Simeri Crichi

The comune is made of three distinct towns, and the youngest is the one that rules. Simeri, the oldest, stands at 299 metres; Crichi, which is the municipal seat, at 465, three and a half kilometres from the first; then there is Simeri Mare, on the Ionian coast, with three kilometres of beach. The original name was Symari, Greek, and came from the river Simeri that marks the eastern boundary; to it was later added Crichi, from the Greek krikos, a ring, or from the Latin ocris, a stony mountain. Simeri is of medieval origin and in its area finds of the early Iron Age and of the Greek period have come to light, while Crichi was founded in the second half of the seventeen-hundreds, apparently by a group of peasants from Sellia. From Simeri came Bartholomew of Simeri, the Greek-Calabrian monk who founded the Patirion of Rossano.

Above the town stand the ruins of the Byzantine castle, probably built in the tenth century in a position commanding the river valley and the gulf of Squillace: almost intact are the outer ring of walls, an imposing cylindrical tower on the north side, a second tower to the south and much of the citadel with the Palacium Castri, the seat of power. The church of Santa Maria dell'Itria was founded between 1121 and 1198 under the Falluc, and held until the eighteen-hundreds the juspatronatus, that is the right to elect and ordain the ecclesiastical offices of the fief of Simeri and to enjoy exclusive revenues; it had three naves and three altars until the earthquake of 1744, and in 1908 the earthquake that destroyed Reggio and Messina brought down its façade and roof. Of the Capuchin convent, built in 1594 at the expense of prince Borgia of Squillace, only ruins remain: it had thirteen cells, a monumental church, a novitiate, and it also served as a shelter for travellers and beggars. The comune was recognised in 1811, and in 1848 it was reunited, moving the town hall to Crichi.