Motta Filocastro - fraz. Limbadi

Motta Filocastro is a hamlet of the village of Limbadi, perched on a hill at a height of 362 metres above sea level. Its historical origins run back to between the 7th and 5th centuries B.C.
Greek and Byzantine influences can still be recognised in the place names and architecture. In the Middle Ages, this was an important fortified town, home to a university and the houses of Norman nobles.
The panoramic balcony, named “il Tocco” is a fine viewpoint over the Aspromonte mountains, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Gioia Tauro plain and the Strait of Messina. There are many examples of religious architecture, such as the Church of Maria Santissima della Romania, with the revered statue of the Black Madonna; the Santuario (Shrine) of the Holy Cross; and the first house of the Suore Missionarie Francescane del Verbo Incarnato (Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Incarnate Word), an order founded in 1930 at Motta Filocastro by Mother Giovanna. Father Ludovico Cumi from Reggio Calabria is an important historical figure, instigator of the Capuchin reform in Calabria, which led to the construction of the Franciscan Monastery of S. Maria della Neve in Motta Filocastro, in 1535.
The village is famous for its crafts and agricultural traditions, visible in the remains of ancient terracotta workshops and mills for crushing olives and grinding grain. The old mill at the entrance to the village dates back to the 18th century and retains its original structure: it is a significant historical and cultural location.