Enogastronomic Itinerary

After so much walking, it is also right to have space and time for a well-deserved refreshment and the three villages are also highlighted for their strong flavors and culinary traditions.

In Caccuri you can get lost in taste with the traditional amaretti, made only with local almonds that are also booked from outside the region, typical local sweets with a very long tradition, and inside the chocolate shop, a true unique delicacy.

Moving on to Santa Severina we will be fascinated by the Cooking Experience with typical local products: tasting of local specialties at restaurants and workshops in the historic center. Creative experience with the manufacture of typical local pasta where you can learn the art of grandmothers in making artisanal pasta.

One of the highlights of the area is the “sàuza“, to be enjoyed in spring, often associated with the Medieval Festival: it is a delicate mint-scented broad bean soup, flavored with a drizzle of vinegar and served warm, accompanied by pork belly.

Another typical product of the village of Santa Severina is the aranciàru, a fine variety of native orange that boasts a centuries-old cultivation and organoleptic properties that make it healthy and delicious on the palate. The orange groves in Santa Severina are still uncontaminated spaces today.

But you cannot cross the Neto valley without tasting its wines, and the best space to immerse yourself in the “nectar of the gods” is right in Santa Severina: the Valle del Neto municipal wine shop, managed by the Aristippo Cooperative, is an important showcase inside the Castle of Santa Severina, where you can find the wineries bathed by the legendary Neto river.

The last stop on this food and wine tour is Castelsilano. The municipality of the Crotonese Sila has a unique strength in its local products. Here you can watch the production, transformation and conservation of typical products: a real art that aims to enhance km0 and organic farming products. A stop at the dairy laboratory in the center of the town is mandatory, where you can lose yourself in the taste of the first fruits. But Castelsilano is not only products of the earth, its desserts with strong tastes are delicious, like the traditions from which they derive: pitta ‘mpugliata, muccellato and mustazzuoli are the local sweets children of the history of this territory.

Food and wine itinerary in the villages of the Upper Marquisate of Crotone

Between taste, tradition and authentic flavours

In the villages of Caccuri, Santa Severina and Castelsilano, gastronomic culture is an integral part of the local identity. Each of these territories is animated by a lively network of farmhouses, dairies, oil mills and wineries, which hand down ancient recipes, craftsmanship and an extraordinary variety of zero-kilometer products. This food and wine itinerary invites you to discover not only the typical dishes, but also the people, places and experiences that make them unique.

Caccuri – The taste of tradition

Caccuri is an unmissable stop for those who love authentic flavors. Here it is possible to visit farmhouses that offer dishes prepared with local ingredients and according to recipes handed down over time.

The pride and joy are the traditional amaretti made with local almonds, made according to a historical recipe and also requested from outside the region. Alongside them, an artisanal chocolate shop offers exclusive creations that combine quality cocoa and local raw materials, offering a refined and unexpected taste experience.

The area is also home to dairies, oil mills and small wine cellars that represent an authentic and sustainable production fabric, perfect to discover through tastings or guided tours.

Santa Severina – Cuisine, art and landscape

In the village of Santa Severina, food is intertwined with history. The local farmhouses, surrounded by olive groves and orange groves, offer seasonal menus with organic and local products. Here you can live a real cooking experience, participating in cooking workshops that teach how to prepare artisanal pasta as it was done in the past, according to grandmothers’ recipes.

Among the most representative dishes we find the “sàuza”, a spring soup of broad beans scented with mint and served warm, often offered on the occasion of the Medieval Festival.

The symbolic product of Santa Severina is the aranciàru, a native variety of orange with excellent organoleptic properties, cultivated for centuries in a natural way.

For those who want to discover the wines of the area, the Valle del Neto municipal wine shop, housed in the Castle and managed by the Aristippo Cooperative, represents a showcase of the valley’s wineries: a real journey into the “nectar of the gods”, between glasses, stories and traditions.

Castelsilano – The flavors of the Crotonese Sila

Castelsilano, located among the reliefs of the Sila plateau, is a place where the flavors of the land are transformed into gastronomic excellence. Here, local cheese factories allow you to watch the production of cheese and taste its fresh and aged variations. The village is also home to oil mills that process local olives, producing an intense and fragrant extra virgin olive oil.

Farmhouses and farms follow 0 km practices and often organic cultivation, opening their doors to visitors with tastings and educational tours.

Castelsilano is also home to sweets with a strong identity:

• The pitta ‘mpugliata, braided with dried figs, walnuts and spices.
• The muccellato, soft dessert of the holidays.
• Mustazzuoli, rustic spiced biscuits, typical of the peasant tradition.

In every village, food becomes a story, identity, experience. This food and wine itinerary is an invitation to discover an authentic Calabria, to be enjoyed slowly, letting yourself be guided by the flavors and the people who preserve them.