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00 Montegiordano
Stemma di Montegiordano

Calabria · Cosenza

Montegiordano

A 619-meter hill town with a hunting castle and a centro storico turned into a gallery of murals.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
2 h 9 min from Bari
By train
Station in the comune
Population
1,566

Known for

  • PAINTED VILLAGE

    More than two hundred murals across the centro storico of this Alto Jonio hill town, applied as a regeneration project and now its contemporary identity.

  • PIGNONE CASTLE

    Seventeenth-century hunting castle built by the Pignone del Carretto, with stables around a graveled courtyard and a central well.

  • WINE AND OLIO

    Città del Vino on Alto Jonio slopes, with a winery near the castle producing wine and extra virgin olive oil under panoramic views.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J10°
  • F12°
  • M13°
  • A16°
  • M21°
  • J27°
  • J31°
  • A30°
  • S25°
  • O21°
  • N15°
  • D12°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Antonio di Padova, 13 June

Why come

The commune sits on a ridge above the Ionian in the Alto Jonio Cosentino, with the Pollino massif behind it. It has two centres, the hill town at 619 meters and the marina on the coast below, joined by the road that passes the small chapel on the plain. Records of settlement here go back to the fourth century BC.

The castle stands in the Piano delle Rose locality, built by the Pignone del Carretto as a winter residence and hunting lodge; the de Martino family later ruled the feudo from 1748 until the abolition of feudalism in 1806. The commune carries the designations Borgo Autentico, Spiga Verde and Città del Vino. What holds the two centres and the centuries together is the sense of a working village rather than a preserved one: a hill town still occupied and repainted, a castle still standing over its own courtyard, a marina still adding beach length, and a plain between them still crossed on the old route from residence to coast.

The Sunday letter

Montegiordano 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 Montegiordano comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Montegiordano in our articles

How to get there

From Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 2h 15m by car.

Lamezia / Reggio (SUF) is about 2h 35m away.

By car from the centre of Bari 2h 9m, Lecce 2h 48m or Salerno 3 hours.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Bari?

Coming by train into Taranto? Montegiordano is about 1h 24m away by road.

Montegiordano, photo 1
Montegiordano, photo 2

What to see

  • Castello Pignone del Carretto

    Four kilometers from the marina, built as a winter residence by the Neapolitan Pignone del Carretto family who held the feudo from the seventeenth century.

  • Centro storico dei murales

    The hilltop old town itself, its walls and lanes given over entirely to the mural project, each one telling a piece of the village story rather than standing as decoration alone.

  • Cappella Madonna del Carmine

    Small chapel on the plain near the castle, a few hundred meters from the Pignone residence, on the road between hill and marina.

  • Marina di Montegiordano

    Coastal fraction below the hill town with 2.5 kilometers of free and equipped beaches along the Costa degli Achei.

The slow-trip planner

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Plan your trip

Living here

  • Population 1,566
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 2 h 15 min drive
  • Regional capital Catanzaro, 2 h 50 min drive

Common questions

What is Montegiordano known for?
Montegiordano is a 619-meter hill town with a hunting castle and a centro storico turned into a gallery of murals.
Where is Montegiordano?
Montegiordano is a comune in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria, at 619 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Montegiordano?
Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 2h 15m by car.
Can you get to Montegiordano without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Bari to Montegiordano?
About 2h 9m by car.
When is the best time to visit Montegiordano?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Montegiordano?
The town keeps its patron saint's day: Antonio di Padova, 13 June.
Which other towns are like Montegiordano?
Accettura, Cerchiara di Calabria and Badolato.
How many people live in Montegiordano?
1,566 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 619 m
  • Population: 1,566
  • Surface area: 35.88 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.

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