Calabria
5
Day Itinerary •
Italy
Five days in Calabria reveals the full extraordinary depth of Italy's most overlooked and rewarding region. The dramatic Tyrrhenian coast at Tropea and Scilla, the greatest Greek bronze sculptures in the world, wild mountain wilderness on two extraordinary plateaux, the historic capital of Cosenza with its hidden medieval city and a 1,000-year-old Norman cathedral, and the Aspromonte, the wild southern massif where Greek-speaking villages survive from ancient settlements. This route covers Calabria completely. Tropea and the Tyrrhenian coast, the Riace Bronzes at Reggio Calabria, Greek Locri and Byzantine Gerace, the Sila plateau forests, the extraordinary hidden city of Cosenza, Scilla with its extraordinary castle and Homeric legend, and the Aspromonte mountain where the last Calabrian brigands hid in living memory.
Best Time To Visit
April to June or September to October
Getting There
Fly into Lamezia Terme (SUF) or Reggio Calabria (REG)
Getting Around
Rental car essential throughout
Budget Per Day
Approx 60 to 95 euros per person per day
Difficulity
Easy, walking and driving
DAY 1
TROPEA COAST
MORNING
TROPEA, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CLIFFTOP TOWN IN ITALY
Built directly on a sheer golden tuff cliff above the turquoise Tyrrhenian sea. The Cathedral steps give a view straight down the cliff to the sea. The Santa Maria dell'Isola sanctuary on its promontory is the iconic image of Tropea. Arrive early before the day-trippers. Drive: 20 min drive to Capo Vaticano
MIDDAY
CAPO VATICANO, THE FINEST BEACHES IN CALABRIA
Capo Vaticano 15km south of Tropea has beaches with extraordinary water clarity. The rock formations and hidden coves are extraordinary. The promontory above has the finest view of the entire Tyrrhenian coastline stretching to the Aeolian Islands on clear days. Drive: 20 min drive to Pizzo
AFTERNOON
PIZZO, THE TARTUFO AND THE CAVE CHURCH
The birthplace of the chocolate tartufo ice cream (1815) and home to the extraordinary Chiesa di Piedigrotta, a church carved entirely into the cliff face. The dramatic Aragonese castle and the town's cliff-edge setting are extraordinary.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Tropea red onion is one of the most celebrated vegetables in Italy, sweet enough to eat raw. Grown on the red clay soils of the coast and sold from roadside stalls in summer. Buy a bunch and eat it with local bread and olive oil for the most authentic Calabrian experience.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Bar del Corso, Tropea Coffee on the main corso before the town wakes up. | Lunch: Ristorante Pimm's, Tropea Finest restaurant on the clifftop. Fresh swordfish and local red onion salad. | Dinner: Ristorante La Lampara, Pizzo Outstanding local tuna, swordfish and the finest tartufo ice cream for dessert.
DAY 2
REGGIO CALABRIA AND LOCRI
MORNING
THE RIACE BRONZES, THE FINEST GREEK SCULPTURES IN EXISTENCE
Two Greek warrior statues from around 460 BC, widely considered the finest ancient Greek bronze sculptures ever found. Extraordinary detail: inlaid silver teeth, copper lips, bone and glass paste eyes. Entry approx 10 euros. The reason to visit Reggio Calabria. Drive: 1.5 hours drive to Locri
MIDDAY
LOCRI EPIZEFIRI, THE GREEK CITY IN A FIELD
One of the most important Greek cities in Magna Graecia, home to the first written law code in the Greek world. An enormous archaeological site of temples, theatre and streets, with extraordinary museum finds. Entry approx 5 euros and almost nobody visits. Drive: 30 min drive to Gerace
AFTERNOON
GERACE, BYZANTINE CITY ABOVE THE ORANGE GROVES
A medieval city on a precipitous rock above the Ionian plain. The largest Romanesque cathedral in Calabria (1045) has 26 ancient columns inside from Greek and Roman ruins below. The views over bergamot and orange groves to the Ionian sea are extraordinary.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Strait of Messina gives extraordinary views of Sicily from Reggio's seafront promenade. Calabria is the world capital of bergamot citrus, the fruit that flavours Earl Grey tea. The essential oil is produced only in a narrow coastal strip around Reggio and costs almost nothing bought directly from local producers.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Gran Caffe Altafiumara, Reggio Extraordinary granita di bergamotto before the museum opens. | Lunch: Ristorante Baylik, Reggio Most celebrated restaurant. Fresh swordfish from the Strait of Messina. | Dinner: Agriturismo near Gerace Dinner on a bergamot farm. Local lamb and Ciro Rosso wine.
