Cortale, a village between history, silk and jazz

Squeezed between the Gulf of Lamezia and the Gulf of Squillace, in the so-called “Isthmus of Catanzaro”, stands the delightful village of Cortale. The origin of the center is attested around the year 1000, when it arose as a side village to a Basilian monastery. Water is the element that has most shaped these lands, not only greening the surrounding hills. Among the main buildings of the city there are in fact the famous fountains: the Fontana dei Cinque Canali and the Tre Fontane. These structures are located in the historic area of the center, among ancient houses, alleys and vertical stairways, where stone and bricks whisper ancient memories. One of the most famous stairways is the one that leads to the remains of the dilapidated church of Sant'Anna, devastated by the earthquake of 1783 and now a ruin of great impact. Other important buildings in Cortale are the two palaces Gatto and Ruffo, both of the seventeenth century. The culture of silk has also come from time immemorial: Cortale was in fact part (together with Borgia and San Floro) of the so-called “silk triangle”, reservoir of the Catanzaro silk industry. This is how the abundance of mulberry trees around the village is justified: the leaves of this plant were in fact the food of the silkworm. The art of weaving is still preserved and handed down. Cortale is home to a famous event, “Jazz & Vento”, one of the most important and long-lived jazz festivals in Italy, which attracts great artists and a huge audience.