Alessandria del Carretto

Discover Alessandria del Carretto

At 1,000 metres above sea level, on the eastern slope of the Calabrian Pollino, Alessandria del Carretto has just 357 inhabitants today — making it one of the least populated municipalities in the entire province of Cosenza. Its territory falls within the Pollino National Park, and anyone wondering what to see in Alessandria del Carretto should be prepared for a vertical landscape: dense beech forests, rocky outcrops, and a settlement where houses built from local stone line steep slopes, connected by narrow, uneven staircases. The very name of the village carries the trace of two stories: that of a saint who was pope, and that of an ancient craft tied to wood.

History and origins of Alessandria del Carretto

Local tradition traces the founding of the village to a medieval settlement, which likely developed around the 10th–11th century in the mountainous area of the upper Ionian coast of Cosenza. The name “Alessandria” derives from the patron saint, Pope Alexander I, a 2nd-century AD pontiff whose veneration took root in the area during the Norman-Swabian period. The specification “del Carretto” — officially added to distinguish it from other towns of the same name — refers to the activity of the carrettieri, woodworking craftsmen who built carts and wheels using beech and Turkey oak from the surrounding forests. This woodworking tradition represented the backbone of the local economy for centuries, alongside high-altitude pastoralism.

The village followed the feudal trajectory common to much of northern Calabria: it passed through the hands of various lords, from the Sanseverino family to the Princes of Bisignano, always remaining a marginal centre that was difficult to reach due to its mountain location. In the 18th-century catasto onciario (land registry), Alessandria appeared as a small cluster of shepherds and woodcutters. Geographic isolation, while contributing to a progressive depopulation — the municipality had over 2,000 inhabitants in the early 1900s — also preserved rituals, structures, and communal practices that have disappeared elsewhere decades ago. For further information on the administrative history of the municipality, you can consult the official municipal page.

What to see in Alessandria del Carretto: 5 main attractions

1. Chiesa Madre di San Papa Alessandro I (Mother Church of Saint Pope Alexander I)

Dedicated to the patron saint, the mother church stands at the highest point of the settlement. The layout is simple, with a single nave and a high altar in late-Baroque style. Inside, it houses a wooden statue of the saint, carried in procession during the patron saint’s feast, held from the last Sunday of April to 3 May. The sober façade is built from unplastered local stone.

2. The Pita ritual (Festival of the Fir Tree)

The Pita ritual is one of the most studied ethno-anthropological events in inland Calabria. A fir tree is felled in the forests of the Pollino, carried on shoulders to the village, and raised in the main square, crowned with a branch of holly. The ceremony, linked to seasonal cycles and the patron saint’s feast, has been documented by the University of Calabria and attracts researchers of folk traditions from across Europe.

3. The beech forests of the Pollino

The municipal territory is crossed by trails that lead deep into the beech forests of the Pollino National Park. At altitudes above 1,200 metres, specimens of Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) can be found — a relict species from the Tertiary era and the symbol of the Park. The paths are not signposted everywhere: it is advisable to contact the official guides of the Park Authority. More information can be found on the Wikipedia page dedicated to the Park.

4. The stone-built old town

The dwellings of the old core are built entirely from local sandstone, with doorways often carved with simple geometric motifs. The external stone staircases — a recurring feature in Calabrian mountain architecture — served as access to the upper floors, reserved for living quarters, while the ground floor housed animals and tools. Several buildings still display the iron hooks where provisions were hung for the winter.

5. Public fountains and springs

The territory of Alessandria del Carretto is rich in natural springs, some of which feed public stone fountains distributed both within the settlement and along the mule tracks connecting the village to the high-altitude pastures. The Fontana Vecchia (Old Fountain), in the lower part of the village, has served as a topographical reference point for generations and retains a monolithic basin carved from rough stone.

