Inside this reserve is a cave called the Grotta Regina, and it was already in use in the early Neolithic for sacred rites. Thousands of years later, when Palermo was Phoenician and Punic, the same cavity had become a sanctuary dedicated to Isis. The gods change, the language of the people praying changes, the cave stays the same.
What to see
The reserve was set up in 2001 and covers some five hundred and eighty-six hectares at the north-western tip of the city. It is essentially Monte Gallo, an isolated carbonate massif linking the gulf of Mondello to that of Sferracavallo. The inland side looks over the Conca d'Oro; the seaward side ends on the Tyrrhenian in cliffs hundreds of metres high, which the sea has hollowed into caves. Among them is the Grotta dell'Olio, at Malu Passu, reachable only from the sea: a rounded chamber some twenty metres across under a dome about ten metres high, which more than one source compares to the Blue Grotto of Capri.
On the rocky shore grow the plants that stand salt, sea fennel and sea lavender, including a rare Palermo endemic; in spring the yellow horned poppy comes into flower. The southern slope is arid ampelodesma prairie, the northern one Mediterranean scrub: dwarf palm, lentisc, caper, myrtle, thyme, sumac, with surviving patches of holm oak wood. On the sheer walls live pinpoint endemics, among them a chamomile and a hawkweed that carry the mountain's name. The animals include fox, wild rabbit, the Sicilian shrew, the peregrine falcon and, in the old drinking troughs, the green toad that is the reserve's emblem. The sea between Capo Gallo and Isola delle Femmine is a marine protected area, with Posidonia meadows on the seabed.
Visiting
There are three ways in. The eastern one starts at the Mondello tower and follows the coast to the Capo Gallo lighthouse, but you have to pay: the ownership of the path is claimed by a private individual, despite protests and lawsuits brought by the city, and the expropriation has been planned for years with no result. The western access is from contrada Barcarello, at Sferracavallo. The two land routes do not meet, so much of the reserve can only be reached from the sea; in that central stretch naturism is common. In summer the easy spots are crowded. Half a day.
Our editors' tip
Look at the tall feathery grass covering half a slope, with pinkish plumes. It is not Sicilian: it is a North African grass brought to Palermo's botanical garden to be tested as a forage plant. It escaped, and today it has spread by itself across much of the island. You are looking at an agricultural experiment that got out of the enclosure and won.