Today Savuci is a “ghost” hamlet of Fossato Serralta, but this haggard corner in the heart of the Catanzaro Presila has an ancient history.
It is said that the village was founded by Italian-Greek monks with the name of San Niccolò di Sabutio. Evidence of the experience of the Italian-Greek monks could be given by the surviving wall of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Serre or della Misericordia, in Fossato Serralta.
This monastery was built in 600 AD and was also known as the Minor Monastery to distinguish it from the Major one, Santa Maria di Peseca di Albi, also built by Basilian monks, around the 10th century.
Although there are no documentary sources that confirm the presence of Basilian monks, in-depth studies can be found in the book dedicated to this monastery. This is the volume “Santa Maria delle Serre, the church and history in the Fossato area between the 16th and 20th centuries” by Alessandro Calogero, Rosario Dornetti and Luciano Dornetti published by Titani.
In a passage of the text, Luciano Dornetti, one of the authors writes: «The church dedicated to Santa Maria della Misericordia was founded in the mid-1500s with a document in hand, however this does not exclude that there actually was not a Basilian monastery from whose ashes then this church was built by the inhabitants of Maranise, another hamlet, together with Savuci di Fossato Serralta. The church was then almost completely destroyed in the earthquake of 1783.”
The village of Savuci was abandoned in the seventies of the last century due to a flood. The site was recently renovated, thanks to the intervention of two associations: “Effetto Stendhal” and “Mantello”. Becoming a cultural and artistic center, starting from 2015.
Today it is colored with beautiful murals by artists Massimo Sirelli and Leonardo Cannistrà, there is a corner dedicated to “book sharing”, the “loom room”, the work of Attilio Armone which certainly recalls the presence, in the past, of the spinning mill in Maranise. Savuci is rich in prickly pears. There are those who even choose this delightful, peaceful place to escape from the daily routine and get in touch with themselves. (Silvana Franco)
