Calabria · Cosenza
Spezzano della Sila
A Sila plateau borgo at 800 meters, the gateway to the national park and its high forests.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Spezzano della Sila is on our list.
Subscribe and you get Spezzano della Sila's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 3 h 1 min from Salerno
- Population
- 4,263
- J9°
- F11°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J25°
- J29°
- A28°
- S23°
- O19°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The town sits on the Presila Cosentina, twenty kilometers east of Cosenza and on the western edge of the Sila plateau. The borough is said to date from the ninth century, when refugees from Cosenza fled the Saracen raids toward higher ground.
The commune's territory reaches well beyond the historic center. The mountain hamlets of Croce di Magara and Moccone fall inside its boundary alongside the resort frazione, and with them a share of the national park itself: its visitor center and wildlife enclosures, its stand of centuries-old pines, and part of the largest lake in Calabria. Snow closes the high pastures in winter; in summer the same ground turns to hiking, mushroom-gathering and grazing country. The old village below and the high plateau above are administratively one place, even though little of daily life in one resembles the other.
How to get there
From Lamezia Terme (SUF), about 1 h 18 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 3 h 45 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 3 h 1 min, Bari 3 h 42 min or Naples 3 h 45 min.
Every town within reach of Lamezia Terme airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Santuario di San Francesco da Paola
Convent with attached cloister at the head of the historic center, the building around which the old town still gathers.
Chiesa di San Pietro
Parish church in the old village, the main religious anchor of the Spezzano centro storico.
Chiesa di San Biagio
Smaller historic church dedicated to the town's patron, part of the network of religious buildings inside the borgo.
Riserva Biogenetica di Cupone
Visitor center, naturalistic museum and wildlife enclosures of the Sila National Park, on the shore of Lake Cecita inside the commune.
Giganti della Sila
Stand of giant Calabrian pines and mountain maples about 350 years old in the Fallistro reserve, in the care of the FAI.
From the guides
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.
La Tavernetta al San Lorenzo si AlbergaTrattoria
La Tavernetta al San Lorenzo si Alberga has three Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Spezzano della Sila is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 4,263, with Casali del Manco (9,336 people) 5 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Cosenza, a city of 63,240, is 20 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 4,263, down 4.8% since 2015
- Nearest city Cosenza, 20 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Cosenza, 6 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €590 to €810 per m² to buy, €2.00 to €2.80 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Lamezia Terme airport (SUF), 1 h 18 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Catanzaro, 1 h 32 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
8% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Bangladesh and Nigeria, against 9% across Italy. There are 257 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 66% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Cosenza province ranks 100th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Cosenza, 6 km as the crow flies, and it is a major one. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 290 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 199 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.7% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Calabria spends about €1,620 a month, €590 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €398 a year for water, on the Calabria average. In Cosenza, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.20 and a man's haircut €20.91.
Climate and risk
5% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 5% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
SILA NATIONAL PARK
Western gateway to the park, with the Cupone visitor center, Lake Cecita and the Giants of the Sila inside the commune boundary.
SAN FRANCESCO DA PAOLA
The 1474 sanctuary, the third monastery founded by the Paolan saint, still standing in the centro storico.
CAMIGLIATELLO
The frazione at 1,272 meters with the Monte Curcio ski lifts, the commune's high-altitude side.
Common questions
- What is Spezzano della Sila known for?
- Spezzano della Sila is a Sila plateau borgo at 800 meters, the gateway to the national park and its high forests.
- Where is Spezzano della Sila?
- Spezzano della Sila is a comune in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria.
- What is the nearest airport to Spezzano della Sila?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lamezia Terme (SUF), about 1 h 18 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Spezzano della Sila?
- About 3 h 1 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Spezzano della Sila?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and January the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Spezzano della Sila?
- Teglio, Pescina and Capistrello.
- How many people live in Spezzano della Sila?
- 4,263 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Spezzano della Sila a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Spezzano della Sila is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Casali del Manco, 5 min). The nearest city, Cosenza, is 20 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Cosenza, 6 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 800 m
- Population: 4,263
- Surface area: 80.29 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Spezzano della Sila appears in
- The best mountain towns in the province of CosenzaCosenza provincemountain6 towns · smallest 352 residents
- The best towns that eat well in the province of CosenzaCosenza provinceeats well6 towns · smallest 1,993 residents
- The best high-altitude villages in CalabriaCalabriaabove 800 m8 towns · smallest 352 residents
- The 10 best hidden mountain towns in CalabriaCalabriamountainhidden10 towns · smallest 352 residents
- The best hidden towns inside a national park in the province of CosenzaCosenza provinceinside a parkhidden10 towns · smallest 352 residents
- The best hidden towns that eat well in CalabriaCalabriaeats wellhidden10 towns · smallest 1,993 residents
Featured on
Spezzano della Sila appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Spezzano della Sila
What all six share with Spezzano della Sila: mountain-valley towns · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Spezzano della Sila 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: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Spezzano della Sila comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 467 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.