Monteleone di Calabria

Vibo Valentia - We are located in the heart of Calabria and it is possible to reach Vibo Valentia through the A3 motorway or the SS18. It is located on a high hilly terrace at 476m above sea level. In the eyes of the visitor it is rich in natural beauty, history and traditions. Its strategic position has made it an important center from all points of view: since ancient times it has been a significant agricultural market and today it represents one of the most important industrial centers in Calabria.

The port of Vibo Marina is important on a commercial but also tourist level; fishing plays an important role and tourism is booming. It is also called Monteleone di Calabria until 1927; 'Vibo' seems to derive from a Greek word meaning 'horse' and 'Valentia' comes from the verb 'to value' with the meaning of 'to be strong'. During the Fascist period, the politician Luigi Razza launched a relaunch of public works, among which the town hall, completed in 1935, stands out. After his death, a full-length bronze statue was built which Benito Mussolini himself inaugurated in 1935; currently the statue is located in Piazza San Leoluca. To admire is the Norman-Swabian Castle which probably rises on the ancient acropolis. Today the castle has cylindrical towers, a spurred tower and an arched door belonging to the Angevin period; inside there is the Vito Capialbi State Archaeological Museum, founded in 1869. Inside this museum it is possible to observe finds from the Greek and Roman times. In the hamlet of Trappeto Vecchio you can admire the ancient walls of Hipponion of about 7.5km. In addition, an important stop is also the one at the castle of Bivona dating back to the first half of the 15th century and built by Mariano d'Alagno, governor of Monteleone. The castle has a rectangular shape with 4 circular towers placed at the corners; it was abandoned at the end of the seventeenth century due to the formation of swamps nearby. Vibo also boasts numerous churches, among which the most important are the church of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Leoluca, that is the cathedral of Vibo Valentia. The latter was built in the seventeenth century on the remains of an ancient Byzantine basilica and was restored after the earthquake of 1783. The base is a Latin cross with a single nave and embellished with nineteenth-century neoclassical frescoes. The main altar is from the eighteenth century in polychrome marble on which stands a sixteenth-century statue of the Madonna della Neve and a marble triptych depicting the Madonna delle Grazie, San Giovanni Evangelista and Santa Maria Maddalena. Also important is the Church of Santa Ruba, halfway between Vibo and the small town of San Gregorio di Ipponia; but also the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, built between 1621 and 1666. Vibo is also rich in noble palaces: Palazzo Capialbi, built at the end of the 17th century on the remains of buildings from the 15th and 16th centuries. It has a masonry facade and a granite arch in the center; inside there is a very important museum and library; Palazzo Cordopatri, built in 1784 on the ruins of an ancient building of the '600, at the behest of Antonio Cordopatri; Palazzo Romei located in the historic center of the town, built at the end of the 15th century by Giovanni Andrea Romei, has the shape of a parallelogram and has 3 floors; Palazzo di Francia, a palace of 1800 square meters and reminiscent of the Vesuvian villas of the '700; Palazzo Gagliardi, built on the ancient remains of the Church of Santi Marco and Luca, was demolished in 1900 to make room for the current one; a plaque affixed to the façade testifies to Garibaldi's stay in 1860. The patronal feast takes place on 1st March in honor of San Leoluca.