Melicuccà
The town of the poet Lorenzo Calogero and the Poetry Festival
Town
Melicuccà - Regione Calabria
The village of Melicuccà, in the province of Reggio Calabria, is a must-see for lovers of poetry in Calabria. It is the birthplace of the poet Lorenzo Calogero, one of the most important voices of 20th-century Italy, to whom the Poetry Festival, conceived and promoted by Nino Cannatà, is dedicated every year.
Giuseppe Ungaretti said of him: 'This Lorenzo Calogero has diminished us all'. Solitary and still little known today, the poet has made Melicuccà one of the most exciting literary destinations in Calabria.
In addition to the writer's House Museum, which can be reached via a photographic art trail winding through the narrow streets, Melicuccà offers visitors the beauty of a historic centre rich in palaces and churches, opening onto the large centuries-old olive trees that surround the town. Places to visit include the Church of St. John the Baptist, the Church of St. Anthony of Padua, the Church of St. Roch and the recently restored Church of the Rite (or Loreto), a small gem in Piazza Tocco and former site of the Knights of Malta. Inside, you can admire a 16th-century holy water font and a bas-relief depicting the transport of the Holy House to Loreto (hence the name of the church itself), commonly attributed to Antonello Gagini.
The Church of Maria SS. del Rosario, on the other hand, houses the relics of Saint Elias Speleota, the Basilian saint whose hermitage, known as the Sant'Elia Speleota Cave, is located a short distance from the building and consists of a rock complex with a monastery and adjoining buildings (cellar, mill, necropolis, wine press, etc.) dating back to the 10th century: it is one of the most conspicuous archaeological testimonies of Byzantine Greek culture in Calabria.
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