SHARRYLAND
The Road of the Calabrian Serre - Torre di Ruggiero
A place of ancient devotion to a Our Lady of Grace, a more than recommendable stop on the way up Serre
Where is
This municipality is located along the Serre Calabre Road.
Going up to Serra San Bruno
Torre di Ruggiero is a picturesque ridge village, 560 meters above sea level, population 950, on the edge of the Serre Calabre road on the section that climbs from Chiaravalle Centrale toward Serra San Bruno. Its backdrop ranges from the middle Ancinale valley to the wooded watershed between the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas marked by Mount Cucco (m 959), Mount Sant'Agnese (m 903) and Mount Pizzinni (m 948).
The hand of the Great Count Roger
The name of the municipality recalls its founder Roger I the Norman, who wanted to unite under a single turreted banner the agricultural districts that dotted this side of the Ancinale valley, later making a gift of it, as attested in a document of 1071, to the prior of the local monastery of St. Basil the Great. Almost a thousand years of history, then, passing from hand to hand among various families, marked by calamities, earthquakes and floods from which it has always been able to recover, but also favored by aMarian apparition that has made it a pilgrimage destination since the 17th century.
The atmosphere of an ancient transit center
The village, with the typical radial pattern of hill towns, has the characteristic expanse of traditional dwellings interspersed with residences ennobled by stone portals and carved balconies. Along the crossing road a widening prepares for the sight of the Mother Church, a significant Baroque building. The town's greatest attraction, however, is the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, rebuilt in the mid-19th century in neoclassical forms on the edge of the town, on the site of a Marian apparition that earned Torre di Ruggiero the nickname Little Lourdes of Calabria.
A beautiful Baroque church invites pause
Apart from the shrine, in traversing the historic center specific attention deserves the Mother Church dedicated to Santa Domenica, whose cult, motivated by martyrdom under Diocletian, has radiated from its native Tropea to various places in Calabria. The church dates back to the establishment of the village, but over the centuries it has been remodeled several times due to recurrent earthquakes. Today it appears in its late 18th-century Baroque version. The three-aisled interior houses, among other things, the painted wooden statue of the titular saint and patron saint of the village, celebrated in early July with solemnities, illuminations and fireworks.
A small hazelnut capital
In the economy of Torre di Ruggiero , coriculture, or the cultivation of the hazelnut tree, Corylus avellana to put it in the botanists' manner, plays a significant role. The species is represented here by a local variety of recognized value, the Tonda di Calabria hazelnut, used for a variety of confectionery productions, from traditional ... to hazelnut ice cream.
Enter the Map of Italy's Undiscovered Wonders and find treasures where you least expect it... Inspire, Recommend, Share...
The Map thanks:
Enter the Map of Italy's Undiscovered Wonders and find treasures where you least expect it... Inspire, Recommend, Share...
