Bocchigliero

Parco della Sila / Municipalities

Bocchigliero Festivals
January

Festival of the pig

February/Carnevale

Il teatro “E frasse” (Le farse) (“the Farces” theatre), travelling theatrical performances featuring local youth and adult couples wearing masks

19 March

“I 'mmiticelli”, festival of St. Joseph in which the ancient tradition of “mmiti” (the “inviti”) is revived

April/Palm Sunday

Traditional procession towards the Cross of Carmel, in which the habit of decorating the palms of children with ‘crustuli’ and ‘scalille’ (local sweets) and other sweets is widespread.

Good Friday

“Via Crucis” passing through the entire town centre, announcement of the religious services is given by the sound of the old “tocca-tocca”, a large wooden box, beaten with small batons.

June

Festival of the goat
Festa dei Fiori (Festival of Flowers)

5 August

Festa della Madonna de Jesu (Festival of Our Lady of Jesus)

21 August

Festa di San Rocco (Festival of St. Roch)

25 December

“A focara”, a large bonfire is lit in the main square and in many other local districts

31 December

“U Cupi-Cupi”, on the day of St. Sylvester an old tradition is renewed: groups of friends travel through the town singing songs of good fortune, accompanied by the sound of the “cupi-cupi”, a traditional musical instrument.

Located in the Sila Grande SPA, Bocchigliero (Cosenza province) stands on a high spur, offering visitors a spectacular view that takes in the Trionto river basin and extends out over the Ionian Sea. Thanks to its the mild climate and favourable location, the area is full of vegetation - hawthorn myrtle, broom, Arbutus, butcher’s broom, holly, bracken and the very rare Woodwardia radicans (European chain fern), of tropical origin, considered to be truly and genuinely prehistoric.
The established name is derived from the Latin “buculus” meaning “area inhabited by herdsmen,” but of course there are other arguments that support a different origin.
The core settlement can be traced back to prehistoric times thanks to the discovery of some traces of Neolithic activity, on the ruins of which a Roman colony settled. Only approximately in the year 1000 AD, however, did a number of families begin the construction of small farmsteads which, over time, merged to form a single settlement.
The earliest definite information on the history of Bocchigliero dates to the Angevin period, when, around the fourteenth century, the village was part of a vast feudal compound called the “Stato di Cariati.” Although it was designated as an Universitas, it declined due to a series of events including earthquakes, popular uprisings, acts of brigandage and the curious emergence of a religious association called “I Santi di Bocchigliero (Saints of Bocchigliero)” which subsequently degenerated into heresy.
The settlement preserves its typical medieval structure and the houses still bear stone portals and wrought iron balconies. The narrow streets, ending unexpectedly in wide spaces, make a stroll around Bocchigliero unique. The town has another curiosity - alongside the name of each road, an adage from a famous person has been posted, resulting in Bocchigliero also being known as the “Land of the aphorisms.”
The area's economy, once heavily based on weaving, is now fuelled mainly by cottage industries. Today the town produces terracotta pots and ceramic and glass ornaments. It is also involved in briar wood pipe production and wood working, with widespread wrought iron working. This latter leads us to the traditional production of charcoal, now used only for the forges of the blacksmiths, but once produced in large quantities. The method, of ancient origin, is to burn a stack of chestnut or oak wood, in the absence of wind and specially arranged so as to form a large cone which, when it reaches a certain point in the charring process, is covered with suitably dampened tarpaulins and earth.
There is much beauty and there are many curiosities to be discovered in Bocchigliero, one needing only to look to the example of the castellated bell tower of the chiesa matrice (mother-church), built into the remains of an old watchtower.

References

Source
Sila National Park

Bocchigliero Festivals
January

Festival of the pig

February/Carnevale

Il teatro “E frasse” (Le farse) (“the Farces” theatre), travelling theatrical performances featuring local youth and adult couples wearing masks

19 March

“I 'mmiticelli”, festival of St. Joseph in which the ancient tradition of “mmiti” (the “inviti”) is revived

April/Palm Sunday

Traditional procession towards the Cross of Carmel, in which the habit of decorating the palms of children with ‘crustuli’ and ‘scalille’ (local sweets) and other sweets is widespread.

Good Friday

“Via Crucis” passing through the entire town centre, announcement of the religious services is given by the sound of the old “tocca-tocca”, a large wooden box, beaten with small batons.

June

Festival of the goat
Festa dei Fiori (Festival of Flowers)

5 August

Festa della Madonna de Jesu (Festival of Our Lady of Jesus)

21 August

Festa di San Rocco (Festival of St. Roch)

25 December

“A focara”, a large bonfire is lit in the main square and in many other local districts

31 December

“U Cupi-Cupi”, on the day of St. Sylvester an old tradition is renewed: groups of friends travel through the town singing songs of good fortune, accompanied by the sound of the “cupi-cupi”, a traditional musical instrument.

Photo

Chiesa di San Leonardo

Passeggiando fra i siti archeologici di Bocchigliero

Chiesa Santa Maria Assunta

0.11 Km

Passeggiata nei musei di Bocchigliero

0.2 Km

Passeggiando fra i Palazzi signorili di Bocchigliero

0.44 Km

See also

Savelli

11.95 Km

Longobucco

12.82 Km

San Giovanni in Fiore

19.34 Km

Serra Pedace

20.04 Km

Corigliano Calabro

28.06 Km

Cotronei

28.82 Km

Acri

32.82 Km

Petilia Policastro

33.98 Km