Itinerary through the Orange Flag-awarded villages in Calabria

An ancient castle, the surrounding walls, a refined village nestled in the greenery of Pollino National Park: Oriolo is a precious town, rich in history, culture and traditions.

If you decide to visit Oriolo, you'll immediately be captivated by the surrounding atmosphere. This is thanks in part to the majestic Norman–Aragonese castle that stands at the top of the historic centre. Built by the Sanseverino family, it has preserved its original structure intact, with the two guard towers and the keep around which the entire complex is arranged.

Have you always dreamed of visiting a castle? Make your dream come true in Oriolo. You will enter the Banqueting Hall, the Audience Chamber, the Hall of Banners, and the sumptuous bedchamber of Margherita Pignone del Carretto, crowned by a dome frescoed with a Triumph of Apollo. Enjoy the view and the fresh air here, where your gaze follows the outline of the hills that gently slope down to the sea.

It's time to explore the village, getting lost in the narrow cobbled streets that lead to the little squares, among noble palaces and churches. In addition to the Chiesa Madre di San Giorgio (Church of Saint George Martyr), which houses relics of St Francis of Paola and St George), be sure not to miss the Chiesa di San Rocco (Church of St Roch) and the Cappella della Madonna delle Virtù (Chapel of Our Lady of Virtues).

If history fascinates you, lose yourself among the shelves of the Palazzo Tarsia-Toscano Library Centre, a study centre and a valuable repository of sources on Oriolo and the wider Calabria. Also worth discovering is the Museo Diffuso delle Arti e dei Mestieri (Diffuse Museum of Arts and Crafts), a cultural hub comprising six sections across different locations. Before leaving, don't forget to stock up on two products bearing the De.Co. label (Denominazione di Origine Comunale, Municipal Designation of Origin): fennel taralli and extra-virgin olive oil.

You only have to look at it from a distance to understand why they call it "the nativity scene village".Morano Calabro is nestled on the side of the hill, framed by the Pollino mountains  and coloured by an expanse of roofs topped with polychrome majolica tiles that speak volumes about the encounter between the peoples and cultures of the Mediterranean. 

This small historic centre in the hinterland of the Upper Ionian area of Cosenza will amaze you with its historical, cultural, gastronomic and landscape heritage. You'll encounter a fairytale atmosphere, enhanced by the presence of the Norman-Swabian castle with its high, airy windows. The heart of the village is a maze of alleyways partly carved into the rock. An itinerary of churches and historic buildings awaits you.

From here, your holiday can take many different directions: hiking, cycling routes, excursions, and leisurely walks in the Pollino National Park. From June to August, a fragrant expanse of purple flowers will welcome you to the Lavender Park.

An interesting fact: the great Dutch graphic artist Maurits Escher, renowned for his staircases that appear to ascend and descend at the same time, was also captivated by this place during his stay in Calabria and chose to immortalise its beauty.

Located in the heart of the Pollino National Park, in this village you can get to know the fascinating Arbëreshë (Albanian) culture and enjoy breathtaking views.

In the historic centre of Civita, you'll discover the Kodra Houses, characteristic dwellings in which the windows and the door form delightful faces that you'll have fun identifying. Here, everything speaks of an ancient yet still vibrant culture, the Arbëreshë. On the street you will hear conversations in Albanian, a carefully preserved language that children learn from an early age.

In the Arbëreshë Ethnic Museum you can learn more about the history, traditions and customs of this community that settled in Italy to escape the Ottoman invasion. The Arbëreshë religious and cultural spirit can be found in sacred places, in particular in the Byzantine Church of Santa Maria Assunta.

To combine nature and fun, don't miss the rafting adventure in the Raganello Gorges and don't forget to walk the legendary Devil's Bridge suspended over the river, with a spectacular view of the canyon. 

Pollino Park offers tourists various options, from hiking along the equipped paths to birdwatching. The Raganello Valley is perfect for observing birds of prey and other avian species in their natural environment. History, nature, fun and of course great food with zero-mile ingredients, such as Dromësat, a type of homemade pasta served with sauce or salted ricotta, goat stew slowly cooked with local aromatic herbs and finally kanojët, sweet treats filled with walnuts and honey.

