Holiday Apartment in Zumpano: Churches, Museums and I Calanchi

Zumpano combines impressive churches, museums, historic buildings and an unusually shaped landscape.

Churches and Sacred Art in Zumpano

The Chiesa San Giorgio Martire is the main highlight. It was built around 1480 by Blessed Francesco Marino, who came from Zumpano, based on the model of the Chiesa Madre di Cosenza. Three naves in the Gothic-Romanesque style with Baroque elements characterize the building. The central nave features a carved and decorated wooden ceiling with large coffers from the 16th century.

The rectory of this church houses the Museo Arte Sacra B. Vivarini, which opened in June 2008. It preserves evidence of the parish community’s religious devotion and worship. These include finely crafted objects made by local artisans, as well as a wooden pulpit dating from the mid-17th century.

Rovella, a district of the municipality of Zumpano, also adds to the area’s sacred heritage. The Chiesa Madonna del Carmine was built in 1884 and has a neoclassical pedimented façade with a stone round-arched portal. The parish church Chiesa di San Nicola di Bari dates from the late 15th or early 16th century, and no later than 1530. It is regarded as a building of considerable historical and artistic interest and can be reached on foot via a scenic path. The Chiesa della Madonna dell’Annunziata dates from the late 18th century.

Art, History and Squares

Architectural and structural elements date the Palazzo Ritacca-Valentini to approximately the year 1000. In its present-day multipurpose hall and the lower portico, which connected the palace with a small lane on today’s Via Roma, it preserves traces of its original structure.

The MAE – Museo Arte Etnografia is Zumpano’s municipal exhibition space and was conceived as a venue for cultural production in the area. The Museo di Arte ed Etnografia (MAE) combines contemporary art, ethnography and an educational multimedia area for children. In the historic center, MAE Open displays contemporary sculptures that are closely connected with historical evidence.

Zumpano’s square is home to two works by Giacomo Martinuzzi: a statue of Saint George with the dragon and a fountain depicting the Chiesa di San Giorgio Martire. A tower built during the arrival of the Normans also stands near Zumpano. It formed part of the defensive network of towers and castles created by the Normans in southern Italy.

I Calanchi and the Landscape

I Calanchi is a steep, color-stratified escarpment several dozen meters high on the western boundary of the Zumpano area adjoining Rovito. It consists of alluvial deposits from the Middle and Lower Pleistocene. Its ridges and gullies are erosional features created mainly by denudation and surface runoff. This makes the landscape a particularly vivid illustration of geological processes.

Getting There and Choosing Your Accommodation

To reach Zumpano, it is recommended to take the A3 Reggio Calabria–Salerno motorway and exit at Cosenza Sud. When choosing your holiday apartment or accommodation, you can consider whether churches, museums, historical sites, the walking route in Rovella or the landscape of I Calanchi should be the focus of your stay.

Discover More Places

For further travel planning, you can also explore Vaccarizzo, Cittadella Del Capo, Terme Luigiane, Tortora Marina, Roseto Capo Spulico, Lupia, Camigliatello Silano and Cassano Allo Ionio on your journey.

For the higher-level travel overview: Cosenza.