Calabria · Cosenza
Altomonte
A hill town in the Esaro valley built around the highest Gothic-Angevin church in Calabria.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 26 min from Salerno
- Population
- 4,019
Known for
GOTHIC-ANGEVIN
Santa Maria della Consolazione, built 1336 by Filippo Sangineto with French craftsmen, the high point of Gothic-Angevin architecture in Calabria.
SIMONE MARTINI
Saint Ladislaus panel commissioned in Siena in 1326, kept in the Civic Museum alongside two panels of the Giotto school.
OLIO AND PANE
Città dell'Olio and Città del Pane, with extra virgin olive oil and traditional Calabrian bread from wood ovens in the centro storico.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J11°
- F13°
- M13°
- A16°
- M22°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Francesco da Paola, 2 April
Why come
Altomonte sits in the Valle dell'Esaro, forty-five kilometers north of Cosenza, between the Pollino slopes and the Ionian plain. The village is built around the church, its stairways and alleys climbing the hillside toward the square in front of it, which gives the settlement its layout and its nickname as Calabria's wedding village. The Dominicans took over the church in 1443 and founded the convent that now houses library and museum, joining under one roof the religious life of the town and the collection that grew out of it.
Altomonte is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia, a Cittaslow, and a Città dell'Olio and del Pane. The recognitions and the produce sit alongside the medieval fabric rather than apart from it: a small hill town whose civic identity, from bread ovens to heritage listings, has grown around the same core the church and its square have held since the fourteenth century.
The Sunday letter
Altomonte is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Altomonte comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Altomonte in our articles
The best towns that eat well in the province of Cosenza6 towns, Altomonte among them.
The 7 best towns with a serious restaurant in Calabria7 towns, Altomonte among them.
The prettiest villages in the province of Cosenza9 towns, Altomonte among them.
The best hidden towns that eat well in Calabria10 towns, Altomonte among them.
How to get there
From Lamezia / Reggio (SUF), about 1h 37m by car.
Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 3h 10m away.
By car from the centre of Salerno 2h 26m, Bari 3 hours or Naples 3h 10m.
What to see
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Consolazione
Built on a Norman foundation of 1070, raised over it by Filippo Sangineto. French stonework distinguishes the interior, the reason the church is ranked above any other Gothic-Angevin building in the region.
Museo Civico di Altomonte
Housed in the former Dominican convent, with Simone Martini's panel of Saint Ladislaus commissioned by Filippo Sangineto in 1326 in Siena.
Castello Normanno-Aragonese
Hilltop castle of Norman origin remodelled under the Aragonese, dominating the centro storico and the Esaro valley below.
Centro storico medievale
Medieval old town of stone stairways and alleys winding around the Consolazione square, nicknamed Calabria's wedding village for its setting.
Chiesa di San Francesco di Paola
Sixteenth-century convent church on the edge of the centro storico, with cloister and frescoed refectory.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Altomonte fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
BarbieriRistorante
Barbieri carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Living here
- Population 4,019
- Remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Lamezia / Reggio, 1 h 37 min drive
- Regional capital Catanzaro, 1 h 52 min drive
Common questions
- What is Altomonte known for?
- Altomonte is a hill town in the Esaro valley built around the highest Gothic-Angevin church in Calabria.
- Where is Altomonte?
- Altomonte is a comune in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria, at 455 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Altomonte?
- Lamezia / Reggio (SUF), about 1h 37m by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Altomonte?
- About 2h 26m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Altomonte?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Altomonte?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Francesco da Paola, 2 April.
- Which other towns are like Altomonte?
- Cusano Mutri, Calitri and Irsina.
- How many people live in Altomonte?
- 4,019 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 455 m
- Population: 4,019
- Surface area: 65.72 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Similar
Towns like Altomonte
Cusano Mutri
Province: Benevento
both inland, away from the coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Calitri
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both inland, away from the coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Irsina
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