to the thousand ways in which communities have lived in Madonie, leaving indelible prints there and expressing the intrinsic reasons of a culture. All these elements are constantly used by three Environmental Education and Interpretation Centers, recognised by Madonie UNESCO Global Geopark, where pedagogical activities are performed for schools and adults.

Useful information:
recommended for all; general; doesn’t require prior knowledge; accessible; affordable

Located in Sicily. It is a regional natural park with free entrance. Accessible by car. Accesible for disabled (guided tours organised by the association “Madonie a passo lento”). Safety meausures covered.