It is the administrative centre of Calabria and counts more than a hundred thousand inhabitants. The regional council is situated in Catanzaro. The primitive urban centre is situated on three hills of “Silana” rock at 345 meters above sea level and enjoys a beautiful general view on the valleys of Musofalo and Fiumarella. Catanzaro is few kilometers away from Sila Piccola (Taverna, Aibi, Villaggio Mancuso, Villaggio Racise, Villaggio Palumbo) and not far away from the sea where the seaside town of Catanzaro Lido rises.

It's an old fishermen village, and today a hos­pitable and large seaside resort. The rebuilding, as a result, of the earthquakes of 1658 and 1783, and the first town-planning intervention of 1870, changed and extended the building and town-planning construction which nowadays counts on new districts such as Gagliano, Pontepiccolo, Corvo and Aranceto and an older noble center formed by Via Milano and S. Leonardo. The “Due Mari” road and the imposing bridge above Fiumarella are two modern roads that join the old centre to the new districts on the road that leads to Sila. The old medieval suburb can be summed up in the church, now deconsecrated, of S. Omobono built in the twelfth century by the Sarti Confraternity, and the ruins of the Castle built in 1060 by Roberto il Guiscardo in a defensive position on the far end of a hill, at its foot flows Fiumarella. The mark of other ages is given by a tangle of streets and alleys that follow the restless orographic route of uninterrupted ups and downs made less steep by stairs. The baroque portals are the outstanding features of the old centre and of the most important churches of Catanzaro: the church of the Rosario, S. Giovanni’s; the Basilica dell' Immacolata and the church of Monte dei Morti, the church of the Osservanza with a Madonna by Gagini where one can admire marble and pictorial works of the sixteenth century. On the main street Corso Mazzini there is Palazzo Fazzari, today Larussa, built in the nineteenth century according to the Florentine canons of the fifteenth century.

Catanzaro enjoys views without equals, it stretches from the sea to the gates of Sila where its outermost centre is located: the district of S. Elia, at 600 meters above sea level, among chestnuts and in a typical pre-montane ecosystem. Few kilometers away the administrative centre, along the way that leads to the motorway approach road for Lamezia Terme, there are two beautiful and natural verandas: on a rise overlooking Catanzaro is Caraffa an old dated “arbereshe” village where the traditions of Albanian lineage are still alive. The costumes that the old and young women wear during the feasts are really wonderful. On the left hand of the Catanzaro - Lamezia road is Tiriolo where one can enjoy at the same time the view of the Ionian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The finding of Phoenician finds project this small hill town, well known for the weaving and the production of the characteristic and valuable Calabrian shawls, the so-called “vancali”, in a millennial history. Catanzaro is a university centre. As far as its economy is concerned, it has artisan and small-scale indus­trial roots, gradually exceeded by an old administrative and business bent. Not long ago, Catanzaro has been one of the most important silk processing centers. Even the embroideries and the very fine workmanship laces are well known.

History of Catanzaro

Catanzaro is of Byzantine origin. Founded during the ninth century, the town rises as a real blockhouse between the Ionian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was captured in about 1059 by Roberto it Guiscardo and became a Norman county and an important trade centre as well as a very well known silk processing centre. Afterwards it passed first under the Angevin rule and later under the Aragonese one. It was besieged by the French in 1528 and as it victoriously held out long. Carlo V gave it the title of “magnificent” and “faithful”. Under the Bourbon Empire, it became the administrative and political centre of Calabria Ulteriore. In 1820 and 1821, it took an active part in the Carbonari risings and in 1848 and 1860 in the struggle for Bourbons' expulsion.

Traditional Events

“A Naca” is the Easter religious procession of Good Friday organized by all the parishes. It is a real costume performance of the procession that followed Jesus to the Crucifixion place. The Feast of the Sailors' Madonna takes place in Catanzaro at the end of July. The statue is wound through the streets on a big smack followed by hundred boats decked out with bright hangings and flowers. The S. Lorenzo Exhibition is a one-week market where the typical handicrafts of the whole province are exposed; it takes place in the first ten days of August.

Food and Wine

“U Morseddu” is the main course par excellence, unique, hardly imitable; even today it is eaten towards the middle of the morning in the typical restaurants of the old centre. It is made of liver and lights, tomato-sauce and hot pepper; the whole thing is served on the characteristic “pitta”, a kind of soft ring-shaped bread without crust. “A Tiana” is a terra­cotta pan where the pieces of kidney are browned with peas, artichokes, potatoes, breadcrumbs and spices. Cheeses such as the Provola, the Butirri (soft cheese with a butter heart) and the Pecorino cheese, the salami such as the Soppressata and the sausages are another typical aspects of local gastronomy one can taste in all the restaurants of the town. Among the sweets we must remember the Taralli, the Mustaccioli and the Cozzupe, the traditional Easter sweets. The excellent “Crucette”, dried figs filled with walnuts, cinnamon and candied citron-peel are placed in the form of a cross and baked. The Wines: Malvasia from Catanzaro (about 16 proof) a sweet desert wine. Giro from Crotone is a red wine and a rose well known all over the world. One must taste even the local pleasant light wines of the hills of Catanzaro.