San Fili
San Fili is a village in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy with a population of approximately 2,500 (2022).
Understand
The village of San Fili has been included in the guide "I borghi più belli del Mediterraneo" with other five Calabrian municipalities.
Geography
The historic centre of San Fili is located on the highest hill, and also has a hamlet and two districts of some importance: the Bucita hamlet and the Frassino and Cozzi districts.
History
The village once called Terra Sancti Felicis, presumably in honor of San Felice, a saint to whom the population was devoted in the parish church of that time. The name San Fili came later and in the 15th century the town became part of the county of Rende belonging to the Adorno doges of Genoa from 1445 to 1529. From 1532 Rende (and therefore San Fili) was raised to a marquisate and given to Ferrente de Alarcone.
San Fili has a fraction and two districts of some importance: the Bucita fraction and the Frassino and Cozzi districts. They made famous San Fili Vincenzo Miceli professor of Constitutional Law and then of Philosophy of Law at the Universities of Pisa, Palermo, and Perugia, and again Alfonso Miceli, his brother (1855-1940) president of the Court of Appeal of Naples, both natives of San Fili and belonging to the homonymous baronial family of the Miceli di Serradileo. More recently by Baron Marcello Miceli (1918-1992) Gentleman of His Holiness Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II, and Knight of Grace and Devotion of the Sovereign Order of Malta.
Several Sanfilesi emigrated to Canada and the United States of America, and a considerable number also to South America (Argentina and Brazil above all), as well as many emigrated to European countries such as Germany and Switzerland. Today the descendants of Sanfilesi emigrants are a large number; an example is the Canadian community which appears to have reached 6,000 units.
Traditions
The village of San Fili is known as "village of Magare", creatures identified in most of Southern Italy as witches. In reality they are not sorcerers: in San Fili the "magare" were those women who today we would call naturopaths or herbalists. With the difference that in addition to the knowledge of herbs and natural remedies, they also have popular wisdom, a strong religiosity and a suggestive charm.
Get in
The main street of the village is via XX Settembre.
By plane
- Lamezia Terme International Airport. It is the closest airport to San Fili.
By car
The state road 107 Silana Crotonese or E846 connects the territory of San Fili in less than 20 km: in Cosenza, at the University of Calabria (Unical), at the A2 (Salerno-Reggio Calabria) or E45 exit Rende - Cosenza north, and in Paola.
By train
The closest stations are Paola and Cosentino.
By bus
Get around
By public transport
See
- Chiesa Madre Santissima Annunziata. There are documents that attest to its presence as early as 1304. Don Saverio Ricciulli of Rogliano through a project of reconstruction and advancement of the church between 1748 and 1802 improved the structure. The church is made up of a Latin cross plan with three naves and a baroque facade. The interior is made up of a carved wooden choir and excellent works of the late 18th century. Noteworthy are a Frangipane crucifix of excellent workmanship and the works on four paintings of the Evangelists by Antonio Granata from San Fili. The bell tower on the side of the church, damaged over time by earthquakes, consists of a large clock built in the early 19th century by the Blasi brothers.
- Church of the Retreat (ex Santa Maria degli angeli). 17th-century building. Used in the 19th century by the Retreating Fraticelli and used as a church with an adjacent cemetery towards the end of the 19th century. Inside the most important works are the statue of the Madonna degli Angeli made by a pupil of Gagini, and a wooden processional crucifix from the 1600s. The church reopened in 1996 after being restored due to damage due to the earthquake in the 1980s.
- Church of the Holy Spirit. It is located in the district of the same name, its structure has a single nave from the early 17th century, with a bell tower and a tufaceous baroque portal. Above the portal there is a painting of San Francesco di Paola from 1854 produced after having escaped unscathed from the earthquake. The most important works inside are a wooden bust of San Francesco di Paola, the canvas by Antonio Granata and some frescoes by Raffaele Rinaldi.
- Church of Sant'Antonio Abate. Built in the 16th century, it was used over the centuries for various uses, of artistic importance above all for the ceiling in exposed wooden beams and the remarkable painting by Raffaele Rinaldi.
- Church of Carmine. Built between 1919 and 1920 by the will of Don Salvatore Apuzzo, who undertook to collect donations from the Sanfilese population and the surrounding villages for its construction and for the subsequent arrival of the current statue of the Madonna.
- Church of Santa Lucia. Built towards the end of the 19th century on what remained of an ancient chapel, in the area where abbot Joachim of Fiore preached in the 12th century.
- Church of the Immaculate Conception. The first news on the church of the Immaculate Conception dates back to 1666 and appears to be equipped with everything necessary for the celebration of mass. The church of the Concezione has a single nave. In the main façade, crowned by a sober triangular tympanum, there is an arched portal, in tufaceous stone. Above the keystone the plaque with the Latin inscription is still preserved. In the upper part there is a single lancet window with a mixed-line frame. Next to the church stands the square bell tower. there are a seventeenth-century statue of the Immaculate Conception, of considerable artistic value, placed on the High Altar, a wooden bust of St. Joseph with the Child (eighteenth century), the wooden benches where the members of the ancient Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception sat, made in the eighteenth century by local workers, an elegant wooden confessional from the eighteenth century and a splendid crucifix from the late nineteenth century.
Do
Events
- Notti delle magare. In August. Event aimed at making the culture and popular tradition of the territory of San Fili known and valued, which revolves around an element of great depth, namely the "magare", figures around which traditions and ancient legends revolve. It takes place in the historic centre of the village, and is characterised by literary prizes, artistic performances, artisans, and culinary festivals with the preparation of typical products.
- Feast of San Francesco di Paola. 12 October.
Trekking
- Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola. San Fili is one of the two intermediate stages (the other is Cerisano) on the journey from Paterno Calabro to the Sanctuary of San Francesco di Paola.
- Sentiero Italia CAI. "Passo della Crocetta" stage point. Stage on path SI U24 (Casellone Forestale di Monte Cocuzzo - Passo della Crocetta) and stage on trail SI U25 (Passo della Crocetta - Forest Barracks of Cinquemiglia).
Shows
- Gambaro Theatre, Piazza San Giovanni.
Eat
- SPQR, via Piano Ghiande, 4. Bar, pizzeria, restaurant.
- Agriturismo Il Carro, via A. Gramsci. Restaurant and apartment to stay.
- Il casale, via A. Gramsci.
Sleep
- Bed and Breakfast Antica Calabria, via Sant'Antonio Abate, 34. Three rooms equipped with all comforts with memory mattresses, independent heating, air conditioning, private bathroom with hairdryer and washing machine, wifi, a safe, 32" TV, mini fridge, and luggage rack. Use of kitchen and computer. Breakfast included.
Stay safe
- Carabinieri Station, via XX Settembre, ☏ +39 0984 642047.
- Pharmacy, via XX Settembre 120, ☏ +39 0984 642330.
Cope
Post Office
- Post Office, via XX Settembre, ☏ +39 0984 642048.
Connect
Local TV channels:
Local radio stations:
Nearby
- Camigliatello Silano. ski slopes
- Sila National Park.
- Sanctuary of San Francesco da Paola.