DAY 3
SILA PLATEAU
MORNING
THE SILA, THE GREAT FOREST OF CALABRIA
A vast mountain plateau at 1,000 to 1,900 metres covered by the largest forest in southern Italy. The national park is home to wolves, wildcats, eagles and the wild Sila horse. The Lago di Cecita and Lago Arvo are extraordinary in autumn when the forests turn gold. Drive: 30 min drive to Rossano
MIDDAY
ROSSANO AND THE PURPLE CODEX
A beautifully preserved Byzantine city above the Ionian plain. The Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, a 6th-century illustrated Greek Gospel manuscript written in gold on purple parchment, is one of the oldest and most extraordinary illustrated manuscripts in the world. UNESCO Memory of the World. Entry approx 3 euros. Drive: 30 min drive to mountain village
AFTERNOON
LONGOBUCCO AND THE HIDDEN SILA VILLAGES
Longobucco in a dramatic gorge below the Sila plateau is the finest hidden village in Calabria, famous for its extraordinary traditional silk weaving tradition. The gorge walk into the Trionto river canyon is extraordinary and free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
Sila porcini mushrooms harvested September to November are among the finest in Italy. Join a guided mushroom walk for approx 15 euros per person. The mushrooms cost a fraction of what they cost in Rome or Milan.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Bar in Camigliatello Silano Coffee in the mountain gateway before the plateau forest. | Lunch: Ristorante Il Caminetto, Sila Local porcini mushrooms, wild boar and Sila pecorino. | Dinner: Ristorante La Locanda, Rossano Local pasta with nduja, swordfish and Ciro Classico.
DAY 4
COSENZA
MORNING
COSENZA, THE HIDDEN CAPITAL WITH TWO CITIES
Cosenza is Calabria's most extraordinary city. The modern city is entirely unremarkable but concealed within it is a perfectly preserved medieval old city on a hill, entirely separate from the modern sprawl below. The Duomo of Cosenza, built in 1222, contains an extraordinary Byzantine icon of the Madonna di Cosenza and the tomb of Isabella of Aragon, wife of Philip III of France, with a remarkable effigy. The extraordinary open-air museum of modern sculpture fills the modern city's main pedestrian street. Drive: 15 min walk to museum
MIDDAY
THE MUSEO DI COSENZA AND CALABRIAN ART
The Museo di Cosenza contains an extraordinary collection of Calabrian art from medieval to contemporary, including a major Mattia Preti work and the extraordinary Tesoro di Alarico display, relating to the legendary treasure of the Visigoth king Alaric buried in the Busento river at Cosenza in 410 AD. The treasure has never been found. Entry approx 5 euros. Drive: 30 min drive to Altomonte
AFTERNOON
ALTOMONTE AND THE FINEST GOTHIC CHURCH IN CALABRIA
Altomonte is one of the most beautiful medieval hill towns in Calabria, crowned by the extraordinary Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione, built in 1380 by Filippo I Sanseverino. The Gothic interior contains extraordinary 14th-century frescoes, a beautiful wooden choir and the tomb of Filippo himself. The Museo Civico contains an extraordinary collection of 14th-century Sienese paintings. Free to enter and entirely unknown.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Busento river in Cosenza has been searched repeatedly for the legendary treasure of Alaric, the Visigoth king who sacked Rome in 410 AD. He died in Cosenza shortly after and was buried with the treasure in the river bed, his slaves killed to preserve the secret. The treasure has never been found and the legend is very much alive in Cosenza.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Caffe Renzelli, Cosenza The oldest cafe in Cosenza, founded 1803. Extraordinary torrone nougat and local pastries. | Lunch: Ristorante L'Aquila d'Oro, Cosenza Finest traditional restaurant. Local mushrooms, nduja pasta and Savuto wine. | Dinner: Agriturismo near Altomonte Dinner on a Calabrian farm. Local lamb, capocollo and extraordinary Calabrian wines.
