San Demetrio Corone


San Demetrio Corone is a town and municipality in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is home to the Collegio of Sant'Adriano, a boarding school which produced many patriots and theorists/revolutionaries in the Italian Independence wars.

Geography

The village is surrounded by lush vegetation and overlooks the Piana di Sibari. Views of the Apennine Mountains and the Ionian Sea dominate the scenery. It is bordered by Acri, Corigliano-Rossano, San Cosmo Albanese, Vaccarizzo Albanese, Santa Sofia d'Epiro, Tarsia and Terranova da Sibari.

History

San Demetrio Corone was founded in the 1470s by Albanian Christians from Morea during the time of the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans. The townsfolk are still generally fluent in both Italian and Arbëresh language.

Main sights

The church of Sant'Adriano, adjacent to the aforementioned Collegio, is an example of early Norman-Byzantine architecture and contains some mosaics and other medieval artifacts.