Holiday apartment in Cleto: Castles, olive groves and local cuisine

Cleto reveals its character through a combination of castles, churches, olive groves and culinary experiences. The Castello Normanno stands at the top of Cleto’s hill. When looking for a holiday apartment in Cleto, this provides the basis for a travel plan in which culture, rural paths and shared exploration set different priorities.

Churches and castles tell Cleto’s history

Among the defining religious buildings is the Chiesa della Consolazione, a 17th-century church with a Byzantine-style majolica bell tower. The Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta is Cleto’s parish and main church, and a parish church dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. This means that concrete testimonies to different historical periods stand side by side in the town.

The medieval Petramala Castle is a restored defensive structure of Byzantine-Norman origin. Its remains lie at an elevation of around 360 metres and preserve halls, assembly grounds, towers and water cisterns. Castello di Savuto is a castle dating from 1524; its ruins are located in the district of Cleto of the same name. In the village of Pantano lies Fontana Cece, an archaeologically and historically significant area at the foot of Cleto’s medieval Norman castle.

Olive trails and hiking ideas

The area around Cleto is characterized by extensive cultivated areas, above all olive cultivation. The excursion along the olive oil trails is a rural hike through centuries-old olive groves, the village of Cleto and to its castle. The route is approximately 4 to 5 kilometres long and passes through olive groves, along dry-stone walls and over paths that continue to be used for agriculture. The excursion also includes a visit to an oil mill, where you can observe the production process for extra virgin olive oil. The approximate length provides a clear reference point for planning your day.

Another route idea is the Sentiero dei Tre castelli. The hiking trail is 12 kilometres long and leads from Savuto to Cleto via Monte Sant’Angelo. In addition, a tour of Cleto includes visits to Petramala Castle and Savuto Castle. When choosing a holiday apartment in Cleto, you can use this information to set your own priority between a longer hiking route and a tour featuring visits to castles.

Local specialties and cooking together

The local taste includes Cialetta, Cleto’s traditional bread made from durum wheat semolina and eaten with local olive oil. The fresh egg pasta workshop in Cleto is a hands-on activity in which participants learn to prepare pasta by hand. It ends with a shared lunch or dinner, during which the prepared pasta and other local specialties are sampled.

Further places for planning your trip

If you would like to consider other places in addition to Cleto, you can also discover Mormanno, Rende, San Marco Argentano, Rossano Stazione, Pagania Vallonecupo, Fuscaldo, Acri and Cassano Allo Ionio.

For the higher-level travel overview: Cosenza.