What is Alessandria del Carretto known for?

One of the oldest Mediterranean nature-rebirth rituals, a twenty-meter fir cut in April, hauled by hand and climbed on 3 May. Beautiful and ugly Polëcënellë masks dramatise the struggle of order and disorder, death and rebirth, one of Calabria's most important historical carnivals. Highest inhabited village in Pollino National Park at 1,043 meters, with 357 residents and the only commune named for its founder.

Where is Alessandria del Carretto?

Alessandria del Carretto is a comune in the province of Cosenza, Calabria region of Italy, about 134 kilometers from Taranto.

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.

1043m

Elevation

134 km / 83 mi

Nearest hub (Taranto)

357

Population

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best time to visit

Recognised as

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 slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Alessandria del Carretto fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Gallery

6 photos · scroll →

Known for

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.

When to visit

Best months · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Late June through September are the months the Pollino climbs to Alessandria del Carretto are walkable, the village is open and trail days are long. Winter brings snow above 1,000 meters and the December to March window works for trekking on snowshoes when the Pollino refuges run; access becomes weather-dependent and the road from Trebisacce can close in storms. April and May are wet and cool, though the Festa della Pita on 3 May is the year's largest day and brings several thousand visitors to a village of 357. October and November are foggy and quiet on the ridge.

How to get there

From Taranto, Alessandria del Carretto is roughly 134 km by road. Allow about 115–161 minutes depending on traffic and route choice (autostrada vs scenic).

Drive time to the nearest gateway airports