Cittanova: the botanical Villa Comunale, the grid town and the gateway to the Aspromonte
Set in the Gioia Tauro plain, where the olive groves climb towards the first slopes of the Aspromonte, Cittanova is an elegant, orderly town far from mass tourism. Its heart is the Villa Comunale, one of the richest historic botanical gardens in southern Italy, with monumental trees and exotic species planted over a century ago.
The grid-plan centre, rebuilt with great regularity after the 1783 earthquake, tells a story of rebirth made of noble palaces, wide avenues and shady squares. From here the roads climb towards the Pian dello Zomaro and the woods of the Aspromonte National Park: a quiet base for those seeking nature, culture and the flavours of olive oil and citrus.
The Villa Comunale and the grid-plan centre
The symbol of Cittanova is its Villa Comunale, a large historic garden created in the 19th century and regarded as one of the most important botanical gardens in southern Italy. Along its shady avenues grow cedars of Lebanon, palms, magnolias, ginkgos and exotic plants alongside Mediterranean species, in a walk that is pleasant in every season. All around lies the grid-plan centre, the result of the orderly reconstruction that followed the devastating earthquake of 1783: straight, perpendicular streets, wide avenues, noble palaces and the Town Hall facing the main squares. A stroll between the garden and the main street reveals at a glance the rational town planning that makes Cittanova different from the hilltop villages of the area.
History, palaces and the flavours of the plain
The Cittanova we see today was born from the will to rebuild after the catastrophe of 1783, when an earthquake razed much of southern Calabria. The noble families of the time gave the town elegant palaces, churches and an urban layout that was modern for its day. Don’t miss the Civic Museum of Natural History, which holds natural-science collections linked to the area and the Aspromonte. Life in the town is shaped by the farming of the Gioia Tauro plain: the olive groves produce a fine extra-virgin oil, while the citrus orchards yield fragrant oranges and clementines. In the shops and trattorias you find the produce of the Calabrian land, from bread to the new season’s oil, in an authentic, unhurried hospitality.
Towards the Aspromonte: the Zomaro and the Park’s woods
Cittanova is one of the natural gateways to the western side of the Aspromonte. From the town the roads climb within a few kilometres towards the Pian dello Zomaro, a cool, shady plateau at around a thousand metres, an ideal starting point for walks and excursions. Higher up you enter the Aspromonte National Park, among beech woods, pine forests and trails crossing one of the wildest areas of the southern Apennines. It is perfect country for trekking, for seeking cool air in summer and for discovering the fauna and flora of the Calabrian mountains. Towards Limina and the inland passes, views open out that range from the plain all the way to the sea: nature here is within easy reach, yet you feel far from everything.