A holiday to live in colour
10 natural and cultural wonders to discover in Sila.
Route from Cosenza to San Giovanni in Fiore:
Depart from the city of Cosenza, passing through Celico and Spezzano della Sila on the SS107 Silana-Crotonese road. Then head towards Camigliatello Silano on the SP256 of Monte Scuro Pass, where you can deviate towards Mount Botte Donato and Lake Arvo. Continue towards Longobucco on the SS177 Silana di Rossano or visit San Giovanni in Fiore by traveling 30 km on the SS107 from Camigliatello Silano. Immerse yourself in the history, traditions, and culinary culture of this fascinating land.
Introduction: Sila, located in the central part of the Calabrian peninsula, offers a unique natural and cultural beauty to the world. With its well-defined borders, from the Isthmus of Catanzaro in the south, the Ionian coast in the east, the Sibari plain in the north and the Crati valley in the west, Sila is a place of spectacular nature, with landscapes that extend to the horizon and a rarity for mountainous areas where the view is usually limited by high peaks and deep valleys.
With breathtaking landscapes that extend to the horizon and spectacular nature, this granite and crystalline mountainous area houses numerous artificial lakes, centuries-old forests, various species of flora and fauna, including broom, predators such as the wild cat and the wolf, and birds such as the black woodpecker and the eagle owl. Don't miss the opportunity to visit the majestic Cozzo del Pesco forest and admire the natural beauty of Sila.
Celico
Celico, one of the wonderful hamlets of Cosenza, is one of the 12 natural and cultural wonders to discover in Sila. Founded in the 9th century by the population fleeing from Saracen invasions, this charming village boasts a rich historical heritage, with ancient churches such as St. Michael with its beautiful bell tower of 1595 and its two stone gates of the 15th century, and the church of St. Nicholas erected starting from 1518. The connection with the historical figure of Gioacchino da Fiore makes Celico an even more special place. Admire the houses with loggias and wrought iron balconies from the 17th-18th centuries and the incredible beauty of the territory, which includes more than half of Lake Cecita. Although agriculture remains an important activity, especially in livestock farming and patato farming, exploring this historical gem of Calabria is a must-see experience.
Picture below: Church of the Assumption (behind), located on the birthplace of #GioacchinoDaFiore(https://www.instagram.com/brunopino.it/)
Camigliatello Silano is a charming place located at the confluence of several roads leading to the Sila plateau. It's the most important fraction of Spezzano della Sila, with an altitude of 1300 meters. The natural beauty of this place is extraordinary and worth visiting. But there's another attraction that deserves to be seen: the church of SS. Roberto and Biagio, which houses a large mosaic made in 1980 on an area of over 100 square meters, with nearly a million pieces of enamels, gold, and polychrome marbles. Camigliatello is also a well-equipped ski resort with two slopes and a lift that in a few minutes reaches Mount Curcio (1768 meters); from here, there are also cross-country ski trails. At Torre Camigliati, there's also the Old Calabria Park, inspired by the tales of foreign travelers who came to Calabria, and the Emigration Narrative Museum, called La Nave della Sila, focused on the phenomenon that marked the history of the region. A place full of surprises and history, where you can live an unforgettable experience surrounded by unspoiled nature and discover the history of a region rich in traditions.
Torre Camigliati and the Old Calabria Park, perfect places for meditation.
Torre Camigliati Estate, located in Camigliatello Silano (Cosenza). The beautiful scenery, in the heart of the Sila National Park, is that of a 16th-century country mansion which, declared a monument of historical and artistic interest and bound in 1998, was made available for the realization of cultural initiatives to the Fondazione Napoli Novantanove, presided over by Mirella Stampa Barracco. Since 2001, the Tower has in fact been the headquarters of the Old Calabria Park - Norman Douglas and the Grand Tour travelers, while since 2003 it has been the headquarters of the Barracco family historical archive to which the estate belongs.
