This church crowns the Fontebranda hill above the famous fountain of that name immortalized by Dante, and in a steep lane below stands the house of St Catherine, now converted into a church and oratory, and maintained at the expense of the inhabitants of the Contrada dell' Oca.
Here also are other plants with edible roots - the oca (Oxalis tuberosa), ulluca (Ullucus tuberosus), massua (Tropceolum tuberosum), and learc6 (Polymnia sonchifolia).
In the sierra region, wheat, barley, oats, quinua (Chenopodium quinoa), alfalfa, Indian corn, oca (Oxalis tuberosa) and potatoes are the principal products.
Among the more important productions, the potato, oca (Oxalis tuberosa), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and some coarse grasses characterize the puna region, while barley, an exotic, is widely grown for fodder.
Between the 5th and 6th parallels the range divides into two branches, the eastern passing into Venezuela, where it is called the Cordillera de Merida, and the northern continuing north and north-east as the Sierra de Perija and the Sierra de Oca, to terminate at the north-eastern extremity of the Goajira peninsula.