Gerace

Gerace stands on a rock spur about five hundred metres up, founded by people from Locri moving inland, and it kept a Byzantine and then Norman importance out of proportion to its size. The cathedral, consecrated in 1045 and rebuilt after earthquakes, is the largest church in Calabria, and its nave is carried on columns of granite and marble taken from the Greek temples at Locri below, no two alike. A crypt runs beneath. The town has a Norman castle ruin on the highest point and a number of small Byzantine and medieval churches, several of them among the oldest in the region.

History

The name comes from the Greek hierax, "sparrowhawk": legend says that people of the coast, fleeing a Saracen attack in 915, were led by a sparrowhawk to the mountain where they built the town, on a vertical rock about 500 metres high some 10 km inland from Locri (Wikipedia, Gerace).

What's there

• The cathedral - Calabria's largest, on reused Greek temple columns.
• The crypt - a lower church running beneath the nave.
• The castle ruin - Norman remains on the highest point of the rock.
• The small churches - Byzantine and medieval chapels through the town.

When to go

April to October; summer inland is hot but the town is high enough to be cooler. Churches close for a midday break. Winter is quiet.

Before you go

The town is steep with stepped lanes and parking outside. Many small churches are locked. Services in the area are limited.

Nearby

Locri's Greek ruins lie below; the Aspromonte rises west.

Key facts