Population: 1,325 (2003)
Official site: n/a
Wikipedia: n/a
Map: MapQuest

Maiera perches 360 meters above the Mediterranean sea, directly in front of its sister town Grisolia (seen in the photo here to the left.  Like Grisolia, Maiera is built of an agglomeration of  colorful houses.  From a distance, the town appears like a fungus sprawling over the steep escarpment, where the town was strategically built around 500 BC.

The name of the town "Maiera" derives from antiquated Spanish, meaning mountain. The Spanish influence within Maierà can still be felt today, throughout the town.

Maierà is home to the Peperoncino Museum, showcasing the history of the chili pepper (which were brought by the Spanish fleet lead by Christopher Columbus - back to Europe from South America in the 1600's).  Because of Spanish conquest throughout Europe at that time and because of optimal growing conditions in Southern Italy, the Spanish brought the peppers to Calabria, where numerous varieties were cultivated and incorporated into local cullinary traditions.

The town musem has over 56 types of peppers grown throughout Italy on display as well as numerous works of art, recipes and alcoholic beverages to accompagny samples. 

In addition to hot peppers, Maierà boasts artistic flavour throughout its narrow streets.  As in another Calabrian town, Diamante, numerous murals have been painted on the town's walls.  Ceramic art is positioned in unusal corners creating unexpected bursts of colour throughout the town. 

The main street, which you will find when you park your car, lead,s like all others in Maiera (3 streets in total), to Piazza Ducale.  A small pedestrian tunnel steers guests into the stairwell leading up to the Peperoncino museum.    

During the summer months at night time visitors can sample the numerous varieties of Peperoncino the museum has on display and can cool down during a tasting session with a cold beer, local wine, or water for that matter. 

The museum also has cooking courses available to those interested, techniques and recipes which make Calabrese cooking so unique.  The courses are offered to Italian speakers on a more or less continuous basis, and the owners are more than willing to offer some courses in English if there are enough takers.

Please visit the museum's website at: www.peperoncino.org or contact us directly at VisitsItaly.