Catanzaro
Catanzaro is a city of 86,000 people (2020) that is the capital of the Calabria. During the summer months, the Ionian coast from Catanzaro to Soverato is an important tourist attraction, especially for the youth. There are several important structures in the coastal districts of the city and the towns of Copanello and Soverato.
Understand
Catanzaro is the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabria.
Catanzaro overlooks the Gulf of Squillace, in the Ionian Sea. The historic centre is approximately 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level.
The city of Catanzaro extends over three hills overlooking the Gulf of Squillace
The main artery of the historic centre is Corso Giuseppe Mazzini which starts from Piazza Garibaldi where Viale Carlo V meets and leads to the Catanzaro Pratica station below. Corso Mazzini ends in piazza Roma, leaving the cathedral on the left and the modern Politeama theatre on the right.
Catanzaro Lido is the coastal district of Catanzaro. Its promenade extends for about 2 km on the Gulf of Squillace and is full of hotels, restaurants and night clubs.
Climate
Due to its particular geography, the municipality gets wet from the sea and is still subjected to a snowy winter.
The climate of Catanzaro is typically Mediterranean, temperate, and characterized by a windy spring and autumn. The months of April and May are characterized by strong winds and the "scirocco libeccio".
Get in
By train
Lamezia Terme Centrale station is the main railway junction in Calabria. There are numerous connections to Catanzaro, the fare for the railway connection is €3.60. The station is connected to the airport by bus.
The city is served by three railway stations:
By car
Catanzaro is connected to the road network by various state roads:
- Strada Statale 19 begins in the province of Salerno, and continues up to Catanzaro, assuming the denomination of provincial road.
- Strada Statale 106 extends for 490 km from Reggio Calabria to Taranto, along the entire Ionian coast.
- Strada Statale 109 from Lamezia Terme to Steccato di Cutro, passing through Catanzaro.
- Strada Statale 280 connects Catanzaro with the city and the airport of Lamezia Terme.
By bus
- Autolinee Federico, ☏ +39 0965 644747. The national routes connect Catanzaro with Rome , Milan , Florence and Bologna and other Italian cities. The stops for the regional and national routes are near the Catanzaro Lido station.
- Flixbus. The Flixbus routes connect Catanzaro with many Italian cities.
- Itabus, ☏ +39 06 88938232. Connections with many Italian locations.
- Troiolo Bus, ☏ +39 0964 381325. They connect Catanzaro with Italian localities.
- Calanda Viaggi (Viaggi Gullì), Contrada Calogero, 5, Chiaravalle Centrale, (Terminal), ☏ +39 0967 981223. They connect Catanzaro with Italian and Swiss towns
- Gullì Travel, ☏ +39 0967 998025. Gullì travels connect Catanzaro with Italian towns, Switzerland and Germany.
- Railways of Calabria (Ferrovie della Calabria), ☏ +39 328 2391117. They connect Catanzaro with many towns in Calabria.
- Bilotta Autolinee, Via Enrico Toti, 22, 88046, Lamezia Terme (Terminal), ☏ +39 0968 21 527. They connect Catanzaro with many towns in Calabria.
- Autolinee Romano, ☏ +39 0962 21709. They connect Catanzaro with Lamezia Terme and Crotone.
Get around
By public transport
The service is managed by the Azienda Mobilità Catanzaro Spa
It has about 30 bus lines, connecting every area of the municipality.
Catanzaro has a metro line, indicated by the symbol .
- 🌍 Catanzaro Città/Catanzaro Via Milano Station, Via Milano, 12 (in the heart of Catanzaro). It is an important exchange hub in the city. There are train connections to Cosenza and Soveria Mannelli. In the square of the station, there are the urban buses, and the terminus of the bus lines of the Calabrian railways from municipalities in the region.
- 🌍 Catanzaro funicular. The funicular runs down from Corso Giuseppe Mazzini, 269, to Viale dei Bizantini, and ends at Contrada Piè Funicular. The fare is €1.50, and it runs M-Sa 07:00-21:00.
