Patron saint festival In 205 days
Saint Francis of Paola, patron of Terranova da Sibari
📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of May
Terranova da Sibari celebrates Saint Francis of Paola on the second Sunday of May, in the church dedicated to him.
The second half of the name arrived in 1864, by royal decree, and ties the town to two Greek cities: Thurii and Sybaris. According to many historians Terranova was founded by survivors of Thurii, destroyed in the war against Kroton, and the new name — Thurium Novum a Sibari — was meant to recall it. The castle, built around 1100 for defence, has seen two deaths worth setting side by side: on 21 November 1478 Enrico d'Aragona died here, natural son of king Ferrante and marquis of Gerace, taken ill after eating mushrooms that proved poisonous, and his end was put into verse by Joanni Maurello; and Girolamo Sanseverino had lived here, who for taking part in the Barons' conspiracy was shut in a sack and thrown into the sea at Naples.
In the seventeenth century the Spinelli enlarged the stronghold by adding a princely residence, with a loggia and hanging gardens, and a theatre where performances were given for the baron's distinguished guests: the monumental façade, with columns, Corinthian capitals and grotesque masks, is still there. The main fountain is called Torre Acquanova and carries a slab recording that in May 1892 the municipality gave the waters «to the applauding citizenry». The war memorial, meanwhile, is identical to the one at Dasà, in the province of Vibo Valentia: both were made by the sculptor Torquato Tamagnini.
🎉 Festivals and feasts in Terranova da Sibari 1
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Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Terranova da Sibari
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Terranova da Sibari, but an easy day trip away.
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta 📍 Frosinone · 700 m Frosinone's cathedral on the ancient acropolis, with a 62-metre Romanesque bell tower that survived the war. Chiesa di San Benedetto 📍 Frosinone · 800 m Frosinone's Benedictine church, rebuilt in the eighteenth century, with its convex late Baroque façade.