Asphalantea

The Asfalantea Association, based in contrada Raìsina in Zungri (VV), was set up to enhance and promote the culture of the area, intending to revive ancient traditions to prevent them from disappearing over the years.

The awareness of living in an area as marvellous as it is controversial has moved the need to dream of new horizons, but linked to the culture and history of the community. For this reason, the association's objective is to build a territorial promotion and enhancement project focusing on the strength and authenticity of rural culture, to be re-proposed, thanks to immersive experiences, in the values and flavours of the past.

One of the most popular initiatives is La giornata del Pane (Bread Day), which includes the opportunity to discover the ancient tradition in the company of the Cumari di Asfalantea. From kneading to baking, all stages are carried out by the participants under the careful guidance of the housewives who will illustrate how to follow each procedure according to the original procedures.

With the association, it is also possible to immerse oneself in local flavours and fragrances by tasting typical local products and getting to know the fragrance of broom, a flower that populates the Malopera valley, used to make delicate and intoxicating essences and perfumes.

With Asfalantea, the past merges with the present and the customs of yesteryear come back to life in an evocative rural setting surrounded by nature.

Boschetto Fiorito

The Boschetto Fiorito Association is located in Antonimina (RC) and takes its name from the legend according to which the name of the village derives from the Greek 'Antos Nemos"which translates, precisely, as 'Boschetto Fiorito'. The association was established with the desire and objective of enhancing and promoting the rediscovery of the Aspromonte village, thanks to various activities carried out in the area, such as widespread hospitality and the organisation of excursion routes, which start from the historical centre and touch all the naturalistic, historical and archaeological points of interest in the Aspromonte National Park.

Il Boschetto Fiorito is a young and motivated organisation made up of young people in their thirties with different backgrounds and, for this reason, able to guarantee a precise and personal contribution also as professional hiking guides.
The itineraries offered by the association can be travelled by trekking or mountain bike and encourage interactivity, knowledge of the area and the discovery of the natural beauty of Aspromonte.

Norman Swabian Castle

The enchanting village of Morano Calabro, Orange Flag and listed among the most beautiful villages in Italy, hosts among its beauties the ancient Norman-Swabian Castle. The building, as its name suggests, takes us back to the distant era of Frederick II and his court, a time of condottieri, strongholds and battles that still seem to live on among the remains of this ancient construction.

The castle, like many fortresses built for defensive purposes, dominates from above the village of Morano Calabro and the entire valley of the Cascile river, both of which are incorporated in the Pollino Park nature reserve.

The original layout underwent several modifications over time that have given it to us as we see it today.

Today, a building remains that, although reduced almost to the state of ruins, still retains all its majestic power.

In Roman times, the hill where the castle stands was already known and was used as an observation point.

The base of the medieval core, in fact, bears traces of opus incertum, a probable remnant of ancient Roman foundations on which a much larger and more articulated building was erected. In fact, around 1200, during the Swabian period, the militia set up their feudal headquarters there with Apollonio Morano at the head: major structural changes were therefore necessary. The Roman tower was enlarged, a wall was built and several rooms were constructed: the fortress had become a small castle.

Massive works were carried out during the 16th century, under the feudal lord Pietrantonio Sanseverino, who chose the castle as his summer residence. It took skilled workers and more than thirty years (from 1514 to 1545) to complete the project. An ambitious project that was inspired by the famous model of the Maschio Angioino in Naples, recalling its shapes and volumes and emphasising even more the defensive aspect of the structure.

From 1648 it was owned by the Spinelli Princes of Scalea, who maintained it until 1811, in an increasingly critical condition. Numerous thefts and spoliations were carried out against the castle, in 1733 it suffered structural damage for reasons that are still unclear, and during the French decade (in 1806 to be precise) it was severely bombed.

A recent restoration was carried out in the 2000s, which shows roughly what the castle must have looked like at the dawn of the 18th century.

Unfortunately, much has been lost, but a good part of the structure has been preserved and, when visiting it, it is not difficult to imagine all its original majesty and get an idea of what this place must have looked like centuries ago.

Within the ancient walls, its three-storey high layout, with several flats inside divided into different rooms, all surrounded by ravelins and a moat with a drawbridge, is still clearly visible.
Those who visit this place will breathe in the air of history and ancient lineages that have succeeded one another over time, plus they will enjoy a spectacular view of the village and the valley.

Civitatis

Visiting a city does not only mean losing oneself in the narrow streets of the historic centre, admiring ancient buildings and or strolling along the streets of the centre teeming with colour and life: visiting a city also means letting oneself be intrigued by stories and legends and being guided through its historical secrets. And this is precisely the aim of Civitatis, a Tour Operator that offers packages of different types, to discover the many faces that a city hides, to be appreciated and known in the way one most desires.

