Stacked atop a steep hill, Cosenza’s old town epitomises the authentic, unkempt charm of southern Italy. Time-warped and romantically dishevelled, its dark weathered alleys are full of drying clothes on rusty balconies, old curiosity shops and the freshly planted shoots of an arty renaissance. Welcome to a no-nonsense workaday town where tourists are incidental and local life, with all its petty dramas, takes centre stage

Cosenza is a city in Calabria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, the demonym of Cosenza in English is Cosentian.

The ancient town is the seat of the Cosentian Academy, one of the oldest academies of philosophical and literary studies in Italy and Europe. To this day, the city remains a cultural hub, with museums, monuments, theatres, libraries, and the University of Calabria.

HIGLIGHTS

It is one of the most populated provinces in Italy and the eighth for extension. With its 367 miles of coast, the Province of Cosenza occupies 44.1% of the surface of Calabria, essentially the entire central and northern part of the region.
Calabria’s singular landscape is characterized by mountains and hills. It runs from the Ionian Coast in the east to the Tyrrhenian shores in the west, from the massif of Pollino in the north to the plateau of Sila grande. There are also plains, like the one of Sibari, and big valleys, as for example in Crati. Hilly areas slope down to the North and to the East of the Sila Greca. Everything is characterized by great variety, even from coast to coast and on every massif. The visitor remains disoriented and fascinated at the same time.

The Province hosts eight mountain communities: Greca/Destra Crati, Alto Ionio,Pollino, Alto Tirreno/Appennino Paolano,Savuto, Delle Valli/Media Valle Crati,Silanaand Media Valle Crati/Serre Cosentine.

Main sights

Church of San Domenico

Founded in 1448, the church combines Renaissance and Medieval elements. Its most interesting feature is the rose window defined by 16 little tuff columns. The wooden portal (1614) is inlaid with floral motifs, figures of saints and coats of arms. Inside the church are works by the sanfilese painter Antonio Granata such as the canvas depicting the Madonna of the Rosary between Saints Dominic and Agnese da Montepulciano preserved in the ancient choir used today as a sacristy in the church (late 18th century). The high altar is made of polychrome marble (1767). In the transept, there is a Deposition and a San Vincenzo Ferreri (late 18th century, anonymous). The sacristy is noted for its ribbed vault, a double lancet window with a narrow arch and a wooden choir installed in 1635.

The Cathedral

The exact origins of the Duomo are unknown; it was probably built during the first half of the 11th century. An earthquake destroyed the cathedral on 9 June 1184, and rebuilding was completed by 1222 when the cathedral was consecrated by Emperor Frederick II. At some point during the first half of the 18th century the church was covered by a baroque superstructure which obliterated the original structure and its works of art. In the first half of the 19th century the façade was transformed in neo-gothic style, which completely changed its character. At the end of the 19th century, Archbishop Camillo Sorgente entrusted the work to Pisanti, who recovered the original old arches and the ancient structure of the church. In the 1940s the work was finally completed. In the transept is the tomb of Isabella of Aragon, wife of king Philip III of France. A long aisle links the Duomo to the archbishops’ palace, the Palazzo Arcivescovile, which houses an Immacolata by Luca Giordano. One can also admire the rare and precious Stauroteca, a gift from Emperor Frederick II to the Duomo upon consecration. The work was produced in the royal goldsmiths’ workshops, better known as “Tiraz”, in a cultural environment which blended Arabic, Byzantine and Western cultural elements.

On 12 October 2011, the Cathedral of Cosenza received the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site for being “Heritage Witness to a Culture of Peace”.^[6][7] This is the first award given by UNESCO to the region of Calabria.

Monastero delle Vergini

In via Gaetano Argento stands the “Convent of the Virgins”. The external part of the main entrance is made of decorated tuff, while the internal part is carved of wood. The convent contains a 16th-century painting of the Annunciation. In front of it, is the 13th-century Madonna del Pilerio attributed to Giovanni da Taranto, while on the walls are four other anonymous 16th-century paintings: the Visitation, the Circumcision, the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi. In the apse is the altarpiece Transit of the Virgin (1570). The cymatium houses a painting portraying the Coronation of the Virgin, while at the base of the two columns are paintings, attributed to Michele Curia, the “Master of Montecalvario”, of two unidentified saints. The wooden choir dates to the 17th century.

