Discover Falerna between Monte Mancuso and the coast

Between Monte Mancuso and the coast

Falerna presents Calabria in an unusually clear sequence: the municipal area descends from Monte Mancuso at an altitude of 1,360 metres to the sea and also encompasses more than four kilometres of coastline. You therefore find a place whose landscape stretches from the mountain to the coast – from the Torrente Marevitano, also known as Malevitano, to the Torrente Grima.

In 2026, Falerna was one of four new places in Calabria to be awarded the Blue Flag. A road built around 1925 connects Falerna Marina with Castiglione Marittimo and the main town of Falerna. This spatial connection is just as interesting for your planning as the contrast between the coast and the mountain landscape.

Castiglione Marittimo and the history of Falerna

The remains of Castello di Castiglione are located on the hill where the village of Castiglione Marittimo lies; Castiglione Marittimo is a hamlet of Falerna. Castello di Castiglione was owned by the d’Aquino family from 1306 to 1799. Falerna developed at the foot of Monte Mancuso. After the devastating earthquake of 1638, the settlement grew as new residents moved in.

Churches and religious tradition

The Chiesa della Madonna del Rosario has an exposed-brick façade topped by a gable. The Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Tommaso D’Aquino in Falerna has a single-nave interior and two chapels on the sides of the transept. Its ceiling bears medallions depicting episodes from the life of Saint Thomas and the Mysteries of the Rosary. The apse is vaulted by a domed cupola resting on four Baroque columns; the symbols of the four Evangelists are painted on these columns.

The festival in honour of the Madonna del SS Rosario takes place in Falerna every year on the first Sunday in October. Falerna also has a church dedicated to the Madonna del Cammino, which was formerly the seat of a brotherhood that no longer exists today.

Olive oil, wine and paths in the mountains

La via dell’olio leads through olive groves and includes a visit to the “Le Macine” olive mill. The Roman villa of Pian delle Vigne is also part of this landscape and culinary context: it included torcularia for processing wine and olive oil.

A forest road branches off from the SS 18 and leads through landscapes with olive trees, holm oaks, oaks, chestnut trees and beeches up to Monte Mancuso. The programme of the Falerna Folk Festival included an archaeological trek scheduled for 6 September, which was due to start at the ruins of the Norman Castello di Castiglione in the hamlet of Castiglione Marittimo; the trek was to be followed by an astronomical observation at the archaeological site of the Villa romana di Pian delle Vigne.

Choose your accommodation location according to your interests

When choosing a hotel or other accommodation in Falerna, the coast and local connections on the one hand, and Monte Mancuso, olive groves and churches on the other, represent different focal points. This allows you to choose the location of your accommodation according to the topics that particularly interest you in Falerna.

Discover more places

Guardavalle, Stalettì, San Pietro Apostolo, Satriano, Gasperina, Tiriolo, San Pietro a Maida, Badolato Marina

To the higher-level travel overview: Catanzaro.