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Diamante ("diamond"; Calabrian: ) is a coastal town and ''
comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' in the
province of Cosenza The province of Cosenza () is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''), listed at list of ''comuni'' of the province of Cosenza. The province of Cosenza contains ...
, part of the
Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
region of southern
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. The Diamante citron takes its name from the town, and Calabria is still the home of this variety of
citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick Peel (fruit), rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the Citrus taxonomy#Citrons, original citrus fruits from which al ...
.


Chili Peppers Festival

Each year in early September Diamante hosts festival celebrating the local produce, peperoncino (chili pepper). Among the other products one can find the Calabrese Bomba made from as dried strings of chili peppers which have been infused into olive oil and mixed with other vegetables and mushrooms. The festival is a major event for the small town as it attracts a large number of tourists from all over the world. It lasts for a full week and each day there are several events including famous plays performances, folk dances, speeches by important figures, chili eating challenges and cartoon drawing challenge. Every year they organise special events, such as the exposition of samples of chili peppers from all around the world or research papers about chili peppers published by the local Università del Gusto. Furthermore, there are a lot of stalls set up along the seafront which sell creamed chili sauces, flavoured chocolates (chili, lemon, citron, orange, etc. flavourings), chili flavoured cheese, pottery, Sicilian and , Neapolitan , mixtures of vegetable sauces and creams (including garlic and onion spreadables). Moreover, most of the roads into the town are very narrow and inaccessible with a car, countless little shops of handmade food and handcrafted goods can be found in these roads.


Other attractions

A peculiar characteristic of Diamante are its
Mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...
. Many of these can be found on the outside walls of houses and several of them are centuries old, dating back to the Renaissance. Because of its position Diamante was ravaged by
Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...
several times during history. Some of these invasions are documented by the wall paintings.


Geography

The local population is low as it is mainly a touristic place. Due to the expansion of Hotels and Resorts, the sea has gradually become more and more polluted each year. It is not uncommon to see plastic bags or oil floating over the water. However, recent efforts to clean the area seem to have improved the situation. At the moment, many seafishes inhabit the area, including jellyfishes. Not too far from the coast there is the small island of Cirella, formerly a fort against pirates. Diamante can experience weather conditions that bring water spouts to its coastal area, which can cause damage to certain buildings in the vicinity. The harbour and seafront have also been destroyed several times. Due to its latitude temperatures can vary wildly, especially in the summer when there is a large night-day difference.


Transport

There is a train station situated in Diamante, which is linked to major cities like
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
and
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
.


Twin towns

* Nucșoara, Romania * Rocca di Papa, cultural twinning


References


External links


Gentedelsud.it Site of Diamante (CS) CalabriaDiamantesi.it Site of Diamante (CS) CalabriaVividiamante.com Cityportal Diamante

{{authority control Cities and towns in Calabria