Calabria for beginners-I finally made it to Calabria! Just a little slice of it, as an unexpected detour! I have been wanting to see Calabria for years, but it never seemed to work out. My amica Rosetta, lives in Northern Italia but spends the summers in Calabria. She saw on a Facebook post that I was in Puglia and wrote me a comment ‘Vienici a trovare in Calabria’. Of course, I said ‘si!’ and even managed to find a ride from one of my paesani who lives in Catanzaro Lido. Sometimes the stars just align.
Calabria, the ‘toe’ and ‘foot’ of the Italian boot, is one of the lesser travelled areas of the country, and also one of the least expensive to visit. I was there during the last week of July and it was not crowded where I was. Calabria is known for rocky coastlines, crystal clear water, beautiful beaches, ancient mountain villages, castles and archeological sites. I saw all of the above.
I only went to a small area of Calabria on the Ionian Sea (east coast) around the Golfo di Squillace, in the province of Catanzaro. This is the narrowest part of Calabria, so it is possible to drive to the west coast, to Tropea, in an hour and a half. My friends are in Squillace Lido, and as soon as I arrived, we went to Catanzaro Lido for the Festa della Madonna di Porto Salvo. 
The highlight of the festa was a sea procession. The Madonna was in the large red-hulled boat and all the other boats followed.
Rosetta’s back yard was heavenly, with an olive tree and a view of the Ionian Sea. She decided we had to wake up at 0543 to watch l’alba, the sunrise. I am not a morning person, but it was totally worth getting up for, as you can see.
Every morning, we went to the beach -to Squillace Lido, and everyone I met-both on the beach, under an ombrellone, or in the water-was a cousin of Rosetta or her husband Enrico! Some of these cugini lived in the area and some had moved to other parts of Italia, returning for the summer. What an amazing thing! It was so hot, I stayed in the water most of the time. The sand was coarse, and my feet had a nice daily exfoliation.
Even on the beach in Calabria, my Cinquecento radar was on high alert!
Squillace (skwee•LAH•cheh) population ~3500, was originally the Greek colony of Scylletium and then the Roman town of Scolacium. I visited the Parco Archeologico Scolacium, which was formerly a large olive farm and orchard by the sea. The site has Roman, Byzantine and Norman ruins. It was discovered in the 1800’s by farmers, but not excavated until 1965. 
The residence of the former owner, Baron Mazza, is now the museum and you can also walk through the old olive mill. The statues in the museum are covered in scrapes made by farm implements! Ouch! Please read my friend Karen in Calabria’s post about Scolacium, she took better photos than mine.
Only a small part of the site has been excavated and it is still ongoing. There are extensive mosaics that get worked on, then covered again until there is time and $ to excavate some more. Surrounding this magnificent olive tree, you can see stones ready to be excavated.
Called ‘the pearl of the Ionian Sea’, Soverato was recently named the 3rd most beautiful beach in Calabria. Soverato, population ~9000, is known for its beaches, boardwalk and nightlife. I visited for an evening stroll along the boardwalk. The beach looked almost otherworldly before sunset!
This night shot was taken from Baia dell’Est where we had pizza. Caminia is right below, then Pietragrande, and Soverato in the far distance. Below is the daytime version of this view.
What did I bring back from Calabria? Peperoncini, also known as ‘Viagra Calabrese‘, Bergamotto-the citrus fruit used to flavour Earl Grey tea, and the famous cipolla rossa di Tropea -Tropea red onions. 
This is where I bought my goodies. Behind the Lanzellotti bancarella is a pepper tree-growing pepe rosso-red peppercorns! Un po’di pepe!
Getting back to Orsara di Puglia was not so easy. My options were to go to Lamezia Terme, take the train to Napoli and then take the bus to Foggia and another bus to Orsara, or take a 7.5 hour overnight bus from Catanzaro Lido to Foggia. I chose the overnight bus so I could have an extra day at the beach! At 7am my cugina met me for colazione in Foggia, then I took the bus to Orsara. As mamma would say ‘una sfacchinata’!
Calabria seems to be even more badly connected with transportation than Puglia! Mannaggia! This makes it harder to get around without renting a car, but it is also one of the reasons these areas are less crowded and less pricey. Tropea was apparently extremely crowded this year, as it has been getting a lot of attention since 2021. Despite the lack of convenient transportation, I will definitely be going back to see more of Calabria some time in the future!
Grazie to Rosetta and Enrico for inviting me to visit their little corner of paradise in Calabria! Ciao, Cristina
Un po' di pepe 