Terravecchia is a little municipality in province of Cosenza, in the region of Calabria, south of Italy. Small agricultural centre of the Sila foothills, the village rises on a hill overlooking the sea, at an altitude of 472 metres above sea level, only 8 km from Cariati, to which it is linked through the S. S. 108 Ter (Silana di Cariati).
Its territory has been inhabited since very ancient times. In Contrada Proja, at the beginning of this century, some excavations were carried out that brought to light the notable remains of some defensive works dating from the second half of the 4th century BC, erected by the Bruzi.
In 1971, this archaeological site was visited by the French archaeologist J. De La Genière who thus describes it: the external part of the boundary walls crops out in some areas; the blocks have not been cut up, but have been chosen with care and make therefore a fairly regular external face. Inside the fortified area, there are very few traces of life. All the fragments that have been brought to light can be traced back to the end of the 4th century or the beginning of the 3rd century BC.
The site of Contrada Proja, before being occupied by the Italic people of the Brezi was probably the seat of a protohistoric village. F. Lenormant claims that the archaeological site of Terravecchia, rising on the hilltop, has all the characteristics of those area on which stand the Pelagian acropolises and puts forward the hypothesis that it may have been the seat of the mysterious Enotria town of Chone.
The present town of Terravecchia can be probably traced back to the High Middle Ages.
The village was a hamlet of Cariati and shared the feudal changing fortunes of the nearby Ionian town. It was therefore a property of the Ruffo, the Riario, the Borgia and, finally, of the Spinelli family.
In 1807, the French turned Terravecchia into a Luogo of the Government of Cariati; on the 4th of may 1811, it was demoted to a hamlet of Cariati, and such it was to remain until 1921. That year, with the law 495 of April, 4th 1921, it acquired its own municipality and parted with Cariati.
On a administrative-religious level, Terravecchia was part of the See of Cariati ever since its foundation by Pontiff Eugenio IV (1437) and shared its lot until the recent (1986) Vatican decision to create the new See of Rossano-Cariati.
Visit Terravecchia
Terravecchia, with its cluster of old houses overlooking, like a balcony, the Ionian sea, with the steep narrow streets of the old town and the magnificent view that can be enjoyed from its lookout, is well worth a visit.
On the other hand, the village is not altogether devoid of historical and artistic interest. Besides the charming Piazzetta where stands the War Memorial of the two World Wars (Piazza del Popolo), it is worth visiting the Parish Church, dedicated to Saint Peter, a sacred building dating from 17th century, radically altered at the beginning of the 20th century.
The facade has a raised central body with a mullioned window with two lights, flanked by a belfry; its interior is decorated with stuccoes revealing baroque overtones. Worth paying a visit the Church of the Addolorata, also dating back to the 17th century and housing an 18th century icon (2) of the homonymous Madonna. Worth mentioning, finally, the remains of a 16th century Watchtower, rising in the upper area of the village.
In the Sanctuary of Santa Maria, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, an 18th century wall fresco can be admired.
Terravecchia is a little municipality in province of Cosenza, in the region of Calabria, south of Italy. Small agricultural centre of the Sila foothills, the village rises on a hill overlooking the sea, at an altitude of 472 metres above sea level, only 8 km from Cariati, to which it is linked through the S. S. 108 Ter (Silana di Cariati).