Romito Cave

A Palaeolithic jewel and a very important site for its ancient cultural and artistic findings dating back to prehistoric times, the Grotta del Romito is one of Calabria's landmarks.

Lovers of art, history and ancient civilisations will not fail to visit it to admire unique Italian and European testimonies.

We are in Papasidero (CS), near the valley of the Lao river, in a narrow cavity that more than 10,000 years ago was chosen by man as a place of shelter and religious or symbolic rites.

Today, works of rock art, finds of working tools and burials of various kinds take us back in time, to the discovery of a bygone era, where man and nature lived in an atmosphere of continuous fusion.

A unique testimony

The site can be subdivided into two environments: an outer one and the other located within the narrow canyon of the rock face. Its uniqueness is due to the discovery of artefacts that have allowed the reconstruction of important details on the habits that characterised the life of Homo Sapiens. The discovery took place in 1961 and since then, studies and excavation work have continued, bringing to light information and evidence rich in interest and fascination.

The Bos primigenius engraving and burials

The importance of the Papasidero Cave is linked to a particular work of rock art on a large boulder located near the entrance and still clearly visible today: the beautiful engraving of Bos primigenius, i.e. a primitive bovid with another smaller bovid beside it. This animal, along with many others, must have been prey hunted by the men of the time, as bone finds inside the cave have shown. Most probably the engraving is part of propitiatory rites and ceremonies in favour of hunting activities.

The drawing is executed with a firm, decisive stroke and with great accuracy (the horns clearly visible, the details of the skin), which makes it aesthetically appreciable and immediately recognisable.

In the interior, two groups of burials were found, which probably belong to different eras and are dated between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago.

The first, older group contains single burials of people with a strong constitution. The second group, from a later period, consists of double (bisome) burials, dedicated to weaker or physically handicapped individuals.

In addition to these findings, the remains of lithic or mining tools and ornamental artefacts were also discovered.

Nun's Cave

Those in search of adventurous routes into the rocky heart of the Earth, in contact with the ancient remains of the earliest civilisations, should stop at the Grotta della Monaca, in Sant'Agata di Esaro in the province of Cosenza: a small village nestled in the beautiful Pollino mountains.
This, a karstic cavity six hundred metres above sea level on the slopes of Orsomarso, preserves some of the many prehistoric remains in Calabria.
Here lies an underground world where time seems to have stood still millennia ago, in a suspended atmosphere full of ancestral references.
The Grotta della Monaca is one of the largest cavities in Calabria.
Rich in minerals such as iron, copper and malachite, archaeological excavations have shown that it was frequented by man for a very long time, ranging from the Upper Palaeolithic to post-medieval times. The first accidental discoveries took place in 1997, and since then research has continued, bringing to light one of the oldest prehistoric caves in Italy.

The environments of the Cave

The Grotta della Monaca (Nun's Cave) consists of several underground environments. As is often the case with caves, tunnels and natural cavities, the environments here also have evocative names that recall their morphological characteristics.
The visit, full of enchantment and suggestion, takes place under the sole light of the equipment provided, also to avoid any form of light pollution and to preserve the nature of the place in its entirety.
You can choose between three types of routes, one easier and two more challenging.

Short route

The short route only includes a visit to the Pregrotto:
i.e. an environment marked by the presence of collapsing rocky boulders, detached from the surrounding walls; traces dating back to post-medieval times can be found here, testifying to the mining of iron, as can be seen from the various footprints and the remains of tools;

Medium route

the medium route includes the addition of two rooms
the Diaphragm, a narrower rocky corridor;
the Bat Room, rich in stalagmites, is so called because of the presence of a colony of bats. Here we find very ancient traces of mining that take us back to the Neolithic period (we are between the 5th and 4th millennium BC!), when man extracted minerals using primitive stone or bone tools.
Long route

The long route also includes a visit to the Three Terminal Tunnels, three very narrow tunnels at the end of the Bat Room.
These environments are charged with historical significance and value and represent a moment of utmost wonder.
Some stretches, almost close to the rock, are recommended for people who are familiar with hiking trails.
There are burials from the Protohistoric period of which niches, small inhumation chambers and skeletal remains remain.
The portion accessible to the public ends with the 'Jump', which is a considerable drop that leads to an area accessible only to experienced cavers.
But why is the Nun's Cave so called?
The answer is to be found in the Hall of Bats: here lies a calcite concretion in the fanciful likeness of a nun's face.
Known since the 19th century, it has been visibly retouched by man to emphasise the features in the eye and nose area and make it look even more like a human face.