Civita is a town in the province of Cosenza, included in the circuit of most beautiful villages in Italy. It is a small jewel set in the green mountains that surround it. It is part of the Albanian community of Italy, of which it preserves the ancient traditions of the Arbëreshë people.
Civita, an Albanian village in Calabria
The village of Civita today has about 870 inhabitants. It is a small mountain town, immersed in the luxuriant and rugged nature of the Pollino Natural Park. The origins of the name are uncertain. It could derive from the Latin civitas but, some scholars lean towards Albanian origins. Hence the name would derive from couple what does it mean eagle. Its position among the rocks, in fact, could indicate the eagles nest, therefore a hidden and safe place. And from which it is easy to see but not to be seen.
Its origins, however, go back to distant times. Thanks to the permission granted by Ferrante of Aragon to Giorgio Castriota Scanderberg, a group of Albanian families fleeing the Turks, settled in a ruined center. castrum Sancti Salvatoris, devastated by the earthquake of 1456 which, between 1467 and 1471 it became Civita. Its beginnings are therefore Albanian, or rather arbëreshë and, even today the inhabitants keep intact many traditions of their ancestors and speak the language of their native land fluently.
Byzantine rites and traditions in Civita
A priceless cultural heritage that arbëreshë, which has a very strong presence in the Cosenza hinterland. Many centers, which have origins, or have been colonized by the Albanians who arrived over time. However, all of them retain traditions and language. So that the inhabitants fall by right among the ethnic and linguistic minorities defended and protected by the state. It is not the only characteristic of these territories. In fact, the iEastern influence is Byzantine, above all, it is very present in religious architecture, and in rituals, that are Greco orthodoxi and, in the decorations.
For more than half a century in Calabria, in the Albanian villages and in Civita, Byzantine liturgical functions have been celebrated, the gestures are ancient. The chants are in Greek and Albanian, the sacred vestments are very rich and the churches are adorned with mosaics, sacred icons and the altar area has a rich inlaid wooden iconostasis. In the center of Civita is the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, built in the sixteenth century.
A delightful village to discover
The architecture of the borgo recalls that of medieval towns with stone houses on two levels and all with a decorated chimney of different shapes. Features are the so-called Kodra houses, "Talking houses". Sare buildings that have the appearance anthropomorphic. The windows are the eyes, the door is the mouth and the chimneys become the nose. They are named after the Albanian painter Ibrahim Kodra.
He was a friend of Picasso and the houses seem to re-propose his poetics and his provocative message. Interesting to visit is the "Arbëreshë Ethnic Museum", in which testimonies and traditions of the Albanian and Byzantine culture are preserved. And the "Museum of the Spinning Mill", in which the tools for the spinning of natural fibers are kept and which were operated by the water of the Raganello river. The river and its gorges dominate the valley below the town. Dizzying rocky walls which reach a height of about 900 meters.
The Raganello gorges and the Devil's bridge
The name itself comes from the Greek guys what does it mean rock crevice. The Raganello gorges are a very suggestive place from a naturalistic point of view. They are the habitat for many animal species and, until a few years ago, they were half of a tourism linked to hiking and trekking. Overlooking the gorges the suggestive Devil's bridge. An ancient and daring architecture. It is said that the owner of the land asked the devil to help him build a bridge in an inaccessible place. The devil accepted only on the condition that he could have the soul of the first person who had crossed it.
The man accepted but, at the moment of respecting the pact, he had a sheep cross the bridge. The irritated devil tried to destroy the bridge but fell ruinously into the gorges. According to the anthropologist Luigi Lombardi Satriani, the link between the construction and the devil refers to folkloric themes that are found in many Italian and European traditions. and which are closely connected to the great courage in making such courageous works that defy the laws of gravity. A place to discover Civita, which cannot be missed if you come to Calabria
