Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte
Let's discover Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte together
Hello friends, today I'll talk to you about Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte, an Italian municipality in the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria. It sits on a hill in the Piana di Gioia Tauro at an altitude of 514 metres and is located on the northern coast of Aspromonte on the Tyrrhenian Sea side.
The territory
The territory of Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte is very diverse. In the lower area, you can admire the constant presence of mostly secular olive groves. Whereas the upper area is characterized by expanses of Quercus pubescens and Quercus ilex, and in the most extreme peaks, by Pinus nigra laricio, Fagus sylvatica, and Abies alba. The municipality is also part of the Aspromonte National Park, and the highest peak is Monte Scorda, which has an altitude of 1572 metres. The municipality is crossed by numerous watercourses, the two closest being the Lago and Calivi torrents.
Climate
Santa Cristina is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and cold, rainy winters. The winter period is characterized by significant precipitation, but summer thunderstorms are not uncommon. Although frosts are rare, snowfalls are quite frequent. The average annual temperature in the municipality is around 20°C. The highest temperature recorded in the municipality is 45.8°C, recorded in August 1999, while the lowest recorded temperature is -3.3°C in January 2017.
Origins of the name
The name Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte derives from Greek. There are two hypotheses about the origin of the name. The first is that the inhabitants of the 6th century AD assigned the name of their town in honor of Christina of Bolsena, who was passionate about the life of the Saint. The second hypothesis is that the name was given for the presence of the Cristina river that flowed near the inhabited center.
History
The origin of the town of Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte is not yet known, but the first written source documenting the existence of the inhabited center dates back to the 10th century AD. In a passage of the Life of Elia of Enna, it is reported that the Saint lived for a period, between 880 and 902, in the castle of Santa Cristina preaching the Christian faith and prophesying the invasion of the Saracens. Almost all of the Duchy of Calabria was besieged by the Byzantine Empire, which divided it into "turms"; Santa Cristina belonged to the turma of Saline, which partly corresponded to the current territory of the Piana di Gioia Tauro. For several centuries, Santa Cristina will not appear in any public document, unlike its hamlets, which are documented in an act of donation to the Diocese of Oppido Mamertina-Palmi.
In the 13th century, Santa Cristina managed to defend itself from numerous attacks thanks to its fortifications. During the rule of the Duchy of Swabia, Folco di Calavra di Sinopoli, nephew of Ruffo di Calabria## Ruffo di Calabria conti di Catanzaro and captain of his army, in 1255 took refuge in Santa Cristina to escape from the attack of the army of Manfredi di Sicilia, who had subjugated Calabria except for the Cristinese and Bovalino castles.
We have come to the end of our tour of Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte. I hope to have made you fall in love with this splendid Calabrian village. I invite you to visit it and enjoy the beauty of its territory and its history. See you soon, friends!
