Borgo di Monasterace Superiore

Three kilometres above its own beach, Monasterace Superiore preserves the medieval town that grew out of ancient Kaulon's collapse: cobbled lanes that climb towards a castle, massive town gates still framing the views, and a calendar of rituals that turns the whole hill into a stage three times a decade.

Why it matters

The Metropolitan City's tourism portal attributes the founding of this hilltop centre to the survivors of ancient Kaulon after the Greek city's destruction, and that double identity, Greek in origin and medieval in form, is what makes the borgo worth an unhurried visit. Set on a hill about three kilometres from the coast, the settlement took shape in the Byzantine and medieval centuries, when its houses clustered around the fortress for safety and its four massive gates of medieval memory controlled every approach. The place name itself descends from the Greek Monastiraki, "little monastery", a nod to the Basilian monks who left small churches, monasteries and hermits' shelters in the surrounding scrub. Nobody has tidied the borgo into a stage set, and that lived-in quality is the reason to come.

What to notice

Porta Marina and Porta Tripu, with a further gate to the south, frame steep cobbled lanes and houses clustered around the stronghold. The castle crowns the borgo above the Stilaro and Allaro hills; small squares gather medieval churches and historic palazzi, while older sacred buildings preserve traces of the Basilian presence.

Context and history

The borgo's history is a story of retreat and resilience. After Kaulon fell, the displaced population moved to the hills, out of the malarial plain and away from pirate raids that exploited the ruin of the Greek cities. In the Norman period the settlement figured among the appurtenances of Stilo's Kastron, and the feudal era that followed left the noble families whose names still mark palazzi and deeds: the Caracciolo held the fief until 1464, before the long sequence of barons recorded for the castle. The town was once known as Monte Arachi, a name tied to its legume harvests, before the monastery-derived toponym prevailed. Its deepest traditions remain active: the triennial U Territoriu procession carries the statue of the patron Sant'Andrea Avellino along a ritual route across the countryside, and at Easter the 'A cunfrunta meeting of statues dramatises the Resurrection in the streets.