It has more than a hundred thousand inhabitants and stands on the valley of the river Crati, at 244 meters above sea level, surrounded by mountains and woodland hills. The old town center is kept perfectly and the latest areas have spread around it. Really, it's just the old center, which characterizes Cosenza, the ancient capital of the “Bruzi” whose history interlaces with the Romans' ever since the Punic wars. The promoters of the urban old center were characters of great mental capacity such as Frederick II who transformed the Castle on the Brezia rock; he rebuilt the Romanesque twelfth century Cathedral, and made a present of very valuable relics to the archbishop’s palace. The other great sovereign to bring honor to Cosenza is Isabella of Aragona; French workers have put up a Gothic monument in her honor in 1600.

Cosenza is probably the one and only Calabrian city to keep important historical signs of town planning. From the Hellenistic period, to which the marble sarcophagus with figures in bas-relief dedicated to Meleagro and Atalanta dates back, up to the Roman age, testified by an opus reticulatum way still enjoyable in Messer Andrea street. And then, gradually over the centuries through churches and mon­asteries: San Domenico's (15th century) with an elegant seventeenth century carved portal and sixteenth century sculptures of Giovanni da Nola's Neapolitan school; S. Francesco di Paola's, rebuilt in the seventeenth century, here is kept Ottavio Cesare Gaeta's marble grave (17th century); Sant' Agostino's and Sant' Omobono's, the monastery of S. Francesco d' Assisi (13th century) and the monasteries of Le Vergini and Santa Chiara, nowadays otherwise assigned. The Arab-Norman Castle enjoys a dominating position on the hill of S. Pancrazio. The palaces are of remarkable importance, they enjoy eminent names such as Sersale di Sella, Vaccaro, Gaeta della Steali, Antonio Serra, Contestabile, Ciaccio, Palvo, Presidi di Calabria, Ferrari d' Epaminonda, and Palazzo del Governo. The houses of Caselli and Galeazzo di Tarsia have instead, a historical importance. The town is rich in com­mercial enterprises. It is the sorting center of all agricul­tural and zoological products coming from Sila. The timber and furniture industry has a credit balance. Very important is the artistic life, which has its seat in the beau­tiful Rendano Theatre where the opera season and a rich playbill of other plays take place yearly. In the town of “Bruzi” at Arcavacata, a small outlying ward of the country town, is situated Calabria’s University, a resi­dential university which has given a substantial boost to a town that enjoys noble cultural traditions, testified by the Accademia Cosentina, founded in 1514 by Aulo Giano Parrasio and rebuilt in 1534 by Bernardino Telesio. The Municipal Museum is interesting for its antique rep­ertory. The SaIerno-Reggio Calabria highway runs through Cosenza giving rise to an important urban development in recent times.

History of Cosenza

According to Strabone, Cosenza has been a “Bruzia” town and even the capital of the Bruzi, but, in the light of the findings, especially epigraphs and coins, it proved many peculiarities of the Greek civilization. In 531 B.C. it has been taken by Alessandro il Molosso king of Epitus and during the second Punic war, it sided with Hannibal against the Romans who finally occupied it in 204 B.C. and became an important station for trades with Sicily. In 410 A.D., according to tradition, the king of the Visigoths Alarico died here and was buried with all his treasures in the riverbed of the Busento. The Longobards and the Byzantines later ruled it.

In 986 it was taken and devastated by the Saracens. It has been the main center of northern Calabria under the Angevin, the Aragonese, the Norman and the Spanish rule. In 1500, thanks to the Academy founded by Aulo Giano Parrasto, Cosenza be­came the reference point of classical culture, and the philosopher Bernardino Telesio brought much honor to it. In 1799 the ideas of the Parthenopian Republic fired the inhabitants of Cosenza that opposed bravely the hovocs committed by Cardinal Ruffo's gangs that at the end came off better. Cosenza has been the protagonist of the southern risings during the Risorgimento, and afterwards it took part in the secret society plots of 1813, 1829 and 1837 against the kingdom of Naples. In 1844 it was once more the setting of uprisings and at Vallone di Rovito, a few miles away from the town where the Bandiera brothers were shot. But the indomitable Cosenza rose up again during the revolts of 1847,1848 and 1860.

Traditional Events

The Opera Season at the Rendano Theatre during the winter months. The Sila Award for Literature and Arts in spring. In May the Sila cup motor race. In the surround­ings of Cosenza, exactly in Sila Grande, there is Camigliatello Silano, a winter and summer sports resort where from year to year, festivals in (October the mushroom festival) and folk festivities take place; and in February the Carnival of Pollino.

Food and Wine

The dishes of the restaurants of Cosenza depend on its neighborhood, from the “Maccaruni alla Toranese” of Torano Castello, with pieces of bacon fat and onion, to the Vermicelli alla Sammartinese of San Martino di Finita, with sauce and pecorino (ewe's-milk cheese), and finally home-made pasta, “recchiatelle” and baked lasagna. Another tasty dish based on meat is made of kid without its entrails and stuffed with vermicelli seasoned with the sauce of the same entrails. In Cosenza and its environs, one can taste game cooked by the hunters of the Pollino as they did in the past. These dishes are based on hares, woodcocks, quails and partridges. Along the Tyrrhenian coast of Co­senza one can taste fish dishes like sardines in the Cetraro way. The hinterland of Cosenza is the land of the mush­rooms prepared in several ways and bottled in oil. The typical Calabrian sweets are: homemade biscuits, taralli, dried figs covered with chocolate. The Wines come from the vines of Pollino, about 13 proof, and of Savuto, 14 proof a table wine. Even the white wine from the vines of Esaro, the red Esaro and the Muscat vine of Cosenza are as much well known.