| Visits
to the Sila region must include stops at traditional Sila and Pre-Sila.
One of the most beautiful of these is the Pre-Sila village of Longobucco,
to the north of Lago Cecita. Its artisans are renowned for their
work in textiles (see some of the shops in Camigliatello for their
work); their studios and boutiques may be visited in town. Longobucco
is a delicious little hamlet, great fun to explore. Its maze of
narrow, winding streets seems to be straight out of the Middle Ages,
while the central piazza (with its important church) is where all
of the action takes place in town. Come during the lunch hour(s)
to catch a bit of sun and lazily watch the activity of the locals.
 To
the south of Lago Cecita, S. Giovanni in Fiore is one of the principal
towns of the Sila. A highlight of the town is its famous abbey,
Abbazia Florense, which was founded in the late 12th century by
San Giochino in Fiore (an important Italian saint of the High
Middle Ages). The abbey is an excellent example of the Romanesque
with later periods also visible in its design. Emperor Frederick
II was the first to grant special liberties to the abbey in 1221,
which extended to the town that later grew up around it. The growth
of the town is in large part due to its unique privileges: people
flocked here from all over Calabria, which the Spanish rulers
burdened with taxes, to take advantage of its special tax exemptions.
In 1844, S. Giovanni in Fiore was witness to a very famous event:
the capture of the revolutionary Bandiera brothers. They had just
returned from hiding in Corfu to organize an insurrection against
the Bourbons, but instead were betrayed by their Corsican companion
and soon after their capture executed.
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