Calabria

The main cities in the region of Calabria are Catanzaro, Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia. Great food and wine, friendly people and almost perfect weather are Calabrian hallmarks. There are plenty of sporting activities, watersports, boating, sailing, scuba diving, mountain climbing or birdwatching, Calabria offers it all. Calabria is well-known for being the home to many of the rarest animals, birds and reptiles in the world
The region of Calabria is situated in the southernmost part of Italy, between the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Seas; it is separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina, and it is connected to the region of Basilicata through the great Pollino massif. In actual fact, 'Calabria' is the most recent name given to a region which is far from being well defined and compact, because of its changeable political borders as well as its unstable geological characteristics. Because of tourism, many population centers are situated along the marine coasts and are becoming more important than their highland counterparts. For his position in the heart of the Mediterranean she has seen the sequence of all the civilizations that were established, and had been above all the center of the "Great Greece", crib of the great Western Civilization established today in the areas most advanced of the world. Calabria is a place for two types of people: Calabrians (calabresi) and adventurers. It is bewildering, even frightening to all others, but richly rewarding for those who want to go beyond the Hollywood stereotype of Italy. You will find no Florences or Venices in Calabria. You won't even find a San Gimignano or a Positano (Although Tropea comes close!). Art treasures are often encountered in remote villages. There's a spectacular seacoast with a mix of resorts, seacoast villages (many seemingly "hanging" on the edge of cliffs), and expansive beaches.

Calabria , known as Brutium in Roman times, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the "toe" of the Italian peninsula south of Naples . It is bounded in to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea , and to the east by the Ionian Sea . The island of Sicily is across the Strait of Messina and is not connected to the mainland.

What else you will find in Calabria? Unforgettable vistas across rugged mountains, vast golden wheat fields and crystal clear seas. Age-old olive trees that grow as tall as eucalyptus. Ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Norman ruins, forgotten by time, which suddenly loom over the horizon, beckoning you to your own private rendezvous with history. Shy but hospitable villagers who still wear voluminous black skirts or colorful traditional costumes. Delicious fish, vegetables, cheese, sausage, salami, wild mushrooms and figs.

If you venture inland, you'll step back into time... this is not the modern stylish Italy we all know and love. You are in the mezzogiorno and you will see a world that is both mediterranean and traditional. You'll drive past countless roadside fountains dispensing natural mineral water. Take your place in line to fill your plastic bottle, or ask a local woman to teach you how to balance a terra cotta jar of it on your head. Driving through the towns, you'll see old men playing cards at tables in the main squares. Grandmothers sit on their doorsteps knitting, weaving or embroidering. You could spot a group of villagers waiting outside the house of a local santina , a psychic who "sees" the souls of the dead, sweats blood, blesses the farm animals or performs miracles. You may see small children, but you won't see as many of their parents, who periodically emigrate north or abroad to support their parents and offspring. Whenever they can, they return home to add that second storey to the house they're gradually financing.

Come tour this strange, wonderful land, which has been conquered and forgotten by every major culture in the Western world. Should you decide to travel here, the residents will reward you with memories guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Destinations in Calabria

Gioia Tauro, Reggio, Scalea, Sybari's Marine, Tropea, Cosenza, Catanzaro, Sicilla, Diamante, La Sila
Hilltowns of the Savuto (Grimaldi, Malito, Aiello, etc.), Amantea

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