Italy Web Guide & Travel - Holiday Accommodation, Hotel Rooms, Self Catering Apartments and Villas for rent or sale in South Italy, Food Wine and Italy Travel, Tailor made & Relax Holidays
BOOK HOTEL ROOMS & ACCOMMODATIONS HERE NOW! Hotel Rooms & Accommodations with Fast Secure Reservations engine Provided by our Partner Booking.com @no extra costs! South Italy and most of its little villages, is an area so little known to the European tourism yet in a delightful land wealthy of natural beauties, such as the Arch of Arcomagno, a natural arch of rock, entrance to an attractive coved beach, with calm turquoise sea; the Faraglioni of Capri, beautiful sea rocks in the sea of Capri, one of many in the Amalfi Coast; or the Etna Volcano, still active and one of Sicily's biggest tourist attractions. History and architecture are also very important factors of southern Italy's culture and tourist attractions, like the temple ruins of Agrigento - Sicily; Capri offering one of Italy's most beautiful piazzas (town square) in the middle of town, Piazzetta, completely closed up, giving the impression of a courtyard, surrounded by many shops and cafes and the Torre dell'Orologio (Tower of Clock); or the over 40 mt. high statue of the Christ in Maratea situated on a hill over 300 mt. high offering a most breath-taking site over the port of Maratea. Another great piece of southern Italy history, from Calabria to be exact, is the Bronzi di Riace: two magnificent bronze, human-size, male statues, found in the gulf of Riace, now showing in the museum of Reggio Calabria, representing the Greek conception of heroism and beauty for their classical composure and dynamic vitality. Great tourist attractions for both rural and coastal holidays are also the town of Rivello, based on the graceful Basilicata mountains with its typical hystorical houses that can be found in all old parts of most of southern Italy's towns, and the Trulli, typical Apulia houses with cone shaped roofs. Not to mention the delicious cuisine and friendly people, all part of a world waiting to be explored and taken advantage of.













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Santa Maria del cedro - Travel and Holiday to south Italy, accommodation by the sea or rural

SANTA MARIA DEL CEDRO - CALABRIA - SOUTH ITALY

At 3km distant from the sea, on a 118m high hill rises the little village of Santa Maria del Cedro, right at the edge of a large plain that before our Christian era was a bay whose waters washed a shore up to the track of today's railway line.

The village of Santa Maria and its surrounding territory has been a pivotal excavation site for archaeologists, anthropologists and historians who have worked together to unravel the mysteries of Italy's origins.
The ruins and artefacts that are being slowly uncovered through years of painstaking work are answering old questions but are also raising new ones.

A large fortress ruin, nearly on the scale of the City of Pompeii, has been discovered and is still undergoing extensive excavation and research. It seems clear that the area was extremely important as a defensive position and a center of trade.

Santa Maria del Cedro Calabria South Italy Santa Maria del Cedro Calabria South Italy Santa Maria del Cedro Calabria South Italy Santa Maria del Cedro Calabria South Italy Santa Maria del Cedro Calabria South Italy Santa Maria del Cedro Calabria South Italy


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If one visits the Town Hall one can see two enormous frescoes that used to adorn the Byzantine abbey within the castle precincts. If you visit the Town Hall, just ask the clerk to see them.
Santa Maria Del Cedro, steeped in history and at one time an important trade and fortifying position, is now a tranquil village. Local industry is almost entirely agricultural, with the primary crop being Cedro a unique citrus-fruit plant.
The Cedro plant's flowers are used to make commercial perfumes and many delicatessen foods, like the candied cedro, to be savoured as sweet or dessert, or the cedro liqueur, similar to the well known Limoncello, also a great digestive at the end of a full tipical calabrian meal or even the very typical Panicelli, made with home-grown grape raisins wrapped in Cedro leaves and roasted in wood ovens.
Drive downhill from Santa Maria del Cedro to find the Carcere dell'Impresa, an old prison that was remodeled lately and now hosts the Museum of the Cedro. The museum has its culminating moments during its annual mid September Festival del Cedro in which you can indulge in liqueur, cakes, preserves, perfumes and candied fruit all based on cedro.

The area's farmers also harvest olives, grapes and figs, which are the basic ingredients for the area's wonderful culinary specialities that visitors can sample at a handful of restaurants located in the town's centre.
Santa Maria Del Cedro, is not only a great teourist destination, is also a wonderful place to pass through, if only to catch a glimpse of its long and unique history. You will find a modern Itallic community, but one whose ways have persisted from long before the birth of Christ.Aieta is an historic Calabrian hill town dominated by an imposing Renaissance mansion, which has recently been converted into an art gallery and museum that showcases some of the most well-known artists in Calabria during the summer months.

The museum as well as the local shops in Aieta, that showcase the works of local artists and craftsmen, speak to Calabria's history and the various cultures which have dominated the area through time.
For visitors interested in local craftsmenship, some may want to purchase some of the fabulous embroidery for which Aieta is justly renowned for. It's worth the trip in and of itself to Aieta, just to view some of these specacular goods.

In addition to these wears, there are a number of fascinating things to see in Aieta, including the Churches of Saint Maria della Visitazione, San Francesco and Addolorato al Ponte.
In addition to the churches, there is an archeological site, known as Aieta Vetere, with remains from C. 1000 and several grottos, which have been converted to shrines, that visitors with time to explore, should make a point of seeing.

Much of the pleasure however, in visiting the town of Aieta is the simple, rustic way of life, visitors are exposed to. Taking a day or a few hours to walk around this historic village, one may very well feel they are not only stepping back in time, they are living it.