Dionysus Itinerary
Itinerary features
- 5 Days
- Provinces of Crotone and Cosenza
- Italian / English
- For included meals please refer to the itinerary description
- Intermediate
The overview
Full Itinerary
After arriving in the morning at Lamezia Terme Airport, the first day includes a transfer to Crotone to book into your hotel.
In the afternoon, move onto Le Castella, where the tour continues with a visit to the seaside village and the majestic Aragonese Castle, a military fortress dating back to the 13th century located on an islet in front of the small town centre. In fine weather, it will also be possible to take a short dinghy excursion in the marine protected area.
In the morning, visit the historic centre of Crotone. The city’s historic centre develops around the Aragonese Military Fortress (the largest in southern Italy), built in 840 AD to defend against Saracen raids. The alleys that crisscross it connect ancient noble palaces and splendid places of worship such as the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Santa Chiara and San Giuseppe. Also noteworthy is the Cathedral, dedicated to St. Dionysius, inside which it is possible to admire the chapel of the Madonna of Capo Colonna, with its sacred effigy with its peculiar dark colouring, for which it has been given the name “Madonne Nera.”
Amidst the ancient medieval arcade stands the quaint market, located close to the ancient vice-regnal walls, which offers a spectacle of colours and scents, thanks to the presence of seasonal fruits and vegetables that, together with typical products, make it a picturesque place that cannot be missed.
In the afternoon a visit to Rosaneti Estate.
Rosaneti is the largest estate of the Librandi family, probably the best known family of Calabrian winemakers. Located in the heart of the Marquisate of Crotone, the 155-hectare vineyard contains all the grape varieties used by this important winemaker. In fact, the estate is fragmented into countless smaller plots, well-defined both in terms of soil and microclimate. The scope ranges from cooler areas with looser soils, ideal for varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, to warm, exposed clay hills, perfect for Magliocco. There are also 80 hectares of olive groves here. The remaining land consists of Mediterranean scrub and oak forests. Walking all the way to the top of the Rosaneti Hills, you can enjoy a perfect panorama and admire the beauty of Calabria: from the same point you can see both the beautiful Ionian Sea and the majestic Sila Mountains with their often snow-capped peaks. .
Rosaneti is where most of the company’s experimental fields were planted, including the distinctive spiral-shaped variety garden.
Visiting the family museum is a unique experience, both for those with rural backgrounds and for those coming into contact with this archaic but incredibly imaginative world for the first time. Many tools and objects had been stored for three generations in the family’s storerooms. When the opportunity arose to bring them all together in a renovated farmhouse owned by the Rosaneti estate and equipped with a palmento (the traditional cellar where grapes were pressed), Librandi came up with the idea of creating a museum on wine and rural life. To enrich the picture of exhibits, some local families have generously contributed to the collection, giving new life to their precious objects.
Terminata la visita alla Tenuta Rosaneti ci si dirige a Rossano.
In the morning, visit the Amarelli Liquorice Museum. The town of Rossano is home to the Amarelli company, a producer of liquorice since 1731, where a Liquorice Museum has also been set up, named after Giorgio Amarelli, a “temple of liquorice history and culture” that holds equipment and evidence of the old techniques for processing the root. Not to be missed is a stop by the refreshment stand where visitors can taste liquorice in “different” ways than usual and also discover surprising products, all made from this root, such as toothpaste, perfume, shampoo and beer.
Second stop on this day is the historic centre of Rossano. An ancient village with medieval architecture, with important and monumental traces of earlier eras. The tour through the historic centre includes a visit to the Cathedral of Mary Most Holy Achiropita, erected in the 11th century AD, and to the Diocesan Museum of Rossano, where the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, a 6th-century Greek oncial manuscript containing an evangelarium with texts from Matthew and Mark, is kept. The religious part of the itinerary concludes with the Oratory of St. Mark, among the best-preserved Byzantine architecture in Italy.
The tour continues with a visit to the Ducal Castle of Corigliano, one of the most beautiful and best-preserved castles in southern Italy, an 11th-century structure whose primitive stronghold was built by the Normans. A prestigious location of historical-artistic interest that stands on Serratore Hill and dominates the entire city and the plain of Sibari. The castle boasts a museum that will allow you to take a plunge into the past by retracing the historical phases that have marked the entire territory with the possibility of a guided tour as well.
Departure in the morning for Civita
Calabria is rich in history and traditions, one of which is related to the Arberesh culture. The Arberesh are the Albanians of Italy, descendants of the people who, upon the death of the Albanian hero Skanderberg, fled from the Ottoman Turks who had conquered Albania.
Refugees in the peninsula formed small historical-linguistic communities that, together with the Greek communities present in Southern Italy including Calabria, represent realities of great all-round cultural interest. Starting with the language, which is not modern Albanian but a more archaic version that has been preserved far from the homeland of origin.
In Civita, in the Arberesh Ethnic Museum, are the testimonies of this microcosm of beliefs, customs, and traditions proper to the Arberesh culture. The Mother Church of Santa Maria Assunta is a 17th-century structure where the Byzantine-Greek rite is celebrated.
The town of Civita stands in a picturesque and impassable place, nestled between the rock walls of a canyon called the Raganello Gorge, named after the stream to which it owes its origins.
At the height of Civita, the Raganello River is crossed by the Devil’s Bridge, built in the Middle Ages, although the earliest traces date back to Roman times, for many centuries it has guaranteed the connection between the upper Ionian Sea and the Pollino Mountains. The bridge’s name derives from the legend that it was the devil himself who built the bridge after it had twice collapsed. In return, the devil allegedly took with him the soul of the first person to cross the bridge.
Depart in the morning after breakfast for Lamezia Terme Airport for the return flight.