Below: View of the Barracco Estate, headquarters of the Old Calabria literary park, Sila National Park - Ph. © Gianni Termine
Via Roma at Camigliatello
Embark on a journey of discovery in Sila and explore the beautiful Via Roma, the city's main thoroughfare. Adorned with local and international artisan shops, it's famous for its Christmas displays, all year round. You can visit the various craft shops offering a wide range of products, including stunning tapestries from Longobucco. Indulge in the local Calabrian cuisine, including the delicious "cuccurelli" fried potato fritters. Every Sunday, the Camigliatello Silano market takes place in the Croce Magara district, offering a display and tasting of locally produced food. You'll find some truly entertaining products here. We also recommend visiting the Old Village Christmas Shop, located on Camigliatello's main street. This shop offers Christmas items all year round, which is rare in our area. You'll find a wide variety of Christmas trinkets and moving displays. The exterior of the shop is also very charming. Whether it's August or December, entering this shop always holds its own special charm. You'll find beautiful objects and unique items, and we highly recommend visiting at the beginning of the main street. Lastly, the Church of Saints Biagio and Roberto Abate deserves a special place on your list, with its stunning mosaic inside that will captivate you.
The Church of St. Robert and St. Blaise
The Church of Saints Roberto and Biagio is a work of art in itself, perfectly embedded in the landscape of the Silano Plateau. The exterior façade rises among the pines, while inside, pine wood dominates both the walls and the artefacts of the presbytery: the altar (carved from the root of an overturned pine tree), the ambo, the baptismal font, the presbytery fences and the bases where the artistic statues of the Madonna Assunta, a wooden work handmade by the artisans of Ortisei, and the statue of S. Biagio, a papier-mâché work made by the masters of Gallucci in Lecce, stand. Biagio, a papier-mâché work made by the Gallucci masters of Lecce. The wrought iron tabernacle is a work by Sirio Ferri. At the entrance of the church stands an intensely expressive wooden crucifix, reminiscent of the style of crucifixes by Fra Umile da Petralia. But what makes this church truly unique is the artistic mosaic, which stretches the entire wall of the presbytery, the work of the internationally renowned mosaicist Fr Ugolino da Belluno. The mosaic represents a precise meaning and the innovative technique used in its work. Camigliatello is the heart of the Sila Grande, a recognised destination for tourists from all parts of Italy and also from abroad, a place where, in addition to the beauty of nature, unique artistic treasures can be admired and preserved.
La Nave della Sila is a Narrative Museum of Emigration, designed by the Fondazione Napoli Novantanove and curated by Gian Antonio Stella. Inaugurated in 2005, it is housed in a beautifully restored old cow shed, located in the heart of the Sila area, the Old Calabria Park. The museum aims to help fill a historical and civil memory gap in a region that has experienced, more than others, the dramatic experience of the migratory movement. The idea is to build a dynamic structure that not only qualifies as a memory of the past, but is also a projection into the present and future. The visit unfolds through blow-ups of extraordinary images accompanied by a narrator's voice and a soundtrack of Italian emigration songs. In July 2013, a new section, Mare Madre, dedicated to immigration, was opened to retrace the history of migration and reflect on the challenges of the present and future.
