Our last view of Mount Etna, which dominates the Sicilian skyline, from Melito di Porto Salvo in Calabria. We noticed how depressed this very of southern part of Italy appears (the toe). So many unfinished structures in small seaside towns and villages. As we drove further east this was no longer evident.
We drove along the coast (sole of the foot) from Melito di Porto Salvo to Crotone where we took a detour to the amazing village of Santa Severina.
The village of Santa Severina is in a valley halfway between the Ionian Sea and the Sila Mountains in Calabria. It sits atop a mountain 326 metres above sea level giving its former citizens the ability to govern from above and is visible from quite some distance. The hills surrounding it are limestone and newly sown with crops which are just pushing through the soil.
The majestic Castle of Santa Severina is emblematic of the great and long history of this village of 2,000 inhabitants.
The territory of Santa Severina, during the Bronze and Iron Ages, was inhabited by indigenous peoples possibly belonging to the Enotrians (the term given by the Greeks to the natives).
In ancient times, Santa Severina was known by the name of Siberene, a name that was retained even during greek rule. . In Roman times, the name was latinized into Severiana. It was with the arrival of Byzantine rule that the present name of the village was settled.
It was later ruled by the Normans, under whose rule the construction of the castle began, and then by the Swabians. Finally, after Aragonese rule, it came under the rule of the Bourbons until unification of Italy in 1861.
