More than thirty years have passed since, as young dreamers, with the spirit of pilgrims and the determination of pioneers, we set out from Monte Scirocco to undertake the "journey" in the body and soul of the Aspromonte, the mountain of kidnappings, the demon to be destroyed. Thus, between the 1980s and 1990s, as labeled by the mass media, which preferred to address the heinous phenomenon of kidnappings with slogans, simplifications, and mystifications, rather than tedious and demanding analyses of the phenomena and their causes. Even the iconography, consistent with the message, proposed to Italy and the world a barren, impassable, desolate Aspromonte, dotted with dilapidated farmhouses, inhabited by an uncivilized and wild people. A sinister label for an entire mountain and an entire people, a condemnation without appeal. In this social and cultural context, in 1985, the GEA - Gruppo Escursionisti d'Aspromonte - was born, along with its ambitious mission: the peaceful occupation of the Aspromonte, in compliance with legality, through the identification and recovery, both physical and cultural, of the ancient paths that cross the Aspromonte in every direction. Since then, the GEA has created, between the Aspromonte and the Serre, over 300 km of itineraries for hikers. Among them is the "Sentiero del Brigante" which, in November 2017, was included in the Digital Atlas of the Paths of the MIBACT. Since its establishment in 1985, the Association has developed a cultural and operational project that unfolds along two main lines. One is the study of the territory, in its material and immaterial aspects, and its promotion through the production of brochures, maps, guides, books, and the organization of cultural activities and events with significant media impact. The other is the identification and recovery, both physical and cultural, of the ancient paths that crossed the Aspromonte in every direction. The trails, mule tracks, and more recent dirt roads, identified by colored signs (red-white-red), regain their original function and confirm themselves as essential elements for the reconstruction of the rural and mountain landscape, for the enhancement of its components, for the development of mountain tourism. After creating a network of itineraries for hikers in the Gambarie di Santo Stefano in Aspromonte area, in the late 1980s, the GEA focused on identifying and physically and culturally recovering the ridge path that connects the Aspromonte to the Serre. Gambarie di Santo Stefano in Aspromonte, Serra San Bruno, and Stilo. It was years of intense and exhilarating commitment for the Association and its Members, aware of interpreting the needs of rebirth of the southernmost mountain, culturally and socially marginalized by historical events and humiliated by countless episodes reported in the news that made it sadly famous and perceived as an exclusive den of bandits, fugitives, and kidnappers. Between 1986 and 1989, GEA members defined the route and made the trail passable through a massive intervention aimed at restoring the treadway, severely compromised by various obstacles and luxuriant endemic vegetation. At the same time, cultural, material, and immaterial resources were identified, analyzed, and connected, which make up the heritage of the territories crossed. The "Sentiero del Brigante" thus became the red thread connecting the elements of the territory, and itself becomes part of the territory's heritage, a tangible sign of the history and events of the populations that traced it, walked it, and abandoned it. The trail is identified on the ground by horizontal and vertical signage. For vertical signage, directional wooden arrows have been used. For horizontal signage – trail markers placed on trees, rocks, or other useful supports – the red-white-red flag was chosen, also used by the Italian Alpine Club and recently adopted by the National Park of Aspromonte. From July 2 to 7, 1991, with the patronage of the Minister of the Environment Giorgio Ruffolo and numerous national and local associations, GEA organized the first major trekking along the "Sentiero del Brigante". Fifty hikers, on foot and on horseback, from all over Italy, covered the trail from Stilo to Gambarie. Among them was Senator Sisinio Zito, father of the National Park of Aspromonte. The media coverage was astounding: from Il Sole 24 Ore to Corriere dello Sport, from Rivista del Trekking to Grazia, from Il Tempo to Il Giornale, the recognition of the validity of the "Sentiero del Brigante" project for the development of the inland areas between the Aspromonte and the Serre. Since then, the "Sentiero del Brigante," regularly maintained by GEA, has been a destination for thousands of hikers who have traveled on foot in search of "diversity," "identity," and "authenticity." With the establishment of the National Park of Aspromonte in 1994, the "Sentiero del Brigante" became part of the Park's Plan as the only thematic trail. Since November 2017, the "Sentiero del Brigante" has been included in the Digital Atlas of the Paths of Italy curated by MIBACT, the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities. A container of paths and routes designed and implemented along the guidelines indicated by the directive of the then Minister Dario Franceschini. The Minister's directive defines the Paths as "cultural itineraries of particular European and/or national relevance, passable on foot or with other forms of gentle and sustainable mobility, representing a way of enjoying the widespread natural and cultural heritage, as well as an opportunity for the enhancement of natural and cultural attractions and the territories involved."
