Medieval hamlet
The charm of Bova and of the Greeks of Calabria (a national linguistic minority protected by L. 482/99 and L.R. n° 15/03) captures the visitor and takes him back in time like an ancient 19th century traveller.
Like a traveller on the Grand Tour, the visitor is thrilled as he or she travels along streets remodelled in local stone, encounters churches and ancient palaces that have been completely restored.
He climbs the lanes that lead him to the remains of the Norman Castle on top of which stands a cross, and from which he overlooks the sea and the mountain.
and descending he sees the Co-Cathedral of Isodia (Bova was an ancient bishopric until 1996 and was then unified with the Diocese of Reggio, becoming the Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova), majestic with its bell tower and belvedere
And when it arrives at the Medieval Tower, and the still partly preserved city walls, it overlooks the valley of the Amendolea, the torrent that defines the boundaries of the Hellenic island.
It continues and discovers the Giudecca district of Bova, inhabited in the Middle Ages by a few Jewish families who spoke Greek, located between the power of the bishop and that of the podestà, and delimited by the city walls.
Appreciate the low-key LED lighting and warm light emanating from the ancient street lamps scattered around the village
He reads the multilingual toponymy (Italian, Calabrian Greek, English, German) used for the street nameplates of historic buildings and churches, and notices how the citizens have skilfully renovated their houses, rebuilding the façades in the old style and using wood for window frames and tiles for roofs.
He encounters the Path of Rural Civilisation, donated to the community by Saverio Micheletta, and is fascinated by it: the ancient mills and olive presses tell of rural traditions and a simple life linked to nature, the seasons and the products of the land.
The visitor notices the care with which the Borgo, thanks to a skilful use of European Funds by the various Administrations that have succeeded one another, has been redeveloped and enhanced and is maintained, respecting environmental sustainability and the original urban layout. The wonders of Bova enchant visitors and show them that urban decorum and the culture of beauty are possible even in marginal areas with weak development.
The ancient origins of the town of Bova (Vùa) are testified by the numerous archaeological finds discovered in the vicinity of the Norman Castle dating back to the Neolithic period, although the first historically documented evidence of Bova's existence dates back to the early years of the second millennium, when between 1040 and 1064 the Normans imposed themselves on the Arabs and Byzantines in the domination of Sicily and Calabria. In the 8th - 6th century B.C. it became a colony of Magna Graecia, while in the following centuries it was besieged by the Saracens, the Arabs and the Normans, and it was with the latter domination that Bova entered the feudal period and became a county. The city was an ancient Episcopal seat (it remained an Episcopal seat until 1996 and was then unified with the Diocese of Reggio, becoming the Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova), and followed the Greek rite introduced in Calabria by the Basilian monks until 1572, the year in which Bishop Stauriano imposed the Latin rite, made all traces of the Byzantine rite disappear, and with it all the paintings and statues, replacing them with seventeenth-century statues in keeping with the Roman rite. Artistic evidence of this period is also represented by the numerous churches scattered throughout the territory with their decorated local stone portals and marble statues attributed to the Messina School.
Latinisation led to the gradual disappearance of the Greek language, which was considered the language of the people or of the poor. But from a cultural point of view, Bova has remained the capital (the Chora) of the Hellenophone Island, that territory of the Grecanica Area made up of inhabited centres where the elderly still speak the Greek language of Calabria, a historical linguistic minority protected by the Italian State with Law 482/99 and by the Region of Calabria with Regional Law 15/03, which still preserves knowledge, traditions and trades that bear witness to the presence over time of important civilisations, first and foremost the Greek and Byzantine ones.
The natural orographic characteristics of the site not only strongly condition the planimetric structure of the centre, with its medieval layout, but also underline the strategic and economic importance that Bova had in the past in controlling a vast portion of the mountainous territory behind it. Recent history leads to the 1970s, when, after major seismic and flooding events, the majority of the population moved to the coast and the municipality of Bova Marina was established. But Bova, despite the serious social and economic consequences, resisted depopulation and abandonment and continued to remain a municipality in its own right, not merged with the Marina, as is the case with most other mountain municipalities. This situation ensured that the speculative building interests of those years were directed towards the coastal strip, allowing the precious village with its medieval layout to be preserved in its settlement characteristics and architectural merits. From the mid-1990s to the present day, a new interest in the town of Bova was born, and not only its cultural resources but also its public and private architectural heritage were enhanced. In 2003, the first confirmation arrived at a national level that the path taken was the winning one: Bova was included in the network of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.
In 2003 came the first confirmation at national level that the path taken was the winning one: Bova was included in the network of Italy's Most Beautiful Villages. The path of local development has continued over the years and today Bova not only belongs to the ANCI Club “I Borghi più belli d'Italia” (Italy's Most Beautiful Villages) but is also recognised by the Ministry of Tourism as a “Jewel of Italy” and by the TCI as an “Orange Flag” both for the unique natural habitat it offers (it is located within the Aspromonte National Park) and for the way the village has been preserved over time and saved from the illegal building that ruined much of Italy after World War II.
