Saracena
The village of Moscato wine in the Pollino National Park
Naturalistic parks
Saracena - Regione Calabria
In the Pollino National Park, the town of Saracena is a perfect example of Arab-Turkish town planning in Calabria. As its name suggests, Saracena was besieged around 900 by Turkish pirates (Saracens) and liberated by the army of Constantinople led, according to legend, by a woman wrapped in a sheet. The episode is depicted in the Chapel of St Anthony of Padua and in the sacristy of the Church of St Mary of Gamio.
The pride of the place? The Moscato di Saracena wine, a Slow Food Presidium. A delicious passito made from the indigenous Moscato grape with the addition of Malvasia and Guarnaccia.
The historical centre of Saracena is rich in churches and chapels that narrate the blend of East and West. Saracena also boasts some not-to-be-missed museums, such as the ‘’Andrea Alfano‘’ Municipal Art Gallery, which exhibits a collection of 250 works of the Italian and international 20th century inside the historic Palazzo Mastromarchi. Another important museum in Saracena is the Museum of Sacred Art, inside the aforementioned Church of Gamio, a collection spanning the 16th-19th centuries and comprising paintings, silver and gilded copper furnishings, reliquaries, liturgical vestments and important archive documents.
Excursions in the Pollino lead to the San Michele Arcangelo Cave, a large karstic cavity west of the Garga River inhabited from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, a walk to Mount Caramolo, Timpone Scifariello and the inevitable trip to Lake Tavolara.
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