The City of Castrovillari
Castrovillari is a city in Calabria (province of Cosenza), located in the heart of the Pollino National Park mountains.
The city is divided into two parts, by the bridge Catena.
The old part of Civita has narrow streets and houses made of limestone. Located here are the Basilica of San Giuliano, the Franciscan Monastery, the Aragonese Castle and the Sanctuary of Madonna del Castello.
The new part of the town is called Casale and it is situated on a plateau. This part was developed in the XIX century, has a large boulevard, conceived in the days of French rule, wide streets and a rectangular layout
Old Towns by their very nature are full of charm. This one grows on you. It is not the prettiest town in the world, or even in Italy, but there is something about it that oozes personality. It could be the narrow streets, its weathered façade or maybe it’s just the laid back ‘take me as I am’ attitude – Civita shout’s out – there is an alternative to the hustle and bustle of the modern world. After a couple of hours, you forget about your smartphone and taking selfies and all that other baggage we carry with us and just literally breathe fresh air. You start to wonder about the hypocrisy of the life we are living as you realise the streets are deserted – it’s 2 pm in the afternoon – it’s siesta time!
The House of Aragon & the Castle
The Castle, completed by Ferrante d’Aragona in 1490, overlooks a small square where some 16th and 17th-century constructions stand. The 17th-century Palazzo Gesualdi has a wonderful wrought-iron Spanish-style balcony. The 1704 Church of SS. Trinità, located in the same square, has an unfinished reddish façade. The apparently bare and unadorned interior preserves several works of art coming from ruined buildings: a wooden Crucifix dating to the end of the 16th century and the notable ciborium with mother-of-pearl inserts that stands above the main altar. The Franciscan proto-monastery founded in 1220 by Pietro Catin, one of the disciples of the “poor man of Assisi”, is worth a visit. The imposing recently restored complex has two cloisters. It houses the Municipal Art Gallery dedicated to Andrea Alfano (1879-1967), and keeps the artworks that the painter, who is one the most representative authors of the 20th-century artistic culture in Calabria, donated to his birthplace.
Through the narrow streets that branch off from the Monastery, characterized by underpasses, Medieval architectures, remarkable buildings with stone carved doors and inner courtyards, visitors reach the heart of “Giudecca”, the Jewish district where Jews lived till the 16th century, when they were obliged to leave the Reign. The 16th-century ruins of the ancient Municipal Building overlook San Giuliano small square. From here, the road clambers up to the monumental symbol of the town, Santa Maria del Castello.
The ConservatoriodellePentite, founded in 1635 to host “fallen women” who “sought refuge in Religion’s arms”, is located halfway up. There are few remains of the Conservatorio, but the adjacent chapel dedicated to Santa Maria Egiziaca keeps remarkable 17th -18th -century works, including a Madonna col Bambino by Giuseppe Marulli and a Piety by Antonio Sarnelli. Of equal interest are other religious places such as the Churches of Trinità and Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, both of Medieval origins, and San Francesco di Paola, evidence of the intermingled relationships between history and art.
The first settlement on the site appeared in the Greek period. In Roman times the city was called Castrum Villarum, ‘The fortress The exact origin of the city is unknown. In the XI century Castrovillari was won by the Normans led by Robert Guiscard. The Normans domination lasted until 1189 when the last heiress of the Normans, Constanta Hauteville married Henry VI. Hohenstaufen wasgifted as a dowry and transferred authority over the kingdom, including Castrovillari. The domination lasted until 1266 when the Battle of Benevento defeated the troops of Charles of Anjou. The French domination was replaced by Angevins to power the Spanish King Ferdinand I of Aragon in 1400.
At this time the castle was built (1480) to protect the citizens. Above the entrance to the castle they adorned the Aragonese coat of arms. In later centuries, the city passed under the authority of the feudal families of the Spinelli Cariati and Sanseverino from Bisignano.
In 1700 the whole of southern Italy took possession of the Bourbons and in 1806 Napoleon’s troops conquered the city. There was a time of momentous change: the feudal power was abolished, the monasteries were abolished, the rich bourgeoisie were allocated large plots of land and the nobility were forced to sell their titles.
Castrovillari was rebuilt, the streets grew, various institutions were created. After the fall of Napoleonic regime in 1820 Castrovillari came under the rule of the Bourbons. And in 1860, with the triumphs entered the city, an area of San Giuliano was the popular assembly, which resulted in the city joined the united Italy.
History of Castrovillari
The Pollini National Park is an hour drive from the centre of Castrovillari. It has five mountain peaks over 2000 metres above sea-level. It has facilities for all types of outside pursuits from hiking to rock climbing – from kayaking to aquamarine.