- Lake Cecita and Cupone Visitor Centre
Lake Cecita is the largest lake in Calabria, situated in a vast basin of fields and meadows. It is a 7.5 km long artificial basin created in 1951 by blocking the Mucone river with a dam. State road 177 runs through a protected area of the Sila National Park and leads to the Cupone Visitor Centre, equipped with nature trails, wildlife observatories, a museum, a geological garden and a botanical garden accessible to the blind, as well as a picnic area along the lake shores. The Fossiata basin is a wide expanse of pastureland surrounded by an amphitheatre of reliefs typical of the Sila region, covered by thick larch pine forests. The lake is also a place of archaeological interest with finds ranging from prehistoric to Roman times. A picnic area with barbecue is available for spending a day outdoors surrounded by unspoilt nature
The Cupone Visitor Centre:
The Cupone Visitor Centre is located near Lake Cecita and the Sila National Park. The Centre, which was created by converting an old state-owned sawmill, offers environmental education activities with nature trails, wildlife observatories, a museum, a geological garden and a picnic area along the lake. It is also a popular area of the park, managed by the Sila National Park Authority and the Carabinieri Biodiversity Department in Cosenza, which offers free guided tours for schoolchildren and organised groups on request. The Centre also has a Botanical Garden that is accessible to the disabled and the blind, with panels and audio files explaining the various essences, and a didactic path for the visually impaired and the blind along which they can interact with the 115 native species of Calabrian mountain flora.The Garden is located at an altitude of 1,156 m. and includes the essential flora native to the Park territory. It consists of both a wetland and an acid rocky area that reproduces the characteristic vegetation of the Silan plateau, diversified in the south with larch pine and in the north with beech and silver fir, among erratic granite boulders. Dedicated to the visually impaired and the blind, the educational trail of the Cupone Botanical Garden runs for the 350 metres of its length on wooden sleepers bordered by a fence with a handrail. The landscape is that of the Sila mountains and the plants with which to interact are 115 native species of Calabrian mountain flora - from potentilla to the Calabrian astragalus - arranged on the ground or in trays according to size and genus. All plants are accompanied by cards in Braille and marked characters for the visually impaired. The Botanical Garden occupies an area of 10,400 square metres, almost entirely flat, and was created within the State Forests falling within the perimeter of the Sila National Park.
The Cupone visitor centre offers the possibility of walking along trails to admire the area's fauna, including stuffed wolves, insects, snakes, bats and reptiles, as well as a 3 km walk with a loop trail to admire fallow deer, deer, roe deer and wolves. The Raven Forest Trail leads to Cozzo del Principe with a panoramic view of Lake Cecita.
- The Fossiata and the park's alboretum with the Macchialonga lake
The Fossiata and the park's alboretum with the Macchialonga Lake
The Sila National Park offers hikers the 'Sentiero della Transumanza' (Transhumance Trail), a trail that allows them to discover its natural wonders in Sila and to connect some privileged mountain grazing places of the podolica cow herds. The Sentiero della Transumanza (transhumance trail) is the longest of the entire official trail network and extends from the summit pastures of Monte Botte Donato to the Fossiata nursery, crossing areas where Sila's natural beauty can be admired. The route is simple and easy, entirely on a dirt road, with a difference in altitude of about 400 metres and is completed in four hours, round trip. The starting point is the Arboreto Sbanditi along the Fossiata road, accessible only on foot.
- The fallistro nature reserve and the giants of the sila
The Fallistro Nature Reserve, also known as 'The Giants of Sila', is a protected area that is home to over 100-year-old trees, including the famous 'Giants of Sila' or 'Giants of Fallistro', majestic larch pines. These trees can reach up to 45 metres in height and have a diameter at the base of about two metres. The area was established in 1987 and is located within the Sila National Park. The reserve offers a spectacular view of nature and makes it possible to observe the natural evolution of the forest and animals that live in few other places in the country. The FAI ensures that it is open to the public and is preparing to restore the ancient Casino Mollo to become the venue for an engaging account of the history of this rural area of Calabria. The Fallistro Nature Reserve is home to a larch pine forest, planted in the first half of the 1600s by a noble landowner. The Reserve offers a spectacular view of 58 centuries-old Laricio pine trees, some up to 350 years old, wild apple trees, beech trees, chestnut trees, quaking aspens and sycamore maples. seven of the maples are 100-year-old specimens. In the Reserve one can encounter the typical fauna of the Silane and Apennine areas such as the Calabrian black squirrel, the Apennine fox, birds of prey, picids and wild boars. The Reserve is open on foot from May to October and by reservation during the rest of the year, with obligatory routes and information boards on each plant.
Lake Ariamacina is a small artificial reservoir located in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, within the Sila National Park. Built between 1953 and 1955 for hydroelectric purposes, the lake blends perfectly with its surroundings and offers a landscape of remarkable beauty with its changing shades of colour and light. It is a lake and wetland area of herpetological and ornithological interest, a migratory stopover site for marsh ornithological species, and one of the few nesting sites for the Great Crested Grebe. In October 2002, the Ariamacina Lake area was established by Legambiente as a Nature Oasis, the first birdwatching station in southern Italy. The lake is easily accessible and offers various recreational activities for nature lovers.
