An Albanian village on the edge of the Raganello gorge
On a rocky spur on the edge of the spectacular Raganello gorge, in the Pollino National Park, Civita is one of the most fascinating villages of the Arbëreshë, the Albanian communities of southern Italy, and one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia". The village was founded, or rather repopulated, in the fifteenth century by Albanian refugees who fled their homeland after the Ottoman conquest and the death of the national hero Skanderbeg, settling in many villages of Calabria, Basilicata, Apulia, Molise and Sicily. Even today, more than five centuries later, the inhabitants of Civita (in Albanian "Çifti") speak the Arbëresh language, an ancient form of Albanian, follow the Byzantine-Greek rite in their church, and preserve their costumes, songs and traditions, such as the "Vallje", dances and songs performed at Easter.
Walking through Civita, you will notice the curious and artistic chimneys on the roofs, of all shapes, which according to tradition served to ward off evil spirits, and the "case Kodra", houses whose façades seem to depict human faces, with windows as eyes and the door as a mouth, named after the Albanian painter Ibrahim Kodra. The Museo Etnico Arbëresh tells the history and culture of the community. From the belvedere, the view plunges into the Raganello gorge, crossed by the Ponte del Diavolo, a stone bridge which, according to legend, was built by the devil in exchange for the soul of the first living being to cross it.
Tip: walk down to the Ponte del Diavolo for the view of the gorge; taste local dishes such as the "dromësat", a kind of pasta.
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