What is Roseto Capo Spulico known for?

Seaside fortress built 1058-1085, rebuilt by Frederick II in 1229, linked to the Templars and a Shroud legend during the Sixth Crusade. Costa degli Achei coastline with Blue Flag water quality, pebble beaches and the castle rock as the postcard image. Founded in the seventh century BC as a Magna Graecia satellite of Sybaris, named for the roses harvested for Sybarite mattresses.

Where is Roseto Capo Spulico?

Roseto Capo Spulico is a comune in the province of Cosenza, Calabria region of Italy, about 102 kilometers from Taranto.

Calabria · Cosenza

Roseto Capo Spulico

A Frederician castle on a rock above the Ionian, a former Sybaris satellite city founded in the seventh century BC, Templar legend included.

102 km / 63 mi

Nearest hub (Taranto)

1,887

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Roseto Capo Spulico sits at the northern edge of Calabria's Ionian coast, the last commune before the Basilicata border, with the Pollino massif rising behind it. The village began as a Magna Graecia satellite of Sybaris around the seventh century BC, named for the roses cultivated to fill the mattresses of the Sybarite elite. The Castrum Petrae Roseti was built between 1058 and 1085 under Robert Guiscard, then rebuilt in the thirteenth century by Frederick II, who requisitioned it from the Templars in 1229 after their behaviour in the Sixth Crusade. The castle stands directly on the sea, trapezoidal, with three towers, one taller and crenellated. Below it runs a Bandiera Blu beach of crystal water and pebbled coves along the Costa degli Achei. The commune is a Borgo Autentico d'Italia and a Spiga Verde, with vineyards inland and the Pollino slopes within reach.

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Gallery

5 photos · scroll →

Known for

Castello Federiciano di Roseto Capo Spulico
Trapezoidal seaside fortress with three towers, built under Robert Guiscard between 1058 and 1085 and rebuilt by Frederick II in 1229 after seizing it from the Templars.
Spiaggia del Castello
Pebbled Bandiera Blu beach directly below the castle rock, with clear water and small coves along the Costa degli Achei.
Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie
Sixteenth-century mother church in the centro storico, rebuilt after earthquake damage and dedicated to the patron of the village.
Centro storico di Roseto
Hilltop old town above the marina, stone houses and narrow lanes along the ridge that overlooks the Ionian and the castle below.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September are the months the Ionian beach is open and the castle promontory fills with day-trippers from Sibari and Basilicata. July and August push past thirty-five degrees and the marina rentals fully book; the centro storico on the ridge above stays quieter and cooler. April and October are dry and mild, the right time to walk the castle path and the Pollino foothills inland without sweat. November through March is winter on the Ionian: rough sea, half the trattorias closed, the castle silhouette against grey water photographed by the few who come anyway. The patron's feast of Santa Maria delle Grazie falls in early September and pulls the diaspora home.