Italy Travel Notes

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by Vincenzo Galli

If you are headed for Italy and you are to choose where to go and what to see, Calabira might not be your first choice – for a number of reasons: there is rarely a direct flight to reach it, it is very much on the south and sometimes perceived as very hot and then, there is the competition from Sicily, which might be the first choice of those Italy travellers headed for the south.

When you look at the suggestions from travellers on places to visit in Italy you find quite a lot of information on Rome and Florence and Venice and very little about Calabria. Just have a look at our own categories on Italy Travel Notes and see how many we have on Rome and Florence and until now we have not had a single submission or traveller’s advice on Calabria.

Discovering Calabria ourselves, we decided to share our insights with you –because there are so many beautiful places to visit in Calabria, it is alluring and the water in the sea is crystal-clean, there are some amazing and unique spots to see and delicious sea food to taste.

So here comes our suggestions on the must see places when you go to Calabria:

1. Tropea
Probably the best known of the touristy spots in Calabria – Tropea has been long discovered by the German, the Austrian and the French tourists. The town of Tropea carries that typical Italian atmosphere – full of life and light and sounds in the summer and it is very cosy and not so cold in the winter either. And then there are the white sand beaches of Tropea – spreading for 35 kilometres from Pizzo up to Capo Vaticano.

As for its culinary contribution to the world – Tropea is proud to offer the red onions of Tropea – very sweet and recognized by connoisseurs throughout the world. The moment you land at Lamezia Terme airport and you head south in the direction of Tropea you start noticing these off the motorway artesian stands selling different vegetables among them the red onions of Tropea – of course.

2. Amantea
Amantea might not be so popular as Tropea, but it is another charming town on the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria – a bit on the north from the Lamezia Terme airport. And what Amantea offers is the relaxed atmosphere of the Italian sea towns with wide-spreading beaches, a remarkable sea-front full with places to stop by and pick an ice-cream or listen to the street musicians or just walk along in the evenings. Amantea also offers a good shopping experience with boutiques lining up its main street open until late in the evening.

3. Pizzo
Another marvel on the Calabrain coast which you drive through on your way to Tropea is Pizzo - deliciously known in Italy for its tartuffo – and that being not the very expensive mushrooms known as truffles (tartuffo – the same word is used in Italian for both), but the tartuffo as an ice-cream. Delicious like most Italian ice-creams, the black tartuffo, which originates from Pizzo, is very tasty and with a core of pure chocolate, which surprises you with more sweetness at the end of your ice-cream enjoyment.

And then, there is the cosy piazza of Pizzo, where you are surrounded by the facades of houses which for centuries have been witnessing visitors who come to wonder and admire the beauty of Pizzo and to sit outside in one of the numerous cafés and taste their own tartuffo. Definitely worth a visit for all of your senses.

4. Sila
This is the only place in our must-see places in Calabria, which is not close to the sea, but is tugged up in the mountain. Sila is often compared to the north European regions, fresh for summer walks and offering two ski tracks and a lot of snow for those who prefer the winter sports.

Sila is the best mountain resort in Calabria – the authentic green heart of the Mediterranean. Known for its pastures and rich of streams, lakes and variety of woods. And that is where Sila’s name originates from – from the Latin word silwa, which means a place with woods.

5. Scilla
This is the last little town you can visit on the south of Calabria before you get on the boat to go to Sicily. An ancient fishermen’s’ village with its colourful facades, Scilla through the centuries has been an important Greek colony. And according to some, it was founded by Ulysses, who on his way back from the Trojan war, had to stop and look for shelter here.

Scilla is well known for the fishing of swordfish, best witnessed at Chianalea – the fishermens’ quarter. Its panorama being dominated by the Castello – the castle located in the center for Scilla.

6. Paola
Paola is one of the biggest cities on the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, very well connected and it can be reached with train from almost any point in Italy. Paola houses the famous monastery of St. Francesco and this year it is celebrating the 500th anniversary of his death. The monastery is famous for witnessing some of the miracles performed by St. Francesco and is located inside a rock, up in the mountain with a river running beneath it.

Paola has some beautiful beaches, which spread for 3 kilometres accommodated with bars, ice-cream parlours and a fascinating seafront to take a walk in the evening.

7. Soverato
Soverato is located on the other side of the booth – on the Ionian coast. And here the beaches are wider and longer, and the sand is finer than at Amantea with golden particles shining in the clean water of the sea.

A typical characteristic of Soverato is the constant warm wind, which turns your day on the beach into a fresher experience, but is also responsible for the long tents, which have replaced the umbrellas on a number of places on the beach, because they are more stable and you don’t run into the risk of your umbrella being carried away by the warm wind.

Soverato is also famous for its night-life – and especially for these places which, during the evening turn from pizza restaurants, into piano bars and then into discos open until late and where you can greet the first sun rays in the morning.

Depending if you prefer to enjoy the rise of the sun or its dawn – you could pick your favourite spot in Calabria, because while Soverato is the fist to greet the sun in the morning, for those of you who prefer to wave it good night in the evening – Amantea, Tropea and Pizzo are the places to be.

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