Vaccarizzo Albanese
Welcome to Vaccarizzo Albanese!
Hello everyone! Today we will be talking about Vaccarizzo Albanese, a municipality with 1021 inhabitants in the province of Cosenza, Calabria. Located on the northern slope of Sila Greca, this beautiful mountain town is the homeland of the Albanian community in Italy (arbëreshë).
History
Vaccarizzo Albanese was founded around 1470 by groups of Albanian refugees who settled on the hills of pre-Sila greca to escape the advance of the Ottoman Turks in the Balkan Peninsula. In the 16th century, the place was part of the fiefdom of the Sanseverino princes, while in the 17th century it passed into the hands of the Duke of Corigliano. The inhabitants of Vaccarizzo and San Cosmo Albanese formed a single village until 1509 when they decided to separate and give rise to two distinct hamlets. The first masonry houses were built around the Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli in 1669. In 1863, the name Vaccarizzo was changed to Vaccarizzo Albanese to remember its origins.
Symbols
The coat of arms and flag of the municipality were granted by the President of the Republic on September 29, 1966. The flag is a yellow cloth.
Monuments and Places of Interest
The Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli is the main attraction of Vaccarizzo Albanese. There are also two parish churches with the same name, one of Byzantine rite and the other of Latin rite, located in the main square. The churches house two baptismal fonts and a valuable wooden choir. The tabernacle in the Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli was made by the craftsman Giuseppe Serembe. The fountains and the palace that houses the town hall, where there is a commemorative plaque of Pasquale Scura, are also interesting.
Conclusions
We conclude this guided tour of Vaccarizzo Albanese, a mountain municipality with great historical and cultural value. We were fascinated by the churches and monuments present in the town, which allowed us to discover the incredible cultural heritage of the Albanian community in Italy. We recommend visiting Vaccarizzo Albanese if you love history and culture, you won't regret it!
