Grisolia

Grisolia (Grìsulia in Calabrian) is a town of about 2,160 inhabitants in the province of Cosenza, at the heart of the Riviera dei Cedri, on the Upper Tyrrhenian Cosentino coast. It is a place of both sea and mountain: its territory starts on the Tyrrhenian shore and climbs to the western slope of Monte La Mula, at 1,905 metres, inside the Pollino National Park. The historic centre is perched on a hill at 465 metres, facing Maierà, from which a deep ravine separates it: as the crow flies the two villages are just 900 metres apart.

Geography

The territory is highly varied. On the coast lies the hamlet of Acchio; the town is split into three parts: the newer lido area by the sea, the intermediate marina around the station, and the hilltop historic centre. Climbing towards Monte La Mula you enter an area rich in biodiversity, symbolised by centuries-old chestnut trees such as the castagno del ramarro; the mountain is home to the native roe deer and the Apennine wolf, and on the ridges of La Mula grows the Bosnian pine (pino loricato), emblem of the Pollino. At Pantanelli there is a picnic area and a spring. From via Panoramica the view takes in the whole Riviera dei Cedri and the Gulf of Policastro as far as Capo Palinuro. The municipality borders Buonvicino, Diamante, Maierà, Mottafollone, San Donato di Ninea, San Sosti, Santa Maria del Cedro and Verbicaro. The inhabitants are called grisolioti; the patron saint is St Anthony of Padua, celebrated on 13 June, but the most heartfelt devotion goes to San Rocco.

History

Grisolia is a town of medieval origin. Several explanations of its name have been proposed: one links it to the Greek Chrousolea or the Latin Chrisena, both connected with gold, perhaps because of the fertile land or the presence of mines; another, considered more solid, traces it to a hegumen, Papàs Chryselios, who is said to have founded the original community in the 11th century. The link with metals is more than an etymological guess: on Monte La Mula, since prehistoric times, veins were worked to extract copper, iron and gold. In 1811 Grisolia became a municipality that also included Cipollina, which broke away in 1948 to become part of Santa Maria del Cedro: until then the municipality was listed as Grisolia-Cipollina, and under that name the station on the Tyrrhenian railway opened in 1895. Until the 1960s and 1970s the town had about 3,500 inhabitants; then many emigrated to northern Italy, particularly to Taino, in the province of Varese.

What to see

The historic centre is a tangle of alleys, steps, arches and supporti, spuortu in dialect: covered passages where the houses lean on one another. Buildings use exposed Grisolia stone, and roofs are covered with clay tiles, the ceramili, which form a distinctive scalloped edge where they meet the wall. Among the palazzi stand out the Palazzo Ducale, from the 15th century and now owned by the municipality, the Palazzo de Patto in the castle area and the Palazzo Tosto, above the spuortu of via Sotto le Mura. In the upper part, reached through the spuortu of via Chiesa, stands the sanctuary of San Rocco of Montpellier, a pilgrimage destination above all in August. The Civic Ethnographic Museum holds the collection of objects from Grisolia’s agro-pastoral life begun by the Italo Muti association and first exhibited in 1991.

The feast of San Rocco and the caggie

Grisolia’s most heartfelt tradition is the procession of San Rocco of Montpellier, held on 15 and 16 August, the day of his feast. Behind the band, many women, often barefoot, follow the saint’s statue in a double line carrying the caggie on their heads: wooden frames holding numerous candles, adorned with colourful flowers and ribbons, offered as ex-votos to the healing saint, while they sing songs of devotion. For the occasion streets and balconies are dressed with coloured ribbons, blankets bearing the saint’s image, flowers and candles, and as the statue passes, scented petals rain down from the windows. The cult is thought to have taken hold between the 16th and 17th centuries, after an outbreak of plague.

Getting there

Grisolia is crossed by the SS18 Tirrena Inferiore state road and has a railway stop, Grisolia-Santa Maria, in the station area, on the Tyrrhenian line: regional trains serve it to Paola, Cosenza and Sapri. By car on the A2 “del Mediterraneo”: from the north take the Lagonegro nord exit, then the SS585 Fondo Valle del Noce to the SS18 and the Santa Maria del Cedro, Grisolia or Cirella-Diamante junctions; from the south take the Falerna exit and the SS18 northwards. The region’s nearest airport is Lamezia Terme.