Altomonte is the cultural surprise of Calabria. In a region famous for sea, 'nduja, and bergamot, this hill town at 455m in the Pollino foothills contains a Gothic church (Santa Maria della Consolazione, 14th century Angevin) that would be at home in Naples or Provence, and a civic museum with a Simone Martini painting — the San Ladislao d'Ungheria (c.1326) — that would be a headline attraction in any Tuscan museum. How did a Sienese masterpiece end up in a Calabrian mountain town? The Angevin counts of Altomonte (the Sangineto family) were connected to the Neapolitan court and commissioned art from the same circles as King Robert. When Calabria's fortunes declined, the art stayed. Calabria guide →
Plan my Calabria trip →Chiesa di Santa Maria della Consolazione (14th century): An Angevin Gothic church with a rose window, pointed arches, and a tomb of Filippo Sangineto by a Neapolitan sculptor — southern Italian Gothic at its purest. Museo Civico (adjacent convent): The Simone Martini painting (a polyptych panel depicting San Ladislao, c.1326, with the gold ground and linear elegance characteristic of the greatest Sienese painter). Also: 14th-15th century paintings, Angevin-era objects, and liturgical silver. €3. The town: Medieval stone houses climbing a hillside, a Norman tower, views of the Esaro valley and the Pollino massif.
Getting there: car from Cosenza (45min via A2). No useful public transport. Stay: €35-55/night (limited options). Eat: local Pollino cuisine — fusilli fatti a mano, capra (goat), mushrooms in season. Combine with: Calabria interior, Pollino National Park (30min), Cosenza (45min), Morano Calabro (another beautiful Calabrian hill town, 30min).