Mount Limbara (

Gallurese Gallurese () is a Romance languages, Romance dialect of the Italo-Dalmatian languages, Italo-Dalmatian family spoken in the region of Gallura, northeastern Sardinia. Gallurese is variously described as a distinct southern dialect of Corsican lang ...

: ''Monti di Limbara'', ) is a rocky granitic massif in northeastern

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is located in the geographical and historical region of

Gallura Gallura ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...

. Its highest peak is Punta Sa Berritta (1,362 m above sea level). Its area belongs to the

comuni A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

of Calangianus,

Tempio Pausania Tempio Pausania (; ) is a town of about 14,000 inhabitants in the Gallura region of northern Sardinia, Italy, in the province of Sassari. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). History Cultural and de ...

Berchidda Berchidda (; ; ) is an communes of Italy, Italian commune in the province of Sassari, region and island of Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southwest of Olbia. It is located near Lake Coghinas in a hilly area bordered on the ...

and

Oschiri Oschiri (Gallurese language, Gallurese: ''Óscari'', ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and former bishopric in the Province of Sassari in the Italy, Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southwest of Olbia. As of 31 ...

, in the

province of Olbia-Tempio The province of Olbia-Tempio (; ; ) was a province in the autonomous region of Sardinia, Italy. It had two provincial capitals, Olbia (58,723 inhabitants) and Tempio Pausania (14,342 inhabitants). As of 2015, the province had a total population o ...

. The flora of Mount Limbara estimated to 1,147 taxa grouped in 46 orders, 120 families and 486 genera. The wildlife of the mount includes

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

martens A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family (biology), family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark bro ...

weasels Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender b ...

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, and the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domest ...

, wild cats, Sardinian hare, wild rabbits,

Bonelli's eagle Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an expl ...

and

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

History

The name could derive from the Latin ''Limes Balares'' ("Boundary of the Balares"), given it by the Romans as it marked the frontier with the territory still in the hands of the

Balares The Balares were one of the three major groups among which the Nuragic Sardinians considered themselves divided (along with the Corsi and the Ilienses). History Pausanias in his work ''Periegesis'' speculated that the Balares were the descen ...

, a late Nuragic tribe. Mount Limbara was affected by a major forest fire in 1936 and its

cork oaks ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores ...

woods were replaced with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

s, after a work of reforestation. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

giant sequoias ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...

were planted as well.

Cold War communications center

On the top of the massif, a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

U.S. Air Force

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

Communications Relay Station and a

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

barracks were located. Six original antenna dishes remain. Today it is used as a telecommunications center for the

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

and a

heliport A heliport is a small airport which has a helipad, suitable for use by helicopters, powered lift, and various types of vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also hav ...

for the Servizio Antincendi. It is also the location of all the major TV relay stations of West Sardinia.

References

{{Authority control Limbara