The Pollino National Park (Parco del Pollino) is a large, protected mountainous area in the far south of Italy, spreading over the border from Basilicata into the neighbouring region, Calabria. It is the largest national park in Italy, covering nearly two thousand square kilometres. Much of the park is wooded slopes, with bare grassy summits rising above. The highest points are Serra Dolcedorme (2,267m) and Monte Pollino (2,248m).
There are several villages and small towns within the borders of the park. This part of Italy is fairly sparsely populated, though, and with the extra protection given by its national park status, the Pollino offers a chance to see a significant expanse of landscape that is little damaged by man. Where people have made a mark, development is still largely pre-twenty-first century, with picturesque traditional villages and small-scale farming. Traditional ways of life are still important, from annual rural festivals to small traditional haystacks piled around poles in villages.
Among the villages is the pleasant hillside settlement Viggianello, which along with nearby Rotonda would make a good base for exploring the park. There is also a cluster of Albanian villages, dating back to migrations in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
From its steep wooded river-valleys to high bare hilltops, the Pollino harbours important wildlife, including golden eagles and other birds of prey, and even a few, rarely glimpsed, shy wolves. The emblem of the park is the Bosnian pine (pinoloricato) which grows here and in the Balkans.
Walking in the Pollino National Park
There are waymarked footpaths and good hiking opportunities in the Pollino. The National Park headquarters are in the town of Rotonda; park and tourist information offices throughout the region should be able to provide maps and detailed information on hiking in the area. There’s quite a range of terrain, from historic routes connecting villages to excursions up to the high summits.
For many Italians, the park is a popular leisure resource. Visitors can drive up to woodland parking spots or high passes, walk among peaceful natural surrounding and return to a countryside trattoria for a filling lunch. Picnicking is popular too, and you’ll see Italian families sitting down for civilised feasts, spread out on picnic tables. We enjoyed a very pleasant, easy short walk from the Rifugio De Gasperi, where there was parking and a few makeshift stalls selling local artisan products. The attractive stroll took us down an empty road, across wild grassland full of flowers and through a short stretch of woodland to the Belvedere di Malvento, a panorama over the southern Italian landscape. A short drive back down the road is La Baita, a bar-restaurant at Piano Visitone, where park visitors fill up on pasta, or enjoy convivial picnics in the grassy clearing.
To find good hiking opportunities, I’d suggest consulting your hotel or the park headquarters for detailed advice and itineraries. You may find it convenient to join an organised hike or arrange to hire a guide.
Other activities
Other types of activity are possible as well as walking in the Pollino, if you fancy an action-packed break. Despite being so far south, the massif is high enough to get a snow covering in winter, allowing for organised cross-country skiing excursions. In warmer months, horse-riding and mountain-biking are alternative ways to explore the uplands. For some high-octane excitement, you could try white-water rafting within the national park, on the river Lao. At a rafting and canoeing centre just over the Calabrian border, near Laino Borgo (see links panel), you can choose from various types of water activity, including rafting down gorges, or even embarking on a long expedition down the river to the sea.
Practicalities
The Pollino National Park can fit into itineraries touring either Basilicata or Calabria. The greatest destination in Basilicata is the UNESCO-listed cave-town Matera, which is 2-3 hours’ drive away. However, the park is actually much nearer to another very attractive Basilicata holiday base: Maratea, on Italy’s western Tyrrhenian coastline. If you are spending a few days in the Pollino, it would combine well with a short stay in either Matera or Maratea, or perhaps a Calabrian coastal town such as Scalea, which is very close to the borders of the park. A trip to the national park would be a good addition to this Tyrrhenian coast itinerary: South to Calabria.
The most convenient airports for the area are Bari, Naples and Lamezia Terme; unfortunately none of these are very close by. There is a major railway line down the Tyrrhenian coast, with stations including Maratea, Sapri, and Scalea, which make possible access points if you are depending on trains and buses. Disappointingly, public transport is not well-developed within the national park and you will find logistics very hard if you are visiting without a car; your best bet may be to book organised walks or arrange lifts and transfers through a walking guide or your hotel. If you are relying on buses, useful firms (see links panel) include SAM Autolinee, with buses linking the park settlements including Castelluccio, San Severino Lucano, Viggianello and Rotonda, connecting with the long-distance services of SLA, who operate buses from Naples to Rotonda.
The Beaches & Seafront
Details of Calabria The coastal landscape alternates beaches and rocky shores. The poet Gabriele d’Annunzio called the seafront in the town of Reggio di Calabria, “the most beautiful kilometer in Italy”.
Underdeveloped industry and the lack of big cities for a long time, left the sea unpolluted and Calabria is still considered a natural paradise. Reggio Calabria, situated on the shore of the strait between Italy and Sicily is the largest and the oldest city in Calabria, approximately 3000 years old. Here you can see the Botanical Gardens, the National Museum of Magna Grecia and the Aragonese Castle.