Location and geographical context
San Lorenzo is a small village of Byzantine origin, located in the hinterland of the lower Ionian Sea of Reggio, between Reggio Calabria and Locri. The municipality is divided into several hamlets: San Lorenzo centro, Chorio, San Pantaleone and San Lorenzo Marina, the latter having grown in population and importance in recent times due to the progressive abandonment of the internal areas.
Historical notes
San Lorenzo was one of the last villages in the Grecanic area to maintain the use of the Greek language, spoken until the first half of the 18th century. Its Byzantine roots are visible in the religious architecture and local culture.
The village played an important role during the Italian Risorgimento: in 1860, after the failed assault on the Bourbon fort of Altafiumara, the fugitive Garibaldians found refuge in San Lorenzo. Mayor Rossi and the citizens welcomed and protected the patriots, contributing decisively to Garibaldi's landing in Melito Porto Salvo and the liberation of the South. This episode is described in detail by Alberto Mario in the book La Camicia Rossa (1865).
Until the first half of the twentieth century, San Lorenzo was the seat of the magistrates' court, confirming its legal and administrative centrality in the area.
Religious and architectural heritage
The spiritual heart of the village is Piazza Regina Margherita, where there are:
• the Protopapal Church of Santa Maria della Neve, which houses a marble statue attributed to the Gagini school;
• the Dittereale Church of Santa Maria della Caramia, the last to renounce the Greek rite and today home to the Museum of Byzantine Icons.
Among the icons kept, a 12th-century Cretan icon from San Pantaleone stands out, which every 12th August is carried in procession to the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Cappella, one of the most heartfelt places of worship in the area.
Other important religious buildings:
• the Church of San Fantino, built on the ruins of a Basilian monastery;
• the Church of San Pasquale Baylon (Chorio);
• the Church of SS. Trinità (Marina);
• the Sanctuary of Maria SS. Assunta della Cappella, dating back to the 17th century, known for the icon of the Black Madonna.
The historical heritage is completed by:
• the Castello dei Baroni, built at the end of the 18th century;
• the Birthplace of San Gaetano Catanoso, in the hamlet of Chorio.
San Gaetano Catanoso
Chorio di San Lorenzo is the birthplace of San Gaetano Catanoso, a priest canonized in 2005 and much loved for his work in favor of the marginalized. Today he is the patron saint of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria and a statue in his honor is located at the headquarters of the Province.