This small town in the Catanzaro area of the Sila was the birthplace, in 1613, of Mattia Preti, one of the greatest painters of the 17th century (his works are exhibited in the Uffizi, the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the Prado, and the Getty in Los Angeles), who is among the greatest exponents of Caravaggism.

A strong and intense bond unites Mattia Preti and Taverna, one that can still be sensed today simply by walking through the village streets, where the "Calabrian knight", as he was known, took his first steps into the world of art. Everything in Taverna speaks of its most illustrious citizen, who wanted to maintain a strong bond with his homeland. Despite having spent most of his life away from Calabria, he donated many paintings to the small town where he was born, turning it into a treasure trove of precious works of art.

Don't miss a visit to the Civic Museum, where you can admire the canvases of Mattia and his brother Gregorio. In the Monumental Church of San Domenico, attached to the Dominican convent, valuable works are on display, including The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, God the Father in Blessing, and The Miracle of Saint Francis of Paola. Finally, in the Church of Santa Barbara more wonderful paintings are waiting to be discovered.

Taverna is therefore a village of art, where visitors can explore the Open-Air Contemporary Art Museum or stroll along the "streets of poetry", with verses engraved on terracotta tiles. Art, but that's not all, because the village is immersed in a spectacular natural setting. You can also visit a thematic biodiversity museum and then experience the rich gastronomy that draws on centuries-old traditions. You can choose between hiking or guided walks to immerse yourself in the breathtaking views of the Calabrian mountains, but the area also offers ideal routes for cycling enthusiasts.

Gerace is one of the Borghi più Belli d'Italia (Most Beautiful Villages of Italy) and all it takes is a look around to feel transported back in time, for here the traces of history have preserved their mysterious allure intact. It was also known as "the holy city" because of its many churches (as many as 128, later destroyed over the centuries by earthquakes).

It features a medieval urban layout: the Castle, the Cathedral, elegant portals and the ring walls, interspersed with twelve gates. The remains of the Norman-era castle, now destroyed by the devastating earthquakes that have occurred over the centuries, are still visible.

What will undoubtedly amaze you is the majestic Cathedral of the Assumption. It measures almost two thousand square metres and is the most representative monument of Calabrian Byzantine‑Romanesque‑Norman architecture; it stands on an ancient Byzantine crypt. The building has a three-nave layout; on entering, visitors are struck by the marble columns and the Ionic-style capitals originating from various temples of Magna Graecia.

As you wander through the village's cobbled streets, you can choose to visit the many other churches (in the square known as "delle Tre Chiese", you will find the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, and the Church of Saint John Chrysostom (San Giovannello) facing onto it), while enchanting views unfold before you.

The Porta del Sole, one of the ancient city gates of the village, overlooks the valley and the Ionian Sea. Noble palazzi and potters' workshops carved into the rock, where artisans still work the clay today: walking through the historic centre means losing yourself in the traces of a past that, in Gerace, is shaped by precious layers of history.

Can you smell that aroma? You can't miss discovering the unique flavours of this land, starting with the sweet Greek wine once enjoyed by the ancients with honey, followed by the unmistakable hand-pulled fresh pasta served with 'mbuttunate aubergines, or curcudia, the traditional Aspromonte polenta.

Bova is one of the Borghi più Belli d'Italia (Most Beautiful Villages of Italy) and the capital of Greek culture in Calabria. Located in the heart of the Aspromonte National Park, it is a village rich in history and traditions, with views so breathtaking as to leave you speechless. This ancient town with a Greek soul overlooks a spectacular panorama of slopes, valleys, and fiumare (seasonal riverbeds).

As you explore the ancient heart of the village, stopping at the Cathedral of Bova and visiting the churches, you will feel as though you have stepped outside time, with elderly locals speaking an archaic language among themselves. To better understand the history of this language, you can visit the Museum of the Greek-Calabrian Language, dedicated to Gerhard Rohlfs, a German linguist who during the twentieth century traced the linguistic history of the Greeks of Calabria for the first time.

In the museum, visitors can experience the various stages of the history of the Grecanic language through an immersive journey. You will be captivated by the variety of traditional crafts: wood inlay work, and wool and broom fibre hand-woven textiles – and then, of course, get ready to discover the authentic flavours of the Aspromonte. You will taste a unique cheese called musulupu, along with goat meat and traditional sweet treats such as pretali, 'nghute, and scaddateddhe.