Cassano allo Ionio

Cassano allo Ionio is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, Calabria. This locality was inhabited since the Neolithic, as many utensils and potteries found in the Karstic grottos of Sant'Angelo testify. When the greek city of Sibari was founded, in 720 B.C., Cassano became one of the 25 cities controlled by it. In 510 B.C. Cassano was destroyed, together with Sibari, by the inhabitants of Crotone headed by the greek athlete Milone. Then, it was rebuilt under the guidance of the architect Ippodomo.

There are many interesting monuments and places worth visiting in Cassano allo Ionio: the cathedral of Cassano or Basilica Minore, dedicated to the nativity of the Virgin; the Terme Sibarite; the Karstic grottos of Sant'Angelo; the sanctuary of Santa Maria della Catena with a renaissance-style portico and a seventeenth-century dome; the ruins of Torre di Milone, dedicated to the greek wrestler; the wooden crucifix, 4 meters high and preserved inside the cathedral; the archeological sites that testify how Cassano allo Ionio was one of the richest and most important cities of "Magna Grecia".