SILA  , a mountainous

forest district of Calabria, Italy, to the E. of Cosenza, extending for some 37 M . N. to S. and 25 M . E. to W . The name goes back to the Greek period, and then probably belonged to a larger extension of territory than at present . In ancient times these mountains supplied timber to the Greeks for shipbuilding, the forests have given way to pastures to some extent; but a part of them, which belongs to the state, is maintained . Geologically these mountains, which consist of granite, gneiss and mica schist, are the oldest portion of the Italian peninsula; their culminating point is the Botte Donato (6330 ft.), and they are not free of snow until the late spring . They are very rarely explored by travellers .