I PARCHI LETTERARI® IN CALABRIA “JOURNEYS TO THE FUTURE OF MEMORY” - I PARCHI LETTERARI ON THE ISTHMUS: LAMEZIA TERME

Historic-tourism-cultural itinerary: from Scolacium to Terina, Lamezia Terme.

From Scolacium we cross the entire Isthmus and to reach Terina, in the territory of Lamezia Terme and the Franco Costabile Parchi Letterari®.

Lamezia Terme is located in the heart of the Mediterranean, in the centre of Calabria, where in just a short time, one passes from the marine landscapes of the sun-kissed Tyrrhenian coast to the beech and chestnut forests of the surrounding mountains to the rural landscapes of the countryside.
The Municipality of Lamezia Terme was founded in 1968 from the union of the three municipalities of Nicastro, Sambiase and S. Eufemia, taking the name of the territory’s oldest community, the Lamentinoi which was established near the river Lametos (Loved), due to the unique presence of the thermal water sources of the Bagni torrent at Caronte.

Lamezia Terme offers various and diverse destinations. The Archaeological Park, the Bastion of Malta, the Natural Park of Mitoio, the historic centre of Sambiase, where churches and valuable noble homes can be appreciated and it is possible to visit the Ecomuseum Place of Memory (a private collection of eyewitness testimonies of a recent peasant past, of lifestyles of customs and traditions that are no longer followed), the historic centre of Nicastro which has maintained the most ancient neighbourhoods in the traditional Medieval style around the Norman-Swabian Castle, now restored and usable, the Lamentino Archaeological Museum which collects and displays the materials from Prehistoric to Medieval times that have been recovered from the Lamentine territory, the Casa del Libro Antico, which preserves what remains of the ancient monastic libraries, including 16th Century scrolls, the Diocesean Museum, which houses rare examples of sacred art recovered from area churches, with Archives and a Library, the modern city of S. Eufemia, which rose up at the time of the reclamation of the Plain of Lamezia, which features an urban system that was created according to the canons that were used during the Fascist period, are just a few of the places of interest for tourists.

CASTLE: The Castle of Nicastro occupies the summit of the area of S. Teodoro and it has Norman origins but was subjected to continual restorations that took place throughout the years and the effects of the earthquakes that negatively influenced the history of this territory. Archaeological excavations that have unearthed a number of important finds that attest to a more or less continuous presence at the site from Norman times to the present day.

TERINA. The position of the ancient site of Terina has not yet been resolved. However, the theory that it is located in the area of where the ruins of the Saint Eufemia Abbey are located prevails. It is certain that it was a Greek colony, founded in the 6th Century B.C. by the inhabitants of Crotone, who wanted to extend their dominion of the Tyrrhenian Sea and it was destroyed by Hannibal in 203 B.C. It is also certain that it was supplied with resources in the fertile plain of the present day territory of Lamezia Terme.

S. EUFEMIA ABBEY: The Benedictine Abbey, located in Terravecchia, was founded by Robert Giuscard in 1062 on the ruins of an ancient Byzantine monastery and it had an important role in the Norman policy of the Latinisation of the territory of Calabria which continued through the time of the Swabian domination. It was destroyed by the earthquake of 1638. The archaeological investigations that were carried out through a number of excavations have allowed the map of the church to be reconstructed and have unearthed significant elements of the monumental complex.