{"id":30537,"date":"2018-01-24T05:53:57","date_gmt":"2018-01-24T11:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/?p=24537"},"modified":"2021-01-21T08:08:41","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T08:08:41","slug":"a-journey-to-calabria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/italy-travel-destinations\/a-journey-to-calabria\/","title":{"rendered":"A Journey to Calabria: Sun, Sea, Ancient Civilizations, and Jagged Terrain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Growing up in Philadelphia, \u201cSicilian\u201d or \u201cNapolitano\u201d were the two choices given to identify as Italian. Throwing \u201cCalabrese\u201d into the mix usually resulted in a blank stare and nod of recognition&#8230;a sort of \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve heard of Calabria before so fine, I guess that\u2019s Italian.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fast forward a couple of decades and even with a career in the travel industry, when I speak to people about travel to Italy, mentioning Calabria elicits a very similar response.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/all-you-can-italy\/a-journey-to-calabria\/attachment\/tropea-1185547_1920\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-30544\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-30544 size-large\" title=\"Calabria\" src=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-1185547_1920-1024x595.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-1185547_1920-1024x595.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-1185547_1920-165x96.jpg 165w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-1185547_1920-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-1185547_1920-768x446.jpg 768w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-1185547_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy is one of those destinations where we instantly feel welcomed as an outsider. Regardless of our command of the language (or lack of), we know that part of the adventure ahead will involve food and fun and somehow we\u2019ll be able to manage. We\u2019ll find a table in that packed restaurant, end up ordering the best dish on the menu, and remarkably find a way to \u201cchat\u201d with the owner of that tiny shop in the shadows of some piazza. Through its history, fashion, cuisine, and popular culture, Italian culture resonates with us and seduces us with both its familiarity and intrigue. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So who am I to throw a wrench into anyone\u2019s perfectly sculpted visions of the Bel Paese? We\u2019ve already been to Rome, Florence, Venice, and the hills of Tuscany and know <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that the hot spots of Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast are little gems that most people haven\u2019t yet visited.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If we press further, ok, Sicily and Sardinia (Italy\u2019s islands) and Puglia (Italy\u2019s heel), with crystal clear waters that sparkle under a golden sun, are truly undiscovered by most <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">people<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0in the US. But we know this already so we are way head of the novice traveler. We are quite the jet-setter aren\u2019t we! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If I may however, I\u2019d like to introduce a destination to us in a country where we already have it all figured out. The destination is Calabria and it\u2019s one of Italy\u2019s 20 regions, giving the country it\u2019s distinct toe shape and home to about 2 million inhabitants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/all-you-can-italy\/a-journey-to-calabria\/attachment\/stretto_di_messina\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-30547\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-30547 size-large\" title=\"Calabria\" src=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Stretto_di_Messina-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Stretto_di_Messina-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Stretto_di_Messina-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Stretto_di_Messina-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Stretto_di_Messina-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Stretto_di_Messina-320x240.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may surprise people to hear that the Greeks had colonized Southern Italy thousands of years before the Romans arrived. Ask a Southern Italian where they are from and don\u2019t be surprised of hearing a poetic \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Magna Grecia\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (or Greater Greece) as a response which honors the area\u2019s Hellenic roots. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As someone who grew up with a Calabrian Mother and Grandmother, I want to share with you some of my favorite spots in Calabria so that you can take your rightful place on the global stage of jet-setters as a pro on all things Italian! <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1><b>How do I get there?<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">True to its off the beaten path nature, Calabria isn\u2019t yet served by any direct flights from North America but Lamezia-Terme (SUF) International Airport is well connected via Easyjet, Ryanair, and Alitalia from most major Italian cities and there are some seasonal flights from selected EU cities. Reggio Calabria (REG), the largest city in Calabria, has daily flights from Rome and Milan and its Central train station is serviced by Trenitalia\u2019s high speed line (Freccia) with travel times to Naples and Rome at 4 and 5 hours respectively. Starting your trip to Calabria from Sicily? Great, take the ferry from Messina to Villa San Giovanni which completes the 2km journey in only 35 minutes. There\u2019s plenty of room for yourself, your bags, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">your rental car,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so hop aboard! Stop for some shopping or gelato at <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">La Perla dello Stretto<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shopping mall just next to the ferry port before heading south towards Reggio Calabria (20 minutes) or heading north towards the Region\u2019s renowned beaches.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30548\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30548\" style=\"width: 466px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/all-you-can-italy\/a-journey-to-calabria\/attachment\/calabria-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-30548\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30548 size-full\" title=\"Calabria\" src=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calabria.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"466\" height=\"828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calabria.jpg 466w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calabria-84x150.jpg 84w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calabria-169x300.jpg 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30548\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aerial Shot of Calabria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1><strong>What\u2019s there to do in Calabria?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h2><strong>Ancient Civilizations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Region of Calabria hosts several National Museums that ensure the preservation of its previous inhabitants, all predating Ancient Rome. Calabria\u2019s most revered archaeological treasure however is undoubtedly a pair of Greek bronze statues, I Bronzi di Riace, which date to about 460 BC and were found miraculously in pristine condition off the coast of Riace by a vacationing snorkeler in 1972. The Bronzi are housed in Reggio Calabria at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria. It\u2019s truly humbling to see the statues (over 6 feet each!) in person and admire the detail and precision that went into creating them&#8230;thousands of years ago! