Things to do
1st day: Morano Calabro
Arrival at Lamezia Terme airport; transfer to Morano Calabro, which is a characteristic town in the Pollino National Park and which, since 2003, has been part of the circuit of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Accommodation at the diffuso hotel, then a walk through the streets of the old town and welcome dinner with local products.
2nd day: Civita/Cerchiara di Calabria
In the morning: visit to the charming small town of Civita (one of the most beautiful in Italy), a typical Arabian village (of Albanian origin), founded in 1471 by refugees from Albania who left their homeland after Scandemberg's death. Customs and traditions are still evident. The visit to the old town culminates with the extraordinary view over the canyons of the Raganello river, one of the most important rocky environments in Calabria. Lunch: free time.
Afternoon schedule: departure to Cerchiara di Calabria and visit to the sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Armi, which is among the most valuable monuments of medieval origin in Calabria. The Sanctuary is located on the rock next to the slopes of Mount Sellaro and overlooking the wide plain of Sibari. Dinner: at the hotel.
3rd day: Papasidero/Mormanno
Departure to Papasidero, visit the city and the church of Santa Maria di Constantinople, located on the cliffs over the river Lao. Arrival for the tour in the Cave of Romito. The Cave of Romito is a site of the Late Paleolithic era and is home to one of the oldest testimonies of prehistoric art in Italy; it is one of the most important at European level.
Visit to the Cave and the museum. Lunch in a typical local restaurant and cooking laboratory to learn how to make fresh pasta. In the afternoon, visit to the old town of Mormanno; wine and food tasting with typical products. Dinner: at the hotel.
4th day: Altomonte/Malvito
Departure to Altomonte, a charming town in the province of Cosenza, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Visit to the winery and wine tasting. Lunch: free time.
Afternoon: visit to Castle Normando Lombardo di Malvito. Dinner: at the hotel.
5th day: Orsomarso/Maratea/Diamante/Fiumefreddo
Morning - Departure to Riviera dei Cedri (upper Tyrrhenian) and stop at Orsomarso, where we will take a walk through the town streets. The town is among the rocks and immersed in Mediterranean forests: Orsomarso is an ancient town in the province of Cosenza, also located at the confluence of two rivers, the largest of them, the Argentine, which also gives its name to the famous Valley and is a true jewel of the Pollino National Park.
Departure to Maratea, a splendid village located at the foot of the Apennines and overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Visit to Christ the Redeemer. Lunch: free time.
Afternoon: visit to Diamante, city of murals and pepper. Crossing the narrow streets of the village, between one house and another, you can admire artistic representations that tell the history of this city, in addition to discovering, among the old shops, the thousand ways to use the pepper. Stop for a tasting of a special gelato and artisanal tartufos (truffles), prepared with the essences present in this area (cedar, figs, peppers, etc.).
Arrival at Fiumefreddo Bruzio (one of the most beautiful villages in Italy), one of the historical, scenic and cultural wonders of the province of Cosenza. In the second half of the twentieth century, precisely from the 1970s, the Sicilian painter Salvatore Fiume lived in Fiumefreddo, who, fascinated by the beauty of the place, wanted to leave his mark on the beautiful historic center.
Welcome dinner with typical products. In the canteen, where there is no fixed menu, there will certainly be products from the garden, artisanal pastas that are dried at low temperatures, breads with unrefined flour and with a well-fermented pasta, in addition to other special local productions.
6th day: Pizzo e Tropea
Departure to Pizzo with visit to the characteristic small Chapel in the Cave; a place of incredible beauty, which has natural arches inside, small caves in the shape of a chapel and stalagmites that were sculpted as columns and statues by nature and time.
Next, visit the castle of Murat, whose story is related to the death of Joaquin Murat, brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte and King of Naples, who in Pizzo sought to conquer and recover the kingdom, but found death. Inside the building there is a historical reconstruction that reproduces the last days of Joaquin Murat's life, representing the various moments of capture of the king and his men: inside the cells, in the underground, their prison is reproduced.
Lunch: free time. In the afternoon, visit Tropea, the pearl of the Tyrrhenian. Visit to the old town and the Church of Santa Maria D’Isola.
Dinner: free time. And return to the hotel.
7th day: Cosenza/Belmonte Calabro
Morning: Departure to Cosenza, the ancient city of Bruzi. A stop with high historical and artistic value, but also picturesque, with the confluence of two rivers that cross the city, Crati and Busento where, according to the legend, Alarico, king of the Visigoths, was buried with his treasures. A walk along the open-air museum and the old town, one of the most beautiful in southern Italy, where we will visit the main attractions. Lunch: free time.
Afternoon: Arrival at Belmonte Calabro and visit ‘Colavolpe’, renowned company of typical products. On-site tasting of products. Dinner: free time – and, then, return to the hotel.
8th day: departure for return after breakfast.
OPTIONAL: Extension of the tour with more days to enjoy the famous locality of Tropea, one of the most important maritime locations in Europe.
OR IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE THIS PROGRAM IN FEWER DAYS (3 OR 4 DAYS)