Fiumefreddo Bruzio ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

province of Cosenza The province of Cosenza () is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''), listed at list of ''comuni'' of the province of Cosenza. The province of Cosenza contains ...

in the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

region of southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

Geography

Fiumefreddo Bruzio is located on the coast of

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

, in the south of the province of

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

. It borders with Falconara Albanese (North) and

Longobardi Longobardi may refer to: * Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''His ...

(South). The town covers a surface of about 30 square kilometers (11.58 square miles). Even though the territory is predominantly hilly, it is characterized by a strong morphological variety, in fact, starting from sea level, the altitude grows up to 1541m on the peak of Monte Cocuzzo, the highest mountain on the coastline.

Main sights

* Castello della Valle, founded in 1201. The entrance has a 16th-century

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

portal. It houses several works of local painter Salvatore Fiume. The castle was besieged in 1806-1807 by French troops, and nearly destroyed. *Mother Church, completed in 1674. *Palazzo Zupi (16th century) * Palazzo Pignatelli *Church of San Rocco: the dome of this church was also painted by Salvatore Fiume. *Church of ''Madonna del Carmelo'' *''Fonte Laurato'' Abbey, located by the ''Fiume di mare'' river *Church of San Michele *Church of Santa Rita

Culture

Cuisine

The local gastronomy, as like as the gastronomy of southern Italy, is characterized by simple dishes, but very spicy (hot peppers, parsley, basil, rosemary, garlic and onions are the most used spices). The dishes that better represent the cuisine of Fiumefreddo Bruzio are mainly two: the ''Filiciata'' and the ''Frittata di patate''. The ''Filiciata'' is a soft cheese, placed in layers of ferns. It was usually served during the ''Assunzione di Maria Vergine'' holiday (''

Ferragosto ''Ferragosto'' is a public holiday celebrated on 15 August in all of Italy. It originates from ''Feriae Augusti'', the festival of Augustus, Emperor Augustus, who made 1 August a day of rest after weeks of hard work on the agricultural sector. ...

'') on August 15. The ''Frittata di patate'' is a sort of fried ''omelette'' (even though it has the shape of a cake) made with potatoes from local farms. Even though it is called ''frittata (omelette)'', eggs are not needed to make it. Among the other dishes of the province of Cosenza there are Cuddrurieddri, grispeddre, calabrian eggplant meatballs, stuffed alices and many more.

Notable people

* Aristide Colonna, classical philologist and professor at the

University of Perugia The University of Perugia ( Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public university in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. The offi ...

, was born in contrada Torre del piccolo in Fiumefreddo Bruzio.

References

Cities and towns in Calabria Borghi più belli d'Italia {{Calabria-geo-stub