TENUTA CELIMARRO Castrovillari CS

The Celimarro district is named after the Greek name KUR-MARIOS, ‘’Lord Mario’’, probably the name of an ancient land owner who lived while Greek was still in use – there is proof of its use in Castrovillari the 13th century. The district is known for its archaeological evidence, from fossil remains dating back to prehistoric times, to the traces of the Roman consular road Popilia-Annia begun in 162 BC, to the remains of the Roman villa of Camerelle, not to mention the rare construction of Familongo, located close by and dated to the III century AD. Familongo is still intact, from the foundations to the vault, and the burial ground of possible Lombard origins. Last but not least are the rural buildings, dating back to the eighteenth century, such as the Gallo farm, today named Bonifati, and three farms that can be traced back to the Varcasia family and its several branches.

The rural complex of the Varcasias is considered the most beautiful and fitting examples of eighteenth-century masseria, among those located in Castrovillari. The patronal house, not quite large, comes from an almost-squared building built in the second half of the eighteenth century, perhaps on older ruins, partly visible in the large vaulted barn. Years later, a partially closed loggia was added to the façade through large arches. The interior is filled with paintings, most of them religious, hanging from the walls of the great hall to the other rooms and corridors: the ever present Madonna del Castello, patroness of Castrovillari, and an episode of the life of St. Francis of Assisi, a saint to whom the painter, the Adv. Antonio Varcasia, was particularly attached. For this reason, after his death, he left part of his estate to the Franciscans. Other interesting elements are the landscape covered in vegetation, and the several portraits of family members. In addition to these paintings, flowers surround greetings and words dedicated to the numerous guests who filled the villa. The whole decorative apparatus was realized by Mr. Varcasia during the 1920-30s. On the right side is a small chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas, founded by Don Lonardo Adreassi in 1769, as stated by the tombstone situated on the door , which also states the chapel did not allow confuggio, the asylum offered by churches to fugitives from justice. The roof is a bell gable, once decorated with bells. The interior is decorated with floral motifs added in the 1920s by Varcasia, whose painting of St. Nicholas of Myra was stolen from the altar. On the other side of the manor is a settler’s house which, before World War II, hosted an elementary school for the children of workers of the large estates in Piana di Camerata (today Cammarata). The coat of arms of the Savoia royal family stands as proof of it. Further behind were large brick vault stables for sheep, interesting building for its morphology, and for the written proof of much older construction works, maybe even Roman or early medieval. The structure, however, shows similarities to the rare mithraeum of the nearby Familongo, perhaps from the III century AD. All around are various smaller buildings, put to different uses related to farming. A large fountain and an oval brick tub can also be found, probably related to a Roman era nymphaeum (F. Cantarelli 1978). All this information goes to show how unique of an example the manor is in regards to ancient rural architecture.