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| Belvedere Marina from Belvedere centro storico. |
Belvedere Marittimo
is the next train stop after Diamante, the lungomare in Belvedere Marina area (a
short walk from the station) is pleasant and well maintained with some rather
novel decorated benches, mosaics and sculptures, and the modern church at the furthest
end from the train station is worth a visit just to see that even when building
a new church Italians can still
do it with style.
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| Belvedere Marina. |
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| Belvedere Marittimo. |
A steep climb and a
good walk from the marina is Belvedere centro storico dating from the 13th
century, larger than some of the previous centro storico I’ve mentioned in
previous posts it also feels a little livelier with shops and cafés scattered
throughout.
Meandering through its alleyways and streets you’ll find many works
of art in pottery reliefs and pictures of a high quality fixed to the house
walls.
The Norman, Angevin castle with its cylindrical tower stands
proudly in the town and from the outside seems to be extremely well preserved
but sadly it is only open to the public on rare occasions or certain events so
I’m yet to find out for myself.
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Belvedere castle.
The word belvedere
translates as ‘good to see’ or ‘good view’ and often refers to a town’s public
balconied park from where you can see for miles around, the views from
Belvedere Marittimo are of no exception.
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| Sangineto. |
From Belvedere Marittimo to Paola the train makes several
‘marina stops’ which are costal stops at
places attributed to hill-towns away from the coast i.e. the first stop can be
Sangineto Marina whereas the actually town of Sangineto is a hill town some
eight kilometres inland.
These marina towns have grown with the tourist trade and
mainly comprise of holiday apartments and the bars and restaurants that cater
for this seasonal trade. During this short season of July and August these towns
do indeed look like holiday resorts as thousands of people descend to invade
the beaches and lidos. However out of season while walking or driving through
these holiday towns you may rightly wonder if there has been a nuclear warning,
as they are in many places totally deserted. This is when we use the beaches because
having a mild autumn to spring climate, we get these deserted beaches to
ourselves.
Some of the larger
towns along Calabria’s coast have shuttle buses from the station to the historic
town but many do not, my writing of the towns in this area are those that I
have visited by car, so anyone with their own transport can visit if they think
that the journey is worth it or if you have some personal interest in the towns
then hopefully you’ll know what to expect.
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| The castle Sangineto Marina. |
Sangineto: When driving along the mountain road to Sangineto
the first sight of the town over the valley is impressive and very typical of
the romantic view we imagine of an Old Italian town (14th century).
The town seems to climb steeply up the mountainside and when you get there
you’ll realise it does. The walk from the bottom of the town to the top is more
suited to the hardened climber than the leisurely tourist. At Sangineto marina close
to the coast there is a small castle but as more common than not in this area
only open for special events and festas.
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| Bonifati. |
Coming back down the road from Sangineto one can turn off to
Bonifati and this is the town I would recommend if only wanting to do one of
the two. The town has been built on a mountain ridge making it easier on the
foot. Park when first entering the town and take the walk (heading inland)
through the main piazza and into the Centro storico.
Climb up through the old
town to the castle ruins for a beautiful view over the town with a back drop of
the sea, sadly the castle is just a ruin of foundations and the odd short wall.
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| Bonifati from the castle ruins. |
I must also give credit to Bonifati Marina and the lookout tower there, unlike
many of its counterparts along the coast of Calabria it is very well preserved
and houses a hotel and restaurant with its small well-kept gardens open to the
public, the marina with its few older buildings also has a certain character
than most other marinas lack.
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| The tower at Bonifati Marina. |
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| Cetraro. |
The train often stops at Cetraro Marina and the town high
above the marina is a big town compared to many hill towns so far visited along
this part of the coast. I have not investigated if there is transport from the
marina, but because of its size there should be. The sight of Cetraro as you travel
down the coast via train or car is impressive. Here the mountains of Calabria
have crept closer to the coast and stopped abruptly, forming high cliffs on
which the town is built. The town is the hub of many surrounding citrus fruit
farms and is thus self-sufficient with shops, offices supermarkets etc. many of
the buildings in the older part of town are of an impressive size. The main
town piazza with its Neptune fountain is a perfect place to sit and watch the
world go by or take in the coastal views.
The town is also where the armies of
Richard the first of England (The Lion heart) and Philip of France amalgamated
to begin the third crusade in the year 1190.
The three coastal hill towns between Cetraro and Paola,
Acquappesa, Guardia Piemontese and Fuscaldo all originated as spa towns, with Guardia
having three hot and three cold springs it is the one most used today for water
healing therapy. The town was only
called Guardia up until 1836 when it was decreed that the town should have the
affix of Piemontese to distinguish it from other Italian towns of the same
name. Piemontese was chosen to honour many of the families of the town whose
ancestors were Valdesi protestant who had fled from persecution in the Northern
region of Piedmont, even today the towns dialect, customs and traditions have
their roots associated with this far off region.
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| Fuscaldo from the convent grounds. |
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| Medieval courtyard Fuscaldo. |
Fuscaldo is an interesting town still with signs of its
medieval and renaissance past but for a little light-heartedness look for the
modern day statue of Christ as you enter the town, to me it’s the scariest in
Italy!
