Bruzzano Zeffirio

The history of Bruzzano Zeffirio is fascinating and comes from an archaic world, which, starting from its name, brings together two fundamental elements: the Bruzio Promontory and the Zephyr wind, which softens the climate all year round. The Byzantine kastrum, now known as Bruzzano Vecchia, was founded by the troops of Nicephorus Phocas around the 9th century. On top of the hill, not coincidentally called Rocca Armenia, there are visible traces of the ancient settlement and the Armenia Castle, which became the headquarters of the Saracens in 925. Damaged by the earthquakes that struck this area of Calabria from the 18th century to 1908, the original settlement saw its population move downhill and build a modern village with an orthogonal layout.

Among the places to visit, in addition to Bruzzano Vecchia, is the Shrine of the Madonna della Catena, one of the most venerated Marian shrines in the area, linked to a miraculous discovery on the beach of Capo Bruzzano: an alabaster statue depicting a Madonna and Child and a Moor's head chained at her feet. The beach in question is one of the marine paradises on the Ionian Sea, along the fragrant Costa dei Gelsomini, in the seaside hamlet of Bruzzano Zeffirio, known as Marinella di Bruzzano.