Of Roberto De Santo
A beautiful story of synergy between the public and volunteers. A story to build together a widespread development path that focuses on experiential tourism. Leveraging the intrinsic qualities of the territory: its architectural treasures. Starting from Petramala Castle.
So in Cleto citizens and administrators met to clean up the entire area where the Norman manor stands. A stage that fits into the path that will lead very soon, according to the announcement of the municipal administration, to the opening of the castle at the foot of Monte Sant’Angelo. In fact, the redevelopment and digitalisation works on the Manor have already been completed, with only small measures missing which will be carried out in the next few days to be ready and finally open to visitors.
Works that start from afar and whose first step dates back over twenty years ago when, thanks to a huge loan, the castle was able to be completely restored. Then the start of the second batch began in 2014 and ended in recent days. Precisely in view of the imminent opening to the public, a group of young volunteers from the Tyrrhenian town of Cosenza together with the mayor Armando Bossio and his deputy Eugenio Vairo they worked for the entire weekend to radically clean the spaces of the Castle.
«It is a first appointment – underlined by the Municipality – which will be followed by others, with the aim of bringing it to the best and as soon as possible in the splendor it deserves. The presence of so many young volunteers testifies to the great community that Cleto is expressing day after day, determined and eager for redemption for a town that wants to make extraordinary spaces like those of the Cleto Castle shine and available to the Calabrians and beyond.”
The Municipality of the two castles
The forthcoming opening of the Norman castle to the public will allow Cleto to focus on a second element of strong attraction for the area. Given that the town can count on the presence of the Sabuci Castle in its territory.
A manor house dating back to the Angevin era which stands on the banks of the Savuto river and which is already accessible to visitors. It is a military infrastructure built around 1200 as a sentinel of the valley.
Its remains recovered thanks to a careful restoration project concluded in 2017 demonstrate the strategic importance that Cleto had over the centuries.
«It will be the first time in its history – the town’s municipal administrators underline in a post – that Cleto will have its two castles open and accessible to the public. It will be the first time that the “Cleto, the Municipality of the Two Castles” project will take shape and we are certain that, together with the territorial promotion activities that we are developing, it will make our small community become one of the most evocative tourist destinations in Calabria”.
