Holiday apartment in Acri: culture, nature and unique discoveries

Acri combines impressive religious buildings, museums with unusual collections, regional cuisine and a wooded mountain landscape. Those looking for a holiday apartment in Acri can therefore tailor their stay to different interests: exploring the town’s cultural history can be combined with trails and outdoor activities in the surrounding area.

Culture and religious heritage in Acri

The Museo della civiltà contadina di Acri offers an informative introduction to local everyday history. It comprises six exhibition rooms and preserves around 500 objects from rural and artisan life. At the Museo del Risorgimento “G.B. Falcone”, information panels and historical photographs illustrate important moments from the 19th century. The two museums focus on different themes and show how diverse Acri’s cultural attractions are.

One of the town’s notable religious buildings is the Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata. It was first mentioned in historical records in 1269 by Bishop Ruffino and has a Romanesque floor plan in the shape of a Latin cross with three naves. The left aisle contains a crucifixion scene considered a small masterpiece. On 19 March, the Festa di San Giuseppe is also held here, featuring a procession with the statue, celebratory Masses and market stalls along Corso Pertini and in Piazza Matteotti.

The Basilica del Beato Angelo da Acri has a 32-metre-high dome and two bell towers of equal height. Inside are twelve noble chapels arranged in two rows. The central chapel contains a watertight bronze and glass urn with the saint’s reconstructed body. The Basilica di Sant’Angelo is a Baroque church and is considered the most important place of worship in Acri.

Other places are also closely associated with Beato Angelo. His birthplace in the Casalicchio district was converted into a chapel in 1930; the Museo del Beato Angelo is housed in the Capuchin monastery. Palazzo Padula was once the residence of the writer and poet Vincenzo Padula. This gives you various cultural points of interest, without the town’s history being limited to a single building.

MACA is housed in Palazzo Sanseverino. The palace was built between 1707 and 1717 and decorated by Donato Vitale and his pupils. Since 2006, it has been home to Silvio Vigliaturo’s permanent collection. The Torre del Castello Normanno, also known as Torre di Padia, preserves an 18th-century clock mechanism made by local craftsmen. The tower was once a watchtower and part of the Norman castle that dominated Acri.

The Museo dei costumi Arbereshe and the Museo Micologico Permanente di Acri offer further unusual perspectives. The former is dedicated to the traditional clothing of Italy’s Albanian minority. The latter preserves freeze-dried mushrooms; this process retains their essential biomorphological properties for a long time. Work carried out in 2004 and 2007 confirmed the early Christian dating of the Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore through numerous discoveries.

A holiday apartment in Acri for cultural and nature-focused days

Above Acri, at an elevation of around 1,125 metres, lies Parco Serra Crista. The park is a forest of black pines and chestnut trees with panoramic trails. The area around Acri also offers trails in Sila National Park, as well as opportunities for trekking, skiing, canyoning and other outdoor sports. When planning your stay, you can therefore alternate between active days, observing nature and quieter visits to churches and museums.

Cuisine is also part of Acri’s character. Specialities include handmade cavati with meat or mushroom sauce and patate 'mpacchiuse. When choosing a holiday apartment or holiday home in Acri, these different priorities may influence your decision: the key question is whether you mainly want to discover religious buildings and museums, use the trails in the forest and national park, or experience regional specialities and the festival on 19 March.

For further orientation in the same region, you can also explore Taverna, Croce di Magara, Fagnano Castello, San Lucido, Malito, Longobardi, Sibari and Rocca Imperiale.

For the overarching travel overview: Cosenza.