Gelbison
Mount Gelbison, also called 'Monte Sacro' or Sacred Mountain ( 1705 metres high) is the highest peak in Cilento proper. A shrine stands on its top. Why was it built there? A legend says that some local shepherds had decided to build a small church down on the slopes of this mountain. The construction works came to a standstill, because the shepherds found that their work of the previous day was destroyed overnight
They decided to hire some night guardians to see who came to undo their work. One evening the guardians brought a lamb that they wanted to bake and eat, but the lamb ran up to the top and only stopped at the edge of a precipice where there was a wall with a niche with the statue of the Virgin Mary in it facing eastward. The astonished guardians came down to the Village of Novi Velia to report the event. When the bishop of Capaccio heard the news, he went up with two shepherds to check personally and then wanted to declare that a sacred place, but a voice resounded from above. 'this place is sacred and is dedicated to the angels'. This is the pious legend as reported by D.Bernardo Conte.
Anyway, the earliest historical information dates back to the year 1300 and some historians state that it was originally built in the second half of the X century by the Italo-Greek or basilian monks that moved to this area after Sicily was occupied by the Arabs.
Up to 1000 metres the mountain is overgrown with chestnut woods and above that height we can only find alder and beech woods. There are also elm and yew trees, juniper and mountain ash or strawberry trees, as well as a large number of herbs, shrub and mushrooms. There is a religious festival at the shrine on September 8, and another one is on August 15 in honour of the Virgin Mary's nativity and coronation. From the top the 320 degree view is really unique : you can see the indented coastline of the Thyrrenian sea with Sapri, Cape Palinuro, the gulf of Salerno, the gulf of Policastro, the ruins of the old Tower of Velia, the home town of Parmenides and Zeno, the whole of Cilento and the isle of Capri.
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