Lamezia Terme, one of the most important commercial centres in Calabria, lies in the geographic heart of the region, not far from the Tyrrhenian coast and the capital of the Province of Catanzaro . Located at the centre of a very fertile plain that is distinguished by the cultivation of short-stemmed plants, such as vines, strawberries and beet. The town grew for administrative reasons out of three adjacent villages: Nicastro, Sambiase and Sant'Eufemia. The first village, the biggest, boasts an illustrious history that enjoyed its maximum splendour in the Norman period, when the castle was built, whose ruins are still to be seen; the seventeenth-century cathedral is admirable and the archaeological museum is very interesting, that has gathered material from the surrounding area and ranges from pre-history through the Greco-Roman period to the Middle Ages. Instead, Sambiase is famous for its mineral waters, already known and appreciated in Roman times, and today fully exploited thanks to the spa buildings located on the Caronte farm. In the neighbourhood of the spa there is also the very beautiful Difesa Mitoio Caronte Park. Sant'Eufemia, finally, is the modern, vital heart of the town, thanks to its efficient airport, to the large railway station and to the motorway that practically skirts the town. However, it is also a place of ancient memories, since at Sant'Eufemia Vetere, in fact, the site of Terina has been identified. This was an ancient Greek colony founded by Crotone settlers and located on the Terravecchia farm. In addition, the ruins of the famous Benedictine abbey of St. Mary's can be admired. Lamezia, with its 8 kilometres of coastline and its magnificent mountains is a tourist resort of considerable interest, and certainly one of the biggest and most developing towns in the region.
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LAMEZIA TERME
