Rocchetta and old town of Paola

Old Paola huddles around the Rocchetta, the quarter that keeps the character of the village intact: alleys, little squares, loggias, arches, buttresses and stone portals. You enter through the Porta di San Francesco, the historic gateway to the town, and climb between the Clock Tower, the saint’s birthplace and the long stairway that descends to the Seven Channels fountain. In Piazza del Popolo splashes the monumental “Pisciariddi” fountain, and above the town watches the Norman-Aragonese castle, flanked by the Soffio and Badia towers.

This fabric is the child of the 16th century, the golden age in which the fame of Saint Francis brought the faithful to Paola from all over Calabria and the town grew rich in palaces, streets and fountains. Among the notable buildings remain Palazzo Scorza, the Badia complex and a dense series of churches and convents, from the Cathedral to Sant’Agostino, from the Capuchins to the Jesuits. The bombing of July 1943 wiped out the original stairway and the houses around it, rebuilt after the war.