- The road to the peaks: Monte Curcio - Monte Botte Donato - Monte Scuro
Imagine setting off in your car or simply with your bicycle and embarking on an unforgettable adventure in Sila. Set off from Camigliatello Silano, a well-known ski resort and tourist capital, and follow the SP249 enjoying the first bends up to Fago del Soldato. Continue your ascent and in a few minutes you will reach the Montescuro pass, a breathtaking viewpoint towards the Cosenza and Camigliatello valleys. Continue along the Strada delle Vette (Road of the Peaks), a route that joins the three highest peaks in Calabria. You will encounter the picturesque Macchia Sacra plateau, a rural area dotted with the characteristic 'capanni dei vaccari' and the cool Fontana del Colonnello. Continue your ascent to Monte Botte Donato, the highest peak in Sila. Stop at the cable car arrival station to admire the Sila Plateau and discover a landscape reminiscent of Canadian forests. Continue the descent to Lake Arvo and stop at Lorica to have lunch or admire the lake up close. If you want to close the tour, reach Croce di Magara to visit the 'Giants of Sila' and return to Camigliatello Silano. Beware of the road surface, which is often uneven and very neglected. The roadway is narrow and dotted with 'souvenirs' left by livestock. 35 km on the Strada Delle Vette, 60 km closing the circle with a return to Camigliatello Silano.
- Admire the Arbëreshe festivals in Sila Calabria
On the northern slopes of the Greek Sila, there are many cultural wonders to discover. San Demetrio Corone, San Giorgio Albanese, San Cosmo Albanese, Vaccarizzo Albanese, Santa Sofia d'Epiro and Spezzano Albanese are some of the places to see in Sila to get to know the Calabrian Albanian community. These places are rich in history and traditions, and during the festivities of Epiphany, Carnival, Easter and patronal celebrations, the Arbëreshe community gathers to show off their traditional costumes. The horse race of the Spezzano Albanese Carnival is atmospheric, while in San Demetrio Corone, the funeral of Zu Nikolla, an old man dressed in rags, takes place. Macchia is also an important cultural centre for Italo-Albanians as it is the birthplace of Girolamo De Rada, the father of Albanian literature. If you are interested in discovering the cultural wonders of Calabria, Sila Greca is a must.
Longobucco
In Sila, Longobucco is an enchanting village with many cultural wonders to see. Among the cultural beauties not to be missed is the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, with a 15th-century bell tower and a pyramidal spire dome, which houses a 15th-century wooden altarpiece and 17th-century frescoes. The Museo dell'Artigianato Silano e della Difesa del Suolo exhibits silverware created by Neapolitan artists, while the 'Le Vie delle Miniere' trail offers a visit to the quarries of the ancient silver mines. The Campanara Tower and the Chiesa Matrice, now a Marian Sanctuary, are other points of historical and artistic interest. These are just some of the cultural treasures that can be discovered in Sila, one of Calabria's must-see destinations.
San Giovanni in Fiore
Discover San Giovanni in Fiore, a lively town situated on a steep slope offering narrow, winding streets once paved in stone. Visit the majestic Chiesa Matrice dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie, dating back to 1530 and rebuilt in 1770, and the Church of S. Antonio, built in 1639. Also admire the Florense Abbey, dating back to the early 13th century with an imposing stone portal and simple, austere architecture typical of Cistercian churches. Climb to the top of the bell tower to admire a 15th-century bell and discover the symbolic arrangement of windows in the central apse. The altar is magnificent, with a monumental 18th-century frame and a statue of St John the Baptist, the city's patron saint. In the crypt you will find the urn with the remains of Joachim of Fiore. Finally, don't miss the opportunity to see the Norman arch visible in the piazzetta, probably the only surviving one of a series of arches that once led to the abbey and the city.