The Ionian Foothills - Olivadi

This municipality is located along the Ionian foothills.

Saint Elijah, a patron saint who harkens back to the Byzantine age.

Olivadi is a small town that one encounters along the road connecting Squillace and Chiaravalle Centrale. As a backdrop, picturesque olive grove undulations against the backdrop of the Serre ridge. The town's foundation probably dates back to the Greek-Byzantine period when, in order to escape constant looting, coastal inhabitants found refuge inland. One of the elements supporting this hypothesis is the cult of oriental origin for Saint Elias, the patron saint celebrated on July 20 as well as the titular of the first Matrice church.

The remains of the Mother Church as a symbol of rebirth.

What remains of the Matrix after the last of the earthquakes that struck the area serves as the backdrop for the open-air theater that insists on the space of the lost building, at once a memory of the past and a symbol of resilience, the centerpiece of theOlivadese Summer activities. Furnishings and works of art from this early church have flowed into the modern parish church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, starting with the Baroque altar in polychrome marble and the canvas depicting the Madonna delle Grazie, an early 18th-century work of the Neapolitan school.

In the heart of the village glimpses of churches and palaces

In the oldest part of the town along the provincial road is the Church of the Holy Crucifix, so-called from its early 17th-century wooden crucifix, probably the work of the Sicilian friar Umile da Petralia. In the heart of the historic center, another interesting glimpse is offered by Casa Mellace-Paparo, introduced by a large early 18th-century ashlar ashlar portal. Upstream from the village, nestled in the woods, is the pretty little Zimbe Lake.