Giostra Vecchia

In the fifteenth century, at Palazzo Falvo the Renaissance was introduced at Cosenza, in the Giostra Vecchia. Here are located the church and monastery of Saint Francis of Assisi. The Latin cross plan has a nave and two aisles. In the nave stands the impressive high wooden altar built in 1700. Above it is a painting by Daniele Russo representing the Perdono d’Assisi (1618). The left aisle is home to a wooden 17th-century crucifix, the altar of the Madonna della Febbre and the statue of the Madonna with Child, in marble, dating to the 16th century. The sacristy has a painted wooden ceiling, a wooden armadio representing episodes from the Passion of Christ and pictures of saints and Franciscan friars. The stone arch is characterized by the painting of St. Francis of Paola, while on the walls are some frescoes dating to the beginning of the 15th century.

Hohenstaufen Castle

The Castello Svevo (“Swabian” or Hohenstaufen Castle) was originally built by the Saracens on the ruins of the ancient Rocca Brutia, around the year 1000. The castle was restored by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, adding the octagonal tower to the original structure, in 1239. According to tradition, his son Henry lived in this castle, as a prisoner at his father’s command. Louis III of Naples and Margaret of Savoy married in the castle and they both settled there in 1432.

All signs of the ancient Saracen structure have now disappeared. In the internal cloister, the modifications made by the Bourbons in order to convert it into a prison can also be seen. The entrance-hall is covered by ogival arches with engraved brackets. A wide corridor is dominated by some fleur-de-lis from the House of Anjou coat of arms. They are engraved on the ribbed Hohenstaufen arches.

Spirito Santo

The church of Sant’Agostino, also known as the Spirito Santo, was built in 1507 by the Augustinians. The original portal has several inscriptions in Gothic characters. The interior has a series of paintings from the eighteenth century. Further on a narrow street leads to the so-called “Area of the Bandiera Brothers”, the Vallone di Rovito. Here, the insurrectional patriots of 1844 were executed by a firing squad.

San Francesco di Paola

In the Arenella, are the Church and Monastery of Saint Francis of Paola (1510). The interior, with a single nave, houses the tomb of Ottavio Cesare Gaeta. On the right wall, are two 18th-century paintings: a Sacra Famiglia and Madonna con San Francesco e Sant’Agostino. On an altar is a wooden statue of Saint Francis of Paola; while on the left side of the nave, on another altar, is a wooden statue of San Michele Arcangelo. The Madonna with Child in Glory and Saints Paul and Luke (1551) was painted by Pietro Negroni. In the apse, a 16th-century triptych made by Cristoforo Faffeo represents the Madonna and Child in glory with saints Catherine and Sebastian. At the back of the altar is a wooden choir built in 1679 by M. Domenico Costanzo da Rogliano. On the wall of the sacristy are remains of frescoes dating back to 1550–1600. On the vault are some pastels representing scenes from the life of the Saint from Paola.

San Salvatore

The small church of San Salvatore serves the parish which professes the Byzantine-Albanian faith. Inside the nave are a wooden ceiling, some frescoes of the Apostoli, of the Salvatore and of the Madonna, as well as a splendid iconostasis.

Open Air Museum

In the modern part of Cosenza, in an area stretching from the pedestrianized Corso Mazzini to Piazza Bilotti, lies the open-air “Museo MAB” (Museo all’aperto Bilotti). The museum hosts a wide range of modern art sculptures that stand in the street for residents and tourists. The sculptures were donated to the city by the Italian-American entrepreneur and art collector, Carlo Bilotti. They include Saint George and the Dragon by Salvador Dalí, Hector and Andromache by Giorgio de Chirico, “the Bronzes” by Sacha Sosno, The Bather by Emilio Greco, The Cardinal by Giacomo Manzù and various marble sculptures by Pietro Consagra.

Museums and cultural institutions

• National Gallery – Palazzo Arnone
• Civic Archeological Museum
• Remembrance Museum
• Bilotti Open Air Museum
• Museo Storico all’Aperto
• Rendano Theatre
• Morelli Theatre
• Acquario Theatre
• Cosentian Academy
• University of Calabria
• Music Conservatoire
• State Archive Library
• Civic Library
• National Library
• District Library
• Children’s Library
• Antonio Guarasci Foundation Library
• Calabria Jazz Centre Recordings Archive
• Theological Library (Seminario cosentino)
• Cultural and Ethno-Anthropological Heritage Archive