Bruzzano Vecchio

Discover the "ghost town" of Bruzzano Vecchio in the municipality of Bruzzano Zeffirio (RC), a place rich in charm and legends at the foot of the Aspromonte National Park. It seems that the ancient Byzantine kastrum on which Bruzzano Vecchio stands was founded by the troops of Nicephorus Phocas around the 9th century. On top of the hill, not coincidentally called Armenian Fortress, there are traces of the urban centre and the Castle of Armenia, which became the headquarters of the Saracens in 925. The so-called Valley of the Armenians takes its name from the Armenian community that found refuge in this area from religious persecution in the Ottoman Empire around the 17th century.

The Armenians introduced a series of artistic, religious and folkloric traditions to Calabria that still survive today, intertwined with those of the local Greek community. Among the ruins of Bruzzano Vecchio, the Triumphal Arch stands out: an imposing sandstone structure that symbolises local history. The fortress, together with its castle, is inextricably linked to the history of the Byzantine (Basilian) monks who lived in the surrounding caves, known as the Basilian Caves. Damaged by the earthquakes that struck this area of Calabria from the 18th century to 1908, Bruzzano Vecchia saw its population move downhill and build the modern village of Bruzzano Zeffirio.