New Year's Eve Cosenza

Cosenza, usually a summer destination, is surprising in the coldest periods, even for the New Year week holiday!
In fact, the wonderful natural landscape does not lose its charm in winter: Cosenza is situated in the centre of a huge green area, surrounded by the hills, just below the Sila which overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The old part of the city, on the Sibari plain, is situated on the Crati outpouring.
Furthermore, Cosenza, of Medieval origins, is also an important city from the cultural point of view: in fact, it is still active the Cosentina College, founded in the XVIth century by the humanist Aulo Giano Parrasio.
Always here, there is the Italian University of Calabria, precisely in the nearby Arcavacata di Rende.

We start our visit of the city from the Duomo (cathedral) whose original shape dates back to the XIIth century, although it was modified following the Baroque taste in 1750 circa.
Other important religious building is the St. Domenico church, dating back to 1448: the church and its convent are in the beautiful Campanella square, an ending point of the historical centre and the beginning of the New city.
To visit also is the St. Francis of Assisi Monastery, founded in 1217, but it was rebuilt several times in the course of the time.
To arrive in this wonderful monastic complex, just go along the beautiful Telesio Course, at the end of which we find the XVth March square: just opposite the square, we can visit the beautiful Municipal Villa, where we can admire, among the other things, the bronze monuments dedicated to Bernardino Telesio and to the martyrs, both of 1844.
It is important to mention that the Telesio historical Course, that until 1898 was known as the "road of merchants and of the jewellers".
Still, to absolutely visit is the castle, situated on the Pancrazio hill: from its 383 metres it is able to dominate the city and offer a splendid view on the Cosenza dell. The castle has a long history: in fact it was built by the Normans, was enlarged by Frederick I, until it became the royal residence under the Angevins domain.
Finally, we recommend a visit to the Cosenza Farmhouses, a set of small towns with ancient origins: one of these is, for example, Montalto of Uffugo.