Cosenza

Cosenza (pronounced [koˈzɛntsa]  listen ) is a city in the Calabria region of Southern Italy. The municipal population is of around 70,000. The urban area, however, counts over 268,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the homonymous Province of Cosenza, which has a population of around 735,000.

The ancient town is the seat of the Cosentian Academy, the second academy of philosophical and literary studies to be founded in the Kingdom of Naples (1511) and one of the oldest in Europe. To this day, the city remains a cultural hub with several museums, theatres, libraries and the University of Calabria.

Geography and Climate

Located at the confluence of two historical rivers, the Busento and the Crathis, Cosenza stands 238 m above sea level in a valley between the Sila plateau and the coastal range of mountains. The old town, overshadowed by its Norman castle, descends to the river Crathis. The modern city lies to the north, beyond the Busento, on level ground.

Almost completely surrounded by mountains, Cosenza is subject to a microclimate scarcely influenced by the Mediterranean Sea, with cold winters and hot summers.

Calabrian wine

Calabrian wine (Italian: Vino Calabrese) is Italian wine from the Calabria region of southern Italy. Over 90% of the region's wine production is red wine, with a large portion made from the Gaglioppo grape. Calabria has 12 Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regions but only 4% of the yearly production is classified as DOC wine. The region is one of Italy's most rural and least industrialized with per capita income less than half of the national average. Following World War II, many of Calabria's inhabitants emigrated to the United States and Argentina. Those left behind have been slow to develop a vibrant wine industry with only the red wines of Cirò garnering much international attention. Today Calabrian wines are mostly produced to high alcohol levels and sold to co-operatives who transfer the wines to the northern Italian wine regions to use as blending component. There are no Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) regions but 12 Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) designations.