What to see in Amantea: from the sea to the historical centre

In addition to the sea in Amantea, one of the most beautiful seaside resorts in the province of Cosenza, the historic centre of Amantea reveals secrets waiting to be discovered, reminding us of when the town was nothing less than a small Arab emirate in Calabria.

Let us discover together what to see in Amantea on an excursion to the Regional Marine Park ‘’Scogli di Isca‘’ and the ‘’Calabrian qasba‘’ on the ancient panoramic fortress.

Among the seaside villages of Tyrrhenian Calabria, Amantea is breathtaking for the beauty of its beaches and its history. The historical centre of Amantea boasts ancient origins: probably to be identified with the Magna Graecia town of Clampetia, renamed Nepetia by the Byzantines, Amantea and its fortified nucleus on the coastal chain became an Arab stronghold in the mid-9th century, with the name of Al-Mantiah (‘’The Fortress‘’).

It is enough to take a tour of Amantea's historical centre to feel as if you were in a ‘’qasba of the Orient‘’: tower-houses, buttresses opening onto small squares and panoramic belvederes, in a tangle of alleys, stairs and narrow passages. You reach it after strolling along the pedestrian main street, Amantea's ‘’good living room‘’, surrounded by shops and cafés, and then you lose yourself as if in an open-air museum, pausing to read the illustrative panels with the history of the buildings or posting a photo of the ‘’Instagrammable‘’ spots: from street art to the ancient fishing and work tools displayed like works of art, passing by the floral decorations.

The discovery continues all the way to the ‘’Fortress‘’ of the emirs: the remains of the ancient Castle of Amantea, with the Mastio Tower and the ruins of the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi (probably the ancient mosque). What is preserved from that era? Among the archaeological finds is a funerary stele with inscriptions in Arabic found in the 17th-century Convent of the Poor Clares (now home to the Accademia degli Arrischiati and the Museum of Copywriting) and exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria.

What to see in Amantea among the historic buildings? The monumental buildings, starting with Palazzo Mirabelli (17th century), Palazzo Cavallo Marincola (17th century) and the Florio and De Martino palaces, as well as the religious buildings such as the Collegiate Church of San Biagio (Mother Church), the Church of San Bernardino da Siena and the Church of the Carmine (or San Rocco).

Below the town is the Cave Park, the ancient shelter for boats and vessels that today hosts the summer screenings of ‘’La Guarimba‘’ International Film Festival, one of the most important short film festivals in southern Italy, not to be missed if you are wondering what to do in Amantea in summer. The other thing you absolutely must do is taste the delicious Fico Dottato di Cosenza PDO, one of the delicacies of Calabrian confectionery, appreciated all over the world, which finds its home in Amantea thanks to the presence of two historic producer families and their shops.  

The Amantea sea falls within the Regional Marine Park ‘’Scogli di Isca‘’, whose boundaries extend as far as the marine area of the neighbouring municipality of Belmonte Calabro.

The name derives from the presence of two rocks about 800 metres from the coast: the smaller one, to the south, is called Isca Piccola while the larger one, to the north, Isca Grande. The Amantea sea between the two rocks offers a wonderful seabed, perfect for diving even at great depths (professionals can easily reach 25 metres) and admiring the extraordinary variety of marine flora and fauna that characterises it, swimming among groupers and moray eels.

Amantea's summer life takes place on the seafront and in the hamlets of Coreca and Campora San Giovanni: the former takes its name from the cliff of the same name overlooking the sea, dominated by the remains of the ancient 16th century cylindrical watchtower, an integral part of the sophisticated coastal defence system put in place by King Charles V; the latter offers the services of a marina from which it is possible to reach the Aeolian Islands by boat.