Wellness weekend in Lamezia Terme

The second largest city in the province after the capital, Catanzaro, today's Lamezia Terme was officially born in the 1960s, following the union of the small towns of Nicastro (the historical centre), Sambiase and Sant'Eufemia, the latter being the region's main railway junction and home to the international airport.

Lamezia Terme is perfect for a relaxing weekend of wellness and food and wine tourism.

Let's discover together why...

One of the oldest communities attested in the Catanzaro area and at the foot of Mount Reventino, already in protohistoric times, Lamezia Terme is a true "city of well-being" thanks to the presence of natural thermal water springs along the course of the Bagni stream, especially in the Sambiase locality, where the Terme di Caronte complex is located.

As its name evokes, Charon the ferryman of souls between sulphurous springs, the thermal baths of Lamezia, known for more than two thousand years as Aque Angae, consist of 4 hot water springs (up to a maximum of 39°) that collect in a series of pools, both natural and artificial, enclosed in the complex.

A place of undoubted charm, the Terme di Caronte in Sambiase can be enjoyed free of charge at a small pool in the green (the "gurna") where one can bath at a warm temperature all year round; or, for a fee, by taking advantage of the many wellness and spa treatments offered by the "Terme Caronte" establishment.

A modern and functional facility that offers a pure wellness experience as well as curative and rehabilitative treatment.

What can you expect from the thermal baths of Lamezia? Cures and treatments based on sulphurous waters and mud (inhalations, ventilations, washes, etc.), with a relaxation area (massages, mud therapy, etc.) where health meets pleasure.

The territory around the city of Lamezia Terme, mostly hilly and flat, is rich in vineyards and olive groves from which two excellent Calabrian food products are obtained: Lamezia CDO wine (made from the indigenous Nerello, Nerello Mascalese, Cappuccio and Greco Nero vines) and Lametia PDO extra virgin olive oil.

Both these products are the subject of tastings and tours in the vineyard and among the olive groves to be arranged with the local producers offering them, to complete your wellness experience in Lamezia with all your senses.

Lamezia's wine and oil go well with the typical dishes of the area, served both in the gourmet variants of the city's most emblazoned restaurants and in the simple way, at the many farmhouses and traditional trattorias.

What to see on a walk after lunch or dinner? The historic centre of Nicastro offers various monuments, works of art and cultural sites and events not to be missed.

Among these is the San Domenico Monumental Complex, a multifunctional place located in the ancient Dominican Fathers' Convent, now home to the Lametino Archaeological Museum, with artefacts from the nearby site of ancient Terina (a 5th century B.C. Magna Graecia Crotone colony), and numerous festivals and cultural events taking place in the "Chiostro Café".

Worth visiting are the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, the Diocesan Museum, located in the Bishop's Seminary building, and the Municipal Library with the not-to-be-missed Antiquarian Book House, which houses more than 2,500 books printed since the 16th century.

Continuing our walk through the historical centre of Lamezia Terme, we encounter a very significant figure for the city and the territory: the Statue of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, who with his hunting falcon announces the entrance to the historic Giudecca quarter, the old Jewish ghetto, and to the uphill settlement at the foot of the Norman-Swabian Castle, an undisputed symbol of history and myth.