Calabria My Picks: Borgo Petelia Strongoli (SS 106 Jonica).

Borgo Petelia, now called Strongoli, is the ancient name of a village

perched on the hills overlooking the Ionian sea

in the province of Crotone.

Thanks to the meritorious initiative of a local professional,

a very careful architectural recovery plan was put in place

for the old often abandoned houses of the small village, in Italian "Borgo",

capable of returning a faithful image of the history of these frugal rural communities

offering a regenerating immersion in its harsh nature with breathtaking views of the lunar hilly landscape towards the interior and, on the opposite side, the blue of the Ionian sea.

"Borgo Petelia was born to revive the historic village of Strongoli in the province of Crotone and to inaugurate a new way of reactivating the territory and its human capital."

"Staying right in the ancient heart of the town, to mingle with the locals and experience their habits, stories and traditions: the Borgo Petelia diffuse hotel welcomes you in the silent streets of Strongoli,

a Greek city of ancient origins that has stood proud on its heights of the Val di Neto.

Restored and transformed into a widespread hotel thanks to a careful and accurate architectural recovery that preserves the charm of the local character,

Borgo Petelia enhances the pleasure of living in places created over the centuries, restoring its immense cultural value.

Borgo Petelia is a bet on the future, the desire to stop the passage of time by enhancing what it has been, to rediscover a new way of living and traveling."

The rebirth of Strongoli’s historical centre is one of the major initiatives of the great regeneration project of the whole territory, carried out by the company Neaitos and the inhabitants of the village over ten years ago.

https://borgopetelia.it/

The Bilbao effect which is also known as the Guggenheim effect pertains to the cause and effect relationship that occurred when a single world-class project became the catalyst for reviving this once gritty, economically distressed, post-industrial city. Bilbao Effect means more than the urge to travel.

https://www.dezeen.com/2009/03/27/art-museum-strongoli-by-coop-himmelblau/

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/coop-himmelblau-the-new-art-museum-strongoli-in-calabria-italy/

Strongoli's castle stands in the upper part of the hill and overlooks the city. With a quadrilateral plan with four corner towers, including three cylindrical ones, it is surrounded for three parts by precipices while an artificial moat, now filled, separated it from the city from which it was accessed through a drawbridge.

The first castle was built according to what Procopio states in Bellum Ghuticum around 550 by order of Emperor Justinian.

The fortification has undergone numerous renovations over the centuries as can be seen from the different styles of its towers and the different construction systems and materials used, the current state is very different from the original one.