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Great Outdoors<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Italy is quite mountainous in general, over 90% of Calabria is covered with mountains or hills. The Aspromonte Mountains and Aspromonte National Park are an easy drive from Reggio Calabria. I recommend an early day of exploring with a hearty and rustic lunch in Gambarie, a small mountain village home to many childhood memories of mine! Pollino National Park in Northern Calabria and Sila National Park in Central Calabria offer stunning scenery as well and give a great introduction to Central and Northern Calabria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/all-you-can-italy\/a-journey-to-calabria\/attachment\/papasidero-1717981_1920\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-30553\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-30553 size-large\" title=\"Calabria\" src=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/papasidero-1717981_1920-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/papasidero-1717981_1920-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/papasidero-1717981_1920-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/papasidero-1717981_1920-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/papasidero-1717981_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/papasidero-1717981_1920-544x363.jpg 544w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/papasidero-1717981_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Food<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">True or False: Italian food \u00a0= not spicy? False! \u2018Nduja, a spicy sausage spread, is probably the most famous dish of Calabria. You\u2019ll find it on pasta, you can spread it on cheeses, sandwiches, or bread, and you can even eat out right out of the jar. Buon Appetito! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The peperoncino calabrese (<em>Calabrian hot peppers)<\/em> added to your pasta, salad, or pizza will allow you kick up the spice factor a few notches and eat like a local. My<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> zia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> loves to keep a paring knife at the dinner table to slice open a dried peperoncino and lightly tap out the flakes for instant spice-gratification. You can throw away that jar of dehydrated red pepper flakes, you now have a replacement! If you\u2019re a fan, keep a lookout for peperoncino-infused olive oils to bring back home (great for a piping hot just out of the oven pizza or on fresh baked bread&#8230;buonissimo!). Salami Calabresi with its deep orange hue is a great option to give a bite to any sandwich, try adding Caciocavallo cheese too (oh, heard of that one before? Yup, very common cheese throughout Italy but its origins are Calabrian). With an abundance of seafood, choices are endless but the swordfish and calamari from the \u201cstretto\u201d or Strait of Messina are some of my favorites. For the sweet-tooths out there, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pignolatta<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or crunchy fried dough topped with honey is a classic dessert. Let\u2019s not forget about adult beverages either: for wines there are many but Ciro\u2019 is Calabria\u2019s most notable red and first produced by the Ancient Greeks in the Crotone province. For after dinner, we have our very own Calabrian produced Limoncello as well as \u201camaro\u201d a digestivo made from herbs to help us digest that pizza with \u2018nduja we couldn\u2019t get enough of. Try <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amaro Del Capo<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a local brand from Capo Vaticano (Vibo Valentino) that\u2019s achieved international acclaim, not too common unfortunately for Calabrian goods. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30550\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30550\" style=\"width: 730px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/all-you-can-italy\/a-journey-to-calabria\/attachment\/calamari\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-30550\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30550 size-large\" title=\"Calabria\" src=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calamari-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"730\" srcset=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calamari-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calamari-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calamari-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calamari-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calamari-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Calamari-65x65.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30550\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Catch of the day: Calamari<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Beaches<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Looking out the window on a snowy winter New York afternoon, I feel it\u2019s my duty to share one of Calabria\u2019s greatest treasures: over 400 miles of sunny, picturesque beaches and not one but 2 seas to choose from: the Tyrrhenian (to the west) and the Ionian (to the east). While not as known internationally as Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast, a beach vacation in Calabria will cost you much less than other areas in Italy while still offering powdery sand, Mediterranean sun, tons of lodging options, and hardly any non-Italian visitors. Your secret is safe with me! I\u2019ll give you a list of some of my favorite spots to catch rays that I\u2019ve been visiting since I could waddle in the sand: Tropea (Vibo Valentia), \u00a0Roseto Capo Spulico (Cosenza), Scilla (Reggio Calabria), Caminia (Catanzaro), and \u00a0Capo Rizzuto (Crotone). As in other parts of Italy that you may have visited already, there are \u201cprivato\u201d or private areas of the beaches where you can rent an \u201combrellone\u201d (large beach umbrella) and a \u201csdraio\u201d or 2 (beach lounger) at a very small cost. Otherwise, feel free to bring your towel (or buy one at the beach entrance) and plop down wherever you see fit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/all-you-can-italy\/a-journey-to-calabria\/attachment\/tropea-2776972_1920\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-30551\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-30551 size-large\" title=\"Calabria\" src=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-2776972_1920-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-2776972_1920-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-2776972_1920-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-2776972_1920-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-2776972_1920-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-2776972_1920-320x240.jpg 320w, https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tropea-2776972_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>It&#8217;s never too early to start planning your trip to Calabria! Reach out to one of our travel experts at info@selectitaly.com for more information.<\/em><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growing up in Philadelphia, \u201cSicilian\u201d or \u201cNapolitano\u201d were the two choices given to identify as Italian. Throwing \u201cCalabrese\u201d into the mix usually resulted in a blank stare and nod of recognition&#8230;a sort of \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve heard of Calabria before so fine, I guess that\u2019s Italian.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0 Fast forward a couple of decades and even with a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[337,312,315],"tags":[1467,263,14,1244,2489],"class_list":["post-30537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-you-can-italy","category-italy-travel-destinations","category-hidden-gems","tag-calabria","tag-food","tag-italy","tag-sea","tag-southern-italy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Journey to Calabria: Sun, Sea, Ancient Civilizations, and Jagged Terrain - It&#039;s All About Italy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/italy-travel-destinations\/a-journey-to-calabria\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Journey to Calabria: Sun, Sea, Ancient Civilizations, and Jagged Terrain - It&#039;s All About Italy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Growing up in Philadelphia, \u201cSicilian\u201d or \u201cNapolitano\u201d were the two choices given to identify as Italian. 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