Fares (Dec 2022):
- Ordinary Ticket: €1.50, valid for 90 minutes;
- Ordinary ticket on board: €1.80, valid for 90 minutes;
- Day Ticket: €4.50, valid until 00:00 (midnight) on the day of validation;
- Weekly pass: €12.00.
By taxi
There are taxi stands in the Station Square, Piazza Prefettura, and Piazza Matteotti.
- Taxi n°5, ☏ +39 368 654631.
- Taxi n°32, ☏ +39 330 356522. 24 hr.
- De Rosa, ☏ +39 380 4515153.
See
- 🌍 Matteotti Square (Piazza Matteotti).
- Catanzaro Bridge, a well-known, one-arch bridge (Viaduct Morandi-Bisantis)- one of the tallest in Europe.
- 🌍 Catanzaro Museum of Arts (Museo della Arti Catanzaro, MARCA), Via Alessandro Turco, 63, ☏ +39 0961 746797, info@museomarca.com. 09:30-13:00, 16:30-21:00. €8.
- 🌍 Duomo (Metropolitan Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta). Built over a Norman cathedral built in 1121, in the 16th century it received a Renaissance façade which was however destroyed in 1638. The church was almost entirely destroyed by the bombings of 1943, and was later rebuilt.
- 🌍 Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista (Church of St. John the Baptist). Built in 1532. It is decorated with frescoes, made in 1910 by the Crotone painter Sesto Bruno with scenes from the life of John the Baptist (the preaching of St. John and the Baptism of Christ) and scenes from the life of St. John the Evangelist (the apocalypse).
- 🌍 Basilica dell'Immacolata. Built in 1254..
- 🌍 Chiesa del Rosario (Church of the Santissimo Rosario), Piazza del Rosario, 4. A 15th or 16th century church, with a Renaissance façade and a single nave interior. The church of the Santissimo Rosario houses silk fabrics made between 1500 and 1800, including the Pianeta of the Borgia, a sacred vestment ordered by Pope Alexander VI on the occasion of the wedding between Goffredo Borgia and Donna Sancia D'Aragona, who became Princess of Squillace.
- 🌍 Church of Sant'Omobono, Via Vincenzo de Grazia, 15. 11th or 12th century. The Curatolo sect is linked to this church. It was a criminal organization formed by the worst criminals in the area, operating in the 19th century. They deceived victims who were brought to the church, where they were killed and buried.
- Byzantine small church of Sant'Omobono (11th century).
- 🌍 Chiesa dell'Osservanza (Church and Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie or Santa Teresa all'Osservanz), Piazza Osservanza. A 13th-century church. In the interior is the 16th century Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and a statue of "Madonna delle Grazie" by Antonello Gagini.
- Remains of the Norman Castle.
- Porta di S. Agostino and Porta di Stratò, two gates of which are the last remains of the medieval walls, demolished in 1805.
- Palazzo de' Nobili (15th century), now Town Hall.
- Piazza Grimaldi, a town square named in honour of the House of Grimaldi, who had branches that traded heavily within Catanzaro.
Do
Events and festivals
- Naca, Historic Centre. Good Friday procession which takes place in the historic centre.
- Procession of San Vitaliano, Historic Centre. July 16th. Procession dedicated to San Vitaliano, patron saint of the city.
- Feast of Our Lady of Porto Salvo (Catanzaro Lido). Last Sunday of July. It takes place near the parish of the same name, in the Lido district, while a boat is lowered into the sea with the statue of the Madonna, slowly sailing along the coast in front of the city. edit
- Feast of San Giuseppe, Parish of San Giuseppe, Via Mattia Preti.
- Catanzarock. Autumn. Regional selections for the Arezzo Wave.
- Grape Festival and Wine Fair (Festa dell'Uva e fiera del Vino), Piazza Prefettura, Corso Mazzini. 2nd week of October
Sleep
- Albergo Diffuso Cropani, Via Duomo, 6, ☏ +39 961965413. Albergo Diffuso Cropani offers holiday apartments in the small village of Cropani, close to Catanzaro and the sea.