Calabria · Cosenza
Alessandria del Carretto
The highest village in the Pollino at 1,043 meters, the only Italian commune carrying its founder's full name, with a fir-tree ritual every 3 May.
Known for
FESTA DELLA PITA
One of the oldest Mediterranean nature-rebirth rituals, a twenty-meter fir cut in April, hauled by hand and climbed on 3 May.
HISTORICAL CARNIVAL
Beautiful and ugly Polëcënellë masks dramatise the struggle of order and disorder, death and rebirth, one of Calabria's most important historical carnivals.
TALLEST POLLINO
Highest inhabited village in Pollino National Park at 1,043 meters, with 357 residents and the only commune named for its founder.
When to visit
Best · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: papa Alessandro I, 3 May
Why come
Alessandria del Carretto is the highest inhabited village in the Pollino National Park, perched at 1,043 meters in the eastern range of Italy's largest protected area. It is the only commune in Italy that bears the full name and surname of its founder, the marchese Alessandro Pignone del Carretto, who established it in 1639. Population today is around 357, declining for decades, with traditions kept alive against depopulation.
The signature is the Festa della Pita, on 3 May for the feast of Saint Alexander, one of the oldest nature-rebirth rituals in the Mediterranean: in mid-April the community cuts a twenty-meter fir tree in the Pollino woods, on the last Sunday of April carries it by hand to the village to accordion and bagpipe, then on 3 May runs the climb of the fir for the gifts tied to its top. The historical carnival, with masks of the beautiful and ugly Polëcënellë, marks the other end of the ritual year.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Alessandria del Carretto’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Centro storico di Alessandria del Carretto
Stone village at 1,043 meters in the Pollino, founded in 1639 by Alessandro Pignone del Carretto, the only Italian commune named for its founder.
Pollino National Park
Highest village in Italy's largest national park, surrounded by Bosnian pine forest and the slopes that climb toward Serra del Prete.
Chiesa di Sant'Alessandro Papa
Mother church of the village, dedicated to the patron saint whose feast on 3 May coincides with the climax of the Festa della Pita.
Belvedere sul Pollino
Viewpoint on the upper ridge over the Pollino massif and the Ionian plain below, on clear days reaching the Basilicata coast.
The slow-trip planner
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Living here
- Population 357
- Very remotei
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Nearest airport Lamezia / Reggio, 2 h 50 min drive
- Regional capital Catanzaro, 3 h 5 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 1043 m
- Population: 357
- Surface area: 41.12 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
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