In the Madonie there are the most ancient rocks of Sicily, dating back to the Triassic period. The several fossils of lamellibranchs, algae, and sponges found in the calcareous areas of the mountain chain are an evidence of it. The highest and most spectacular peaks of the chain are: Pizzo Carbonara ( 1979 mt), Monte San Salvatore ( 1912 mt. Although they are part of the same complex, each of them has a different aspect. Gentle or harsh, covered in vegetation or bare, they are scattered over the territory shaping valleys, plateaus, cliffs, and gentle hills. In the Madonie - which cover only the 2% of the surface of the island, there are more than a half of the Sicilian vegetal species, among which endemic species.

The area of the Madonie with its geomorphological and climatic features leads to the identification of three different areas: the coastal strip of the northern slope, protected by the African winds and covered by thick woods, centuries-old olive groves, cork tree woods, chestnut tree woods, ash trees, oak woods made of Downy oak and the holly nuclei of Piano Pomo. On the contrary, the large mountain chain preserves the woods of ilex and beech trees, and is characterized by several endemic species, among which the Abies Nebrodensis, a relict of ancient glaciation. The southern and sunny slope, bare or luxuriant and mild in the changing succession of the seasons is "The aspect of real Sicily; however, it is also a gentle series of mountain and hilly slopes cultivated with wheat and barley.