'Allo stato brado' in the Sibillini mountains (an interview with Mauro Viale)

Montanaro circle is fortunate to collaborate with some special individuals and organisations that capture the heart of Le Marche like no one else, one of these people is Mauro Viale of Statobrado. Mauro and his team have put together a stunning set of itineraries for Montanaro circle that include some of Le Marche's best off the beaten track destinations and unique packages that offer something different. The following includes a recent short interview with Mauro.


Q: Please introduce yourself

A: Hi My name is Mauro Viale I'm 36 years old and live in Recanati in the province of Macerata, the city where the poet Giacomo Leopardi was born. I'm a nature guide and Mountain Bike Instructor. From 2004 until 2010 I worked for a cooperative of "green-Tourism", environmental education and trekking. Now my organization "Statobrado" works in the organization of trekking, mountain biking and excursions in Marche. The meaning of Statobrado in Italian is someone who is completely free, without laws or conventionality, for example when you see horses running free on green hills in Italian we say: cavallo allo stato brado....!!!

Q: What do specialise in?

A: I specialise in walking, trekking or cycle trips. I like to organize excursions in the great outdoors. In Marche we are lucky to have every kind of landscape like high mountain, the Appennino, the hills, rivers, the rural landscape and the sea...

Mauro Viale of Statobrado

Common Sibillini scene in the springtime.

 Q: What is special about the Sibillini National Park?
A: The Sibillini....are our mountains. They have something special, magic, it's so hard to explain... When I go there I feel the Nature, and life itself. The landscape changes from zone to zone, there are high mountains like Dolomiti, "strette gole scavate" by the river, the animals like wolf, "caprioli", squirrels, deer and one bear named Ulisse! But one of the most important things the Sibillini contains is its history and the people who live there from the past. We can find many medieval churches, monasteries, full of art. Another aspect is the culture of farmers or Sheppards.

Casteluccio in the Sibillini National Park.

Q: What is your favorite walk?

A: My favorite walk is the walk that I have never done...(laughs). But seriously, I think the area around Castelluccio in every condition and season is speacial and unique, summer, spring, autumn and winter, with snow. I have been going there for 20 years, but I'm never tired of visiting this location. I find something new there every time, the flowers, the wind, the smell, the light...Castelluccio has caught me.

A view of the Sibillini mountains from San Ginesio.

Mauro Viale will lead a weeklong walking trek from 23-30 June through the Sibilini national park which follows the “sentiero dei Mietitori” medieval path used for centuries in the process of harvesting corn, and staying at mountain lodges along the way. This walk transports one to a distant world where nature has never been superseded by "development". A night will be spent a refuge in the abandoned village Colle at 1000 meters altitude near the Gole of Infernaccio, otherwise known as hell's gorge, famous for the mysterious and spectacular sights of the junction between the highest wall of the Mount Sibilla and Mount Priora. The walk will continue onto to Forca di Presta, the famed coloured fields of Castelluccio which have inspired countless photographers and are at their most tear-jerkingly beautiful in June.

For more information on this walk see http://www.montanarocircle.com/the-mountain-way.php

For more information on Statobrado see http://www.statobrado.it/