Cerisano: Churches, Culture and the Via dell’Eremita

Cerisano combines sacred buildings, visual art, a diverse festival and a pilgrimage route with a landscape of meadows, limestone rocks, farmsteads and cultivated areas. For orientation in the town, several distinct areas can therefore be considered side by side: churches and art venues, the Museo-Biblioteca Michel Fingesten in Palazzo Sersale, event venues in the Borgo and the landscape along the Via dell’Eremita. The town’s historic character is also reflected in its shops, lanes and squares.

Churches and Art in Cerisano

The Chiesa di San Domenico has a multicoloured stained-glass rose window depicting the Madonna del Rosario; it was probably built in 1484. During restoration work in the Chiesa di San Lorenzo Martire, an ancient fresco depicting San Rocco with a dog was discovered. The Chiesa di San Lorenzo Martire was probably built around the year 1000 on an earlier structure. The Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli and the adjoining monastery of the Reformed Franciscans of San Francesco d’Assisi were built in 1609 thanks to the feudal lord at the time, Annibale Sersale. The construction history here therefore ranges from the probable construction on an earlier structure to the establishment of the church and monastery in 1609; the artworks add their own points of focus.

Festival delle Serre and Museo-Biblioteca Michel Fingesten

The Museo-Biblioteca Michel Fingesten was established in the rooms of Palazzo Sersale in Cerisano and displays more than 100 works by Michel Fingesten. The Festival delle Serre includes theatre, dance, cinema, literature, visual art and handicrafts. It takes place at various venues in the Borgo of Cerisano and combines art, music and culture. For more than 30 years, the Festival delle Serre has been a symbol of Cerisano’s cultural vitality. During the warm season, the garden adjoining Palazzo Sersale becomes an open-air theatre for musical performances at the Festival delle Serre. The warm season here refers to the period during which the musical performances take place in the garden; the various festival disciplines are located at the venues in the Borgo.

Pilgrimage Route, Landscape and Town Life

Cerisano lies on the Via dell’Eremita pilgrimage route of the Cammino di San Francesco di Paola. On the Via dell’Eremita, you reach the area of the small Altopiano di Acquabianca and Masseria Silo, with extensive meadows characterised by limestone rocks, scattered farmsteads and cultivated areas. The Via del Gusto takes visitors through Cerisano’s historic shops, lanes and squares. The Via dell’Eremita and the Via del Gusto therefore lead through different settings: on the pilgrimage route, Altopiano di Acquabianca and Masseria Silo, with their meadows, limestone rocks, scattered farmsteads and cultivated areas, represent the landscape; the Via del Gusto remains focused on Cerisano’s historic shops, lanes and squares. This makes it possible to consider the landscape connection of the pilgrimage route and the town connection of the Via del Gusto separately when planning.

More places for your comparison of Italy: Cosenza, Sangineto, Rovito, Camigliatello Silano, Rossano, San Nicola Arcella, Palombella and Montegiordano.

To the higher-level travel overview: Cosenza.