DAY 5
SCILLA AND ASPROMONTE
MORNING
SCILLA, THE CASTLE OF CHARYBDIS AND THE EXTRAORDINARY CHIANALEA
Scilla is one of the most extraordinary and photogenic towns in Calabria. The dramatic Ruffo castle sits on a rocky promontory in the Strait of Messina, the ancient site of the whirlpool Charybdis from Homer's Odyssey. Below the castle is the Chianalea, a tiny fishing quarter of houses built directly over the water with boats moored at the front door, one of the most extraordinary inhabited waterscapes in Italy. The views of Sicily from the castle are extraordinary. Drive: 45 min drive to Aspromonte
MIDDAY
ASPROMONTE NATIONAL PARK, THE WILD SOUTHERN MASSIF
The Aspromonte is the wild southern massif of Calabria, a dramatic landscape of deep gorges, ancient forests and hidden villages. The park is home to wolves, golden eagles and the extraordinary Fiumara landscape, river beds of white rounded boulders in dramatic gorges. The village of Bova in the southern Aspromonte is one of the last places in the world where Griko, the ancient Greek dialect brought by Greek colonists 2,700 years ago, is still spoken by a handful of elderly inhabitants. Drive: 30 min drive to Bova
AFTERNOON
BOVA, THE LAST GREEK VILLAGE OF CALABRIA
Bova at 900 metres above the Ionian is one of the most extraordinary villages in Italy. The last speakers of Griko, the ancient Greek dialect that has been spoken continuously in this corner of Calabria for 2,700 years, live here. The medieval village has extraordinary views over the sea and the Aspromonte gorges below. The small museum of Griko culture is a moving testament to a language at the edge of extinction.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The swordfish fishing tradition in the Strait of Messina is one of the most extraordinary in the Mediterranean. Traditional fishing boats with 30-metre observation masts and a bowsprit of equal length still occasionally operate, hunting swordfish as they have for centuries. The Scilla fishermen consider themselves the last practitioners of this ancient method.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Bar in Scilla Chianalea Coffee in the extraordinary water village before the castle. Watch the fishing boats leave at dawn. | Lunch: Ristorante Bleu de Toi, Scilla Outstanding seafood restaurant in the Chianalea. Swordfish from the Strait and local wine. | Dinner: Agriturismo in Aspromonte Final dinner in the mountains. Local lamb, bergamot-flavoured dishes and the end of a remarkable journey.
Where To Stay
Tropea, Night 1 Boutique hotel in the clifftop old town. Approx 90 to 150 euros per night. Gerace or coast, Night 2 Agriturismo on the Ionian coast. Approx 65 to 100 euros per night. Cosenza or Sila, Nights 3 to 4 Mountain agriturismo or Cosenza city hotel. Approx 60 to 100 euros per night.
Top Tips
1. The Riace Bronzes in Reggio are the reason to visit Calabria. Allow 90 minutes in the museum.
2. Tropea's clifftop is most extraordinary at sunset. Stay the night to have the town to yourself.
3. Nduja, the fiery spreadable salami of Calabria, is extraordinary. Buy it directly from local producers.
4. Sila porcini mushrooms in September to October are among the finest in Italy. Join a guided walk.
5. Capo Vaticano beaches south of Tropea have clearer water than anywhere else on the Tyrrhenian coast.
6. Calabria is the world capital of bergamot citrus, used to flavour Earl Grey tea. Buy the essential oil locally.
Total Budget
85 to 140 euros/day