Oriolo – Alessandria del Carretto

From Oriolo (one of the “Borghi più belli d’Italia”), built as a defensive fortress against the incessant Saracens’ raids along the Ionian coastlines, passing through the small arbëreshë community of Farneta, hikers will reach Alessandria del Carretto, the highest village of the Pollino National Park.

View of Alessandria del Carretto

Area

Alto Ionio cosentino – Monte Sparviere

Difficulty

E – Also accessible via MTB

Distance

18,1 km

Travel Time

5 – 7 hrs

Start

Oriolo – Palazzo municipale

Finish

Alessandria del Carretto

Difference in altitude

↑ 1165m ↓ 645m

Accessible

Springs and fountainheads with waypoint

No

River/fiumare crossing (waypoint)

No

Route

Oriolo was initially founded as a defensive fortress against the incessant Saracens’ raids along the Ionic coastlines. The ancient village, perched on a big spur of sandstone, is protected by a natural gorge with a small stream running through it, tributary of the Fiumara di Oriolo. Up on the top is the Chiesa Madre di San Giorgio Martire, with the Norman Castle behind it. Local historian Gabriele Barrio, in “Antichità e luoghi della Calabria”, describes the village: “Thus is the small village of Riolo, on a rock, up high; surrounded by mountains…it produces a famous wine and even cotton”. Oriolo was enriched with many churches and convents in the centuries throughout the evolution of the main urban settlement. The convent of the Minori Francescani was built, nursing seven provincial friars, among which Padre Bonaventura, who died in odour of sanctity. The convent has been for a long time the resting place of the relics of San Francesco da Paola, that father Dionigi Colomba brought back from France as a gift from Queen Catherine de’ Medici. The Pignone del Carretto family played another important role in the history of Oriolo: they were great, well-learned Lords, responsible for the foundation of new villages in the nearby areas and the preservation of Oriolo. Thus the origin of Alessandria del Carretto (in the mountains) and other small villages around the coastlines.

View of Alessandria

Farneta (the village of the “farnie” or English oaks) is a small arbëreshë community, part of the nearby municipality of Castroregio, funded in the 15th century by Albanian refugees, seeking shelter in Italy in order to escape the Turkish invasion of Albania.

Religious celebration

Alessandria del Carretto was founded in 1633 with the arrival (from the nearby villages of Oriolo, San Lorenzo Bellizzi and Cerchiara) of a number of farmers helped by the Marquis Alessandro Pignone del Carretto, who intended to increase the agricultural area and cultivable land. The village has kept alive many traditions that make it well worth a visit, such as: the Carnival and the festival of “Pitë and of the Patron Sant’Alessandro Papa and Martyr”. The former is a depiction of the struggle between good and evil, with people wearing masks of the “belli” (pretty ones) and the “brutti” (ugly ones): an incredible and unique show.
The “Festa della della Pitë e del patrono Sant’Alessandro Papa e Martire” (about to be recognised UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage) dates back to the 17th century, when, according to legend, a woodsman found in the trunk of a white fir tree the image of the decapitated Saint. From that day onwards, every year (starting from the second to last Sunday of April until the 3rd of May) people of the village celebrate through various rituals the values of the community and their cultural identity. Places of interest in Alessandria del Carretto are the Museum “Guido Chidichimo” dedicated to the first Italian doctor to perform an open heart surgery operation (born and buried in Alessandria del Carretto); the Museum of the Woolf, that illustrates the animal’s relationship with man, and the Botanical garden, with a series of itineraries to discover the local flora. “Radicazioni” is the traditional cultural festival that livens up the streets of the village from the 20th to the 22nd of August with popular music, street artists, handmade produces and debates.
Two the most typical dishes are: maccherunë cu suchë du rregonë (pasta of Carosella wheat with lamb’s leg sauce and lard, garlic, parsley and laurel) and the licurdë (stale bread soup with onions, peppers, tomatoes, dried basil, eggs and a dash of aged pecorino cheese).

Map and elevation profile

Further information

Guide of reference for the stage: Emanuele Pisarra +39 333 8732829

[Alessandria del Carretto]

Comune Alessandria del Carretto – tel. +39 0981 53006 –  web: www.comune.alessandriadelcarretto.cs.it/ – mail: alessandria.carretto@libero.it

Altre Informazioni Alessandria del Carretto – Borghi Autentici d’Italia –  web: www.borghiautenticiditalia.it/borgo/alessandria-del-carretto –

[Oriolo]

Comune Oriolo – tel. +39 0981 930871 – sito web: www.comune.oriolo.cs.it – mail: info@comune.oriolo.cs.it 

Pro Loco Oriolo – tel. +39 388 9280077 – sito web: www.facebook.com/pages/category/Nonprofit-Organization/Pro-Loco-Di-Oriolo-1202057023154472

Altre Informazioni Oriolo – Borghi più belli d’Italia – tel. +39 0981 930871 – sito web: http://oriolo.eu/  

Where to eat

Extra: not verified

[Alessandria del Carretto]

Ambrosia Hostel, Difisella, 23 – tel: +39 328 8917106
Pizzeria De Felice, P.za San Vincenzo – tel: +39 3333141794

Last update: 2021-12-20