| Amantea | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Calabria | |
| Territory | Riviera of the Cedars | |
| Altitude | 50 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 29.46 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 14.082 (2019) | |
| Name inhabitants | Amanteani or amanteoti | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0982 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 87032 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Amantea is a city of Calabria.
To know
It enjoys a Mediterranean climate, of the Tyrrhenian type: the territory of Amantea, has an average depth of only two kilometers inland and instead winds along the sea for over thirteen kilometers. This ensures a long duration of the good season. In the summer, therefore, the sea and hill breezes that refresh the air are dominant. Frosts are very rare, caused by the proximity to the coastal chain of the hinterland; rainfall is rather intense, however, concentrated in the half-year October-March.
Geographical notes
The territory of the municipality of Amantea extends in a north-south direction parallel to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The natural boundaries of the municipality of Amantea are bordered to the north with Belmonte Calabro from the river Verre, to the west from the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the south with Nocera Terinese, in the province of Catanzaro, from the river Savuto, and finally to the east from some peaks of the Coastal Chain with the municipalities of Cleto, Serra d'Aiello and with the ex-fraction of San Pietro in Amantea.
In the Middle Ages, the municipality of Belmonte Calabro with its hamlets was also Amantean territory: the jurisdiction of the Community of Amantea over the Belmonte castle alone declined only with the foundation of the castle itself, in about 1270, on the order of Charles I of Anjou for punish a rebellion of the inhabitants of Amantea. Subsequently, in 1345 the Community of Amantea appealed to Queen Giovanna I of Naples to sanction the feudal lord of Belmonte Pietro Salvacossa who had appropriated some Amantean territories: with a regional decree of May 27 the queen therefore delimited the Amantean borders for the first time. It was only in 1811, in the Napoleonic age, that the division between the territories of Belmonte and Amantea was sanctioned de jure, which until then had existed de facto.
From July 1937 the ex-hamlet of San Pietro in Amantea obtained the administrative autonomy it retains: the municipality of Amantea thus lost a mountainous territory of 10 km² which became the new municipality.
Background
In the locality of Campora San Giovanni, a hamlet of Amantea, the ancient Temesa should be located, while Clampetia would be located in the plain of Amantea, the only sinus of the Tyrrhenian coast of Cosenza.
The Byzantine Greeks, when they conquered Calabria, founded in the area of the current old Amantea a fortified citadel called Nepetia (Νεπετία).
Nepetia was conquered by the Arabs in the 9th century, who made it the capital of the emirate and renamed it Al-Mantiah.
When, in 885, Nicephorus Phocas reconquered the city, the name of Amantea remained.
The town was elevated to a bishopric until it was merged with the diocese of Tropea at the end of the 11th century.
Amantea was never enfeoffed, except for a very short and troubled period in the mid-seventeenth century. The town always maintained the status of State City, with its own institutions. Amantea underwent the French occupation first in 1799, then in 1803, and the second time it would strongly resist the invaders from beyond the Alps.
Amantea became, in 1861, a municipality of the Kingdom of Italy, with many public offices and schools that have made it the reference point of the hinterland behind. In 1943 the city was bombed by the allies, who hit some houses in the citadel, killing even innocent children. After the conflict, the town rose from the rubble and began its expansion that led it to reach the sea, making it a well-known seaside and tourist resort. A few years ago the tourist port of Campora San Giovanni was inaugurated.
How to orient yourself
Amantea: full screen map.How to get
By car
The most important state road that crosses the Amantean territory for its entire length is the Strada Statale 18 Tirrena Inferiore, the main artery of the lower Tyrrhenian coast of Cosenza, a valid alternative along the coast of the Mediterranean motorway. The municipal territory is also crossed transversely by the State Road 278 which connects it to Cosenza through the towns of Lago, Domanico and Carolei. Further south, at the Oliva hamlet, it is crossed by the State Road 108 which, passing through Aiello Calabro, leads to Cosenza.
At the hamlet of Campora San Giovanni the Tourist Port of the City of Amantea was built and opened, an important tourist port that hosts boats for Stromboli and the Aeolian Islands.
On the train
The only railway line that crosses the Amantean territory is the Southern Tyrrhenian Railway on which the city station stands, which was modernized in 2009. A second railway station is located in Campora San Giovanni.
How to get around
What see
The historic center of Amantea, clinging to the cliff of the Castle, although not particularly large, is certainly of great tourist interest both for the presence of monumental buildings and great views, and for the characteristics of the urban settlement.
- Collegiate Church of San Biagio or mother church.
- Church of San Bernardino da Siena.
- Church of the Carmine or of San Rocco.
- Church of the Capuchins or of Santa Maria la Pinta.
- Church of Sant'Elia or del Gesù.
- Church of San Procopio.
- Cavallo Marincola Chapel.
- Palace of the Poor Clares. The palace was built at the beginning of the seventeenth century as the seat of the convent of the Poor Clares and remained so until 1806, when the French, following the siege of Amantea, confiscated it together with other ecclesiastical assets and subsequently resold it to the Marquis de Luca di Lizzano. who made it his noble residence. The De Luca marquises lived in the building until 1977. After a period of neglect and serious decay, the building was bought and restored by the current owner, Fausto Perri. The Clarisse palace currently hosts cultural and commercial activities.
- Mirabelli Palace. Birthplace of the illustrious Amantean doctor Giuseppe Mirabelli as well as of the well-known lawyer of the Roman Forum Alfredo Mirabelli Centurione.
- Amantea Castle. The castle dominates the town from the top of the hill, with the tower of the Mastio in the center and the ruins of the old church of San Francesco d'Assisi (perhaps former mosque) not far away. From the studies of Enzo Fera the coastal defense system built between 1100 and 1600 AD has been reconstructed; in fact, there are many towers and fortifications that make the district an area once very well guarded against the incursions of the Barbary pirates. There are still intact artifacts.
Events and parties
- Carnival.
- Amantean medical days.
- Chess game with living figures.
- City of Amantea literary prize.
- Day of "Amanteani in the world".
- La Guarimba International Film Festival.
- The fair (The fair of the dead).
Late October - early November.
Late October - early November.What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Amantea is famous for its typical dessert, Buccunotto, a boat-shaped sweets filled with chocolate, spices and other ingredients that traditionally remain secret from the housewives and pastry shops that produce it. For the processing of dried figs with black and white chocolate and in other traditional recipes. Furthermore, the processing of fish is also very important, such as: anchovies, sardines and the newborn "rosamarina", which are prepared by local companies and private individuals scrupulously following the recipes handed down by the old fishermen.
Where stay
Safety
- Carabinieri, ☎ 39 0982 41000.
- Finance Police, ☎ 39 0982 41052.
- Municipal police, ☎ 39 0982 41256.
- Ambulance (Blue Cross Amantea O.N.L.U.S.), Viale Trieste, ☎ 39 347 0814880, 39 0982 41182.
- Emergency medical Service, Via Santa Maria, ☎ 39 0982 41290.
How to keep in touch
Post office
- 1 Amantea post office, Via Amalfi, 7, ☎ 39 0982 490143, fax: 39 0982 428394. Mon-Fri 8: 20-19: 05, Sat 08: 20-12: 35. Equipped with Wi-Fi and ATM, booking possible via the Internet.
- 2 Amantea Post Office 1, Corso Umberto I, 52, ☎ 39 0982 41397, fax: 39 0982 426324. Mon-Fri 08: 20-13: 45, Sat 08: 20-12: 35.
