Verbicaro

Verbicaro is a village located 428 meters above sea level, nestled in the lush mountains of the area of the Mountain Ridge of Pellegrino. The current village was built almost certainly in the eleventh century, a first group of houses erected near the present district Bonifanti, where now stands the church of Our Lady of the Snows, perhaps around a pre-existing Basilian settlement. Verbicaro is known everywhere for the quality of its fine wine, the Verbicaro, one of the best doc of Calabria, already known and appreciated at the time of the Greeks and Romans, it was praised by Pliny and Strabo. In the following period, his wine was called Chiarello and was much appreciated by Pope Paul III, who became an amateur. Of great historical and architectural interest are the Church of St. Joseph, the mother church of the Assumption, the Byzantine chapel of Our Lady of the Snows, the Sanctuary of St. Francis of Paola, the Fontana Vecchia, the church of Our Lady of Loreto, and all the historical center as a whole. In addition to the excellent quality of the wine, Verbicaro is known for its ancient rituals, like that of ‘Battenti’ and the ‘Fiaccolata dei Zigni’. Very interesting is the Infiorata, considered one of the most picturesque and interesting in Calabria, organized on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Grace. Its territory stretches for several kilometers in the central area of the Pollino National Park.