Saracena () is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The town is bordered by

Altomonte Altomonte is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. People * Vincenzo Di Benedetto, classical philologist Twin towns * Vigarano Mainarda Vigarano Mainarda ( Ferrarese: ) is a ''comune'' (munici ...

, Castrovillari, Firmo, Lungro, Morano Calabro,

Mormanno Mormanno ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is located in the heart of the National Park of Pollino Pollino National Park ( Italian: ''Parco Nazionale del Pollino'') is ...

Orsomarso Orsomarso ( Calabrian: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza The province of Cosenza ( it, provincia di Cosenza) is a province in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 ''comu ...

and San Basile and is home to the Church of San Leone, a 12th-century Byzantine church. The town's patron is San Leone di Catania, who is celebrated twice a year, once in the spring, then again in late summer. Like Palermo and Tropea, Saracena was renowned for its souk (or street market) during the period of Arab Sicily from the ninth century until the

Norman era England in the High Middle Ages includes the history of England between the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the death of King John, considered by some to be the last of the Angevin kings of England, in 1216. A disputed succession and victory at the ...

. Arab-Sicilian influence remained strong until the 13th century.

Wines

The village of Saracena is noted for the specialty

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...

produced in the area, ''Moscato di Saracena'', made in a ''

passito Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the ice wine process, but is a much older process and suitable for warm climates. The technique dates back ...

'' (straw wine) style from a blend of several white Italian grape varieties including Coda di Volpe bianca (known locally as Guarnaccia bianca), Malvasia bianca di Candia, Addoraca and

Muscat blanc à Petits Grains Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

(known locally as Moscatello d Saracena).J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 8 Allen Lane 2012

References

Jevollela, M. 2005, Le radici islamiche dell’Europa, Boroli Editore, Milano. Cities and towns in Calabria {{Calabria-geo-stub