The village, which has about 10,000 inhabitants, is made from an ancient part (the Old Town) and a modern (the marina). The signs of the illustrious past of Cariati you can pick up with a visit to its well-preserved historic center, located just over a mile from the marina and accessible from several points. This is entirely surrounded by massive walls interspersed, occasionally, with massive towers, some in the shape of a truncated cone and other polygons. Its well-preserved city walls is the most emblematic monuments of emergency Cariati. It is a apoderosa fortification built on pre-existing Byzantine towards the middle of the fifteenth century, at the time of the Aragonese domination when the town was a fief of the powerful family of Ruffo. It has the length of one kilometer and is interspersed with eight toriioni, which give the appearance of a typical 'turreted village "medieval. The first core was built as a strategic place in the Byzantine fortified, roughly between the ninth and tenth centuries. In 1059 Cariati was besieged and captured by Robert Guiscard, who became the first feudal lord. After being in the county Norman period, in the sixteenth century it became the seat of a vast principality, on which alternated divers and powerful families, Ruffo to Riario, by the Sanseverino to Coppola, the Borgias to Spinelli; the latter took the title of "Principles of Cariati" from 1565 until the end of the nineteenth century. In 1437 Cariati was elevated by Pope Eugene IV to episcopal oiltre and remained so for five centuries. Among its leading bishops are mentioned: Francesco Gonzaga (1633 - 1657) who promoted the construction dell'Episcopio and Seminary, Nicola and Goliath (1839 - 1873) who, in 1857, made restructure and expand the Cathedral of the fifteenth century, transforming it into a sumptuous temple in the modern style neoclassico.La grows on the hillside below the old walls and along the beach. It 'a seafaring town and seaside resort, with a modern promenade and many small beaches where you can sample the local seafood. There is a small marina which also serves as a refuge for the many boats of local fishermen. Fishing is an activity that has to Cariati an ancient tradition and is an important item of the local economy. There are many families of fishermen who, for generations, brave the dangers of the sea, taking with it their livelihood. In local port docks a large number of boats and fishing boats that make up the fleet of the navy Cariati, renowned throughout the Ionian coast of Calabria to the skill of the fishermen and for the great fish that can bring on the fish markets not only local but also regional and national.
Cariati is a town of great historical, artistic and archaeological interest. Between the fourth and third centuries B.C. its hills were places of settlements of people brezie, devoted all''agricoltura and archaeological evidence pastorizia.La more significativadi that period is the tomb Brezia, a subterranean tomb chamber dating back to about 330 BC and belonged to a warrior brezio, head of the local community, along with its sculpted in bronze armor and a rich array of vascular accompany. The monumental remains of the ancient tomb, discovered in 1978, are located in Salto; the finds discovered are displayed in the museum of course Sibari.Il XX Settembre is the main artery of downtown storico.Vi is accessed from the "New Bridge", an ancient door carved in the walls quattrocentesca.Lungo the course will meet the Palazzo Seminary, of the seventeenth century; the Bishop's Palace, residence of the Bishops of Cariati since 1865; The Cathedral, a beautiful and rare example of neoclassical church of Calabria, built in the early nineteenth century on the ruins of a much older church, the Church of S. Antonio, founded in the seventeenth century. Outside the city walls lies the artistic monument most famous and most important of Cariati: the Church of the Observant, of the fifteenth century.
A craft activity typical of Cariati is the weaving of rugs and carpets to the chassis, which, according to tradition, was introduced by local women returning from Turkey, where they were deported by pirates turcheschi in the sixteenth century. The processing of clay by potters practiced "in dialect Cariati" vucalari "), is typical of craft Cariati, once flourishing, but now almost extinct. Represent an attractive religious festivals of S. Cataldo (May 10) and S . Leonardo (November 6), respectively protector and patron of the town, at which you can watch popular demonstrations of ancient tradition. Moreover, Aug. 16 Cariati S. Rocco celebrates with a procession to the sea with all the fishing boats that accompany the statue of the saint along the coast, where at dusk the many tourists who flock to Cariati, gather to watch the spectacular fireworks that are fired in honor of the santo.La fishing is one of the oldest and most typical activities of Cariati. Practiced from time immemorial, it is still very active today, thanks to the large flotilla and the large number of people engaged in this sector. Closely related to fishing is the small local shipbuilding, the ancient craft of "varcaioli" shipwrights appreciated all the coastal towns of Calabria and the Gulf of Taranto. Cariati also has its own cuisine. Famous are his eggplant stuffed with anchovies and chopped, pitted olives in brine, chopped garlic, bread crumbs and olive oil homemade say, the "pitttà CCU re jiti", the "greedy" marinara, the "anchovies click it "and among the desserts, the" crustuli ", the" fusiddi "and" crispeddi. "In addition Cariati is the center of production of the "salt pilchard" the "Calabrian caviar" much appreciated all over the world.