Traditional cuisine and local products

The cuisine of Alessandria del Carretto is that of a Calabrian mountain village at 1,000 metres: few ingredients, long preparation methods, and a heavy reliance on winter preserves. The most distinctive dish is lagane e ceci, wide, irregular fresh pasta served with boiled chickpeas, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. Also prepared are rascatielli, small flour-and-water gnocchi dressed with goat or pork ragù. During the winter months, licurdia is common — a thick soup of stale bread, onions, potatoes, and chilli pepper. Bread was traditionally made with durum wheat flour in the communal wood-fired oven, and in some households this practice still continues. Calabrian chilli pepper, present in almost every preparation, has been recognised as a PAT product (Traditional Agri-Food Product) by the Calabria Region.

Pork has historically been the main source of protein: the winter slaughter yields soppressata di Calabria DOP, capocollo di Calabria DOP, salsiccia di Calabria DOP, and ‘nduja, a spicy spreadable cured meat. The cheeses produced in the area include caciocavallo silano DOP, made from cow’s milk, and various forms of fresh and aged pecorino linked to local shepherding. Among woodland products, porcini mushrooms gathered in the Pollino beech forests are dried and preserved in oil. Patata della Sila IGP, also cultivated in the neighbouring mountainous areas, frequently appears in soups and roasts. There is no real structured restaurant network in the village: visitors to Alessandria del Carretto can find hospitality at farmhouses in the area or in private homes that, during festivals, open their doors according to local custom. For details on Calabrian DOP and IGP products, you can consult the relevant section of the Touring Club Italiano.

When to visit Alessandria del Carretto: the best time

The patron saint’s feast of Saint Pope Alexander I, held from the last Sunday of April to 3 May, is when the village comes back to life. Emigrants return, shuttered houses reopen, and the Pita ritual transforms the square into a collective work site. It is the time of year when Alessandria del Carretto reveals its communal structure still in working order. Summer, from June to September, offers favourable conditions for hikes in the Pollino Park: temperatures remain moderate — rarely exceeding 28°C — and the beech forests provide cover even on the hottest days.

Winter is harsh. Snow blankets the village from December to March, and access roads can become impassable for days. Those who are equipped and seeking a mountain experience without any tourist mediation may find in the winter village a place where daily life still follows the rhythm of provisioning and firewood. Spring, between April and May, is the best compromise: residual snow on the peaks, wildflowers in the meadows below, and the patron saint’s feast as a concrete reason to plan the trip.

How to reach Alessandria del Carretto

Alessandria del Carretto can only be reached by road. From the A2 Autostrada del Mediterraneo (formerly the A3 Salerno–Reggio Calabria), the nearest exit is Frascineto-Castrovillari. From there, you continue for approximately 50 km on mountain provincial roads, with road surfaces that require caution, especially during the winter months. From Cosenza, the distance is approximately 130 km, with a travel time of around two and a half hours.

The nearest railway station is Sibari, on the Ionian line, approximately 70 km from the village. The main airport of reference is Lamezia Terme (approximately 200 km), while Bari Karol Wojtyła airport, at roughly 220 km, can be an alternative for those coming from the north. There are no frequent public transport services: a private or rental car is essentially indispensable. It is advisable to check road conditions with the Municipality before departing during the months between November and March.

Other villages to discover in Calabria

Anyone who reaches Alessandria del Carretto finds themselves in the upper Ionian area of Cosenza, a zone where several small centres share similar conditions of altitude, isolation, and demographic structure. To the north-east, towards the Ionian coast, Albidona sits at around 800 metres above sea level, overlooking the valley of the Saraceno torrent. The village retains a compact medieval layout and a position that allows, on clear days, a view of the Ionian Sea. Like Alessandria, Albidona experienced severe depopulation in the second half of the 20th century, but it maintains a network of trails connecting the two villages across the ridges of the eastern Pollino.

On the Tyrrhenian side of Calabria, at a considerable distance but within the same province of Cosenza, Belmonte Calabro offers an entirely different context: an old town arranged on a hill facing the Tyrrhenian Sea, with an architectural heritage that includes noble palaces and conventual churches. The comparison between the two villages — one an inland mountain settlement, the other a coastal hilltop town — conveys the extreme variety of the Calabrian landscape within a single province. Visiting both means crossing Calabria along its shortest and most geographically contrasting axis.