CultureUpper Tyrrhenian Cosentino · Riviera dei Cedri
Aieta Vetere and Monte Calimaro
The archaeological site of Aieta’s first settlement, on Monte Calimaro: the Lucanians’ lookout post, strengthened by the Byzantines against Goths and Lombards and abandoned after the Normans.
On Monte Calimaro, one of the heights enclosing Aieta’s inner basin, lies the archaeological site of Aieta Vetere, the village’s first settlement. Its story is that of a guard post. The basin, fertile and crossed by a small stream, was inhabited and farmed from protohistoric times, with farm villas of the Oenotrians and the Lucanians; it was the latter, in the 5th–4th century BC, who built the first lookout fortification on the Calimaro to defend the territory from the Greeks of Thurii, who came up from the Mercure-Lao valley across the Piani del Carro of Tortora. Centuries later the Byzantines, who made the basin the seat of a tourma, took over and strengthened the stronghold against Goths and Lombards arriving from Laino, and gave the settlement the name Aieta, like an eagle perched on the summit. With the Norman conquest the post had no more enemies to watch and was abandoned: life moved to the ridge where the village stands today. The remains visible on the mountain are attributed to Aieta’s first medieval settlement, dating from around the year 1000.
Frequently asked questions
- The Lucanians, in the 5th–4th century BC, as a lookout post against the Greeks of Thurii; the Byzantines took it over and strengthened it.
- After the Norman conquest the post was no longer needed for defence and the population gathered in the village on the ridge, today’s Aieta.
Who built the fortification on Monte Calimaro?
Why was Aieta Vetere abandoned?
More places in Aieta
- Old town
Aieta historic centre
The village at 524 metres, one of the Borghi più belli d’Italia: the Renaissance Palazzo Martirano-Spinelli, sixteenth-century churches, the 1520 monastery of the Friars Minor and chapels of several centuries, above the Tortora valley.
- Viewpoint
Monte Ciagola
The 1,463-metre peak overlooking Aieta, in the Pollino National Park.
Itineraries through here
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3 daysWellness & spaNature and Pollino in three days
Three days among spa, Palaeolithic cave and mountains of the Pollino National Park.
6 stops4 townsMarch–NovemberSee the stops -
4 daysWellness & spaNature and Pollino in four days
Four days among spa, cave, mountains and river in the Pollino National Park.
8 stops5 townsMarch–NovemberSee the stops