Galatro

Galatro can be found along the western slopes of the Calabrian Serre (in the province of Reggio Calabria) and is famous for its Baths, launched at the end of the XIX century. The area's location is charming from an environmental point of view; on the last terraced fields of the western south Serre Calabre to the borders of the Gioia Tauro Plain and the massif of the Aspromonte, at the confluence of the Fermano and Metramo rivers. The village offers breathtaking panoramic views, overlooking the plain of Rosarno and up to the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Within the village, the church dedicated to San Nicola di Bari, patron saint of Galatro, is worth a visit; it is next to the town hall and contains ancient works of art of great value, including the eighteenth-century central altar produced by the school of Gagini and the marble statue of San Nicola in alabaster marble of the fifteenth century.

Only the ruins remain of the Monastery of S. Elia, founded by the Basilian monks from Tauriana following the earthquake of 1783.

Local monks have used the water of the Sant'Elia spring to heal the sick since the VIII century

The town of Galatro developed an economy due to the thermal baths of Terme di Galatro, which emerged at the end of the XIX century to use the thermal waters of the Sant'Elia spring. The Terme di Galatro of the Sant'Elia spring are located along the upper valley of the river Metramo, rich in oak and olive trees, to the southern border between the Catena delle Serre and the massif of Aspromonte. Local monks have used the water of the Sant'Elia spring to heal the sick since the VIII century. The various monastic orders, which emerged up to the seventeenth century, developed better knowledge of the therapeutic properties of thermal baths.

Baths of Galatro

A short distance from the old town centre are the Terme di Galatro; these thermal baths are among the most renowned of the entire region. The thermal baths are located in a charming and uncontaminated valley of intense and dominant greenery, rich in woods and century-old olive groves with an adjoining hotel, restaurant, congress centre, outdoor thermal pool with vascular path and indoor pool for the cold season. The baths are supplied by the S. Elia spring, located in a narrow gorge of Monte Livia, whose water rises to the temperature of 37°C; its water is particularly good for pathologies of the bones and joints, the respiratory system and the ears, nose and throat. The water of the thermal baths is high in mineral salts, due its chemical composition typical of sulphurous, salt-bromide-iodic and salt-iodic water that gives them high therapeutic properties. Sulphur, the main element of these waters, is very similar to the essential components present in human cells of tissues and bodies.

Gastronomy

The feast of the Madonna della Montagna (Lady of the Mountain), solemnly celebrated on 8 September, is still known as a feast of melangiani chini (stuffed aubergines). In fact, following tradition, prior to the feast all homes in the village fry stuffed aubergines; a practice that still today bears witness to Galatro's history, where all village families have their roots.