Calabria
Calabria is a region in southern Italy
which occupies the "toe" of the Italian peninsula
south of Naples. It is bounded in the north by the region
of Basilicata, region of Sicily in SW, to the west by the
Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea. The region
covers 15,080 km² and has a population of 2 million.
It's Capital is Catanzaro.
Very popular with Italian holidaymakers, the vacation delights
of Italy's sun-bathed deep south are only now being discovered
by the rest of us. Calabria is the heart of the Mezzogiorno
(the Italian for 'midday' the phrase refers to the baking
sunshine in which the region basks), and you'll know it
as the toe of Italy. This is the region that 'kicks' Sicily
in the Mediterranean Sea.
Calabria could be in another country to its urbane northern
neighbours such as Milan, Bologna and Florence. Offering superb
value for your Euros, a little money in Calabria can go
a long way. And with coastline on three sides, curving round
to meet the Ionian Sea on  the
south-eastern coast of Italy, Calabria has mile upon mile
of sandy beaches, rocky coves, spectacular headlands ...
and space.
Calabria is also a region of remarkable beauty, with
a long history dating back to its role at the heart
of Magna Graecia (Greater Greece) in Classical antiquity;
indeed far earlier than that. Explore its valleys on your
Calabria vacation and you discover a culture apparently untouched
by recent centuries.
The coastal areas swiftly climb to rugged and rocky mountains.
Here you stumble upon hamlets whose origins are lost in antiquity,
some inhabited many abandoned, as well as old farmsteads.
Remarkably too, there is a burgeoning skiing industry
in Calabria. You probably won't be surprised to learn that
the population of Calabria has been steadily falling for generations,
as the people flee the harsh, rural life.
And when you do discover a populated village it's like
stepping back ... 50 years, 100 years, or much further.
There are hamlets in the Calabrian hills seemingly exclusively
populated by old women in traditional black dresses, old men
sat for hours outside the bar and children playing in the
street.
Calabria's main city is Cosenza, which provides a good base
for exploring La Sila, one of the last great stretches
of European forest still intact. Hard to imagine, but
Calabria's scorched and arid expanses were once clothed entirely
in forest
From the Sila, the River Neto drains to the eastern Ionian
coast. This area is covered by the Calabria National Park,
a wetland habitat and home to wildfowl. North are the gorges
at Raganello, with sulphur springs used by the ancient
Romans and home today to nesting eagles
Calabrian cuisine is similar to that of Campania, with
more of the Greek about it. Untypically Italian ingredients
may be honey, almonds, figs, aubergine and swordfish. Pork
features, as does pasta and strong cheeses such as mature
ricotta, provolone and pecorino. Italians generally eschew
spices but you're likely to taste ginger (zenzero) and chilli.
Calabria makes sweet white wines such as Greco di Bianco
Tourism looks to be the future for Calabria, of course,
with holiday resorts growing up on the extensive Tyrrhenian
and Ionian coastline. Towns such as Scalea, Tropea, Maratea,
Diamante and Praia a Mare make the most of the superb sunny
weather, sandy beaches and warm sea
Now a motorway runs west down the coast of this narrow region,
the A3 linking with the A1 up into northern Italy. The road
puts you within easy reach of resorts that are fun and
lively in the summer, deserted in the winter. On the very
toe of Italy, facing Sicily across the Strait of Messina,
lies Reggio di Calabria. This is the provincial capital and
the largest town in Calabria by a distance.  There is a prettily
restored seafront and promenade gazing at Messina and Sicily
across the Strait. Drive round to the Ionian Coast and the
coastline gets more rugged. The villages have a distinct flavour
of Greece, with whitewashed walls and a cuisine that owes
much to those ancient invaders from across the Ionian Seas.
There are many Greek and Roman remains, and untouched
beaches shelter beneath precipitous roads clinging to the
scrubby mountainside
There are airports at Reggio di Calabria and Lamezia Terme,
though most international flights come in to Palermo on Sicily
and Naples. The A3 is the main highway north.
Click on the images on the right to learn more about our selected developments....
|
Find An Overseas
Property
Selected Developments
|
Change your currencies at superior rates !
