Experience in Calabria between villages and cuisine, sea and historical routes

We can start from Vibo Valentia to explore some wonders of the area and also discover special food, liqueurs and distillates, typical and unique of Calabria. Vibo Valentia is the smallest of the Calabrian provinces, yet it can be described as the guardian of an ancient past and wild, natural and beautiful beauty. It is the capital of the province that embraces the Tyrrhenian coast, nestled in the southern heart of Calabria, retains an extraordinary heritage of unique natural, historical, cultural and architectural beauty. The small town enjoys a panoramic position, from the mountains of Sila to the north, the top of Etna in Sicily and the plain of Gioa Tauro to the south and the Tyrrhenian coast with the tip of Tropea to the west.

We begin to admire the Norman-Swabian Castle located at the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Hipponion. In a dominant position, close to the Serre is an imposing fortified structure, which with its constructive stratifications encloses the historical-political-commercial events of the city of Vibo Valentia from the eleventh century. to the present day. Today the Castle appears to us as the result of a set of building structures that, with the different construction phases, have given rise to an irregular structure that is articulated around a central court. 

Built between 1070 and 1074 A.D. by order of Roger the Norman, who in these shores had led and camped his army, the manor was probably a simple fortification, consisting of a single triangular tower in the center of three other circular towers. In 1783, the fortress suffered significant structural damage due to a devastating seismic event. Later it was used as a prison then as a military barracks. Since 1995 it is the seat of the archaeological museum of Vibo Valentia. It preserves unique finds from the prehistoric, Greek and Roman ages. Among the various finds is presented the partial reconstruction of the keel of a boat and some amphorae and anchors of different ages found in good part in the Vibonese seabed.

A typical local production is the craft beer of the brewery CALABRÄU Vibo Valentia with three beers branded Mount Lion, name inspired by the old name of Vibo Valentia, Monteleone di Calabria: Blonde, Red Double Malt and Black Stout Liquorice of Calabria and a Weizen, The Beer of Monaco Calabrese with high fermentation, a beer in German style but with deep Calabrian origins. This collection of craft beers is part of the Caffo Antica Distilleria brand that has been producing and distributing alcoholic beverages since 1915. The Vecchio Amaro del Capo is part of this family along with a catalogue of many recipes including liqueurs, distillates, premixed and syrups including the highly appreciated Borsci S. Marzano, Liquorice and Amaro Santa Maria al Monte. The historic Distillery knows well the virtues and properties of the fruits, flowers, roots and herbs of the region. 

Licorice of Calabria is in fact famous for its distinctive purity and for its intense and voluptuous flavor and has always been considered the best in the world. Even today, as three hundred years ago, the “calabrian” method of extraction of liquorice juice requires the use of hot water only without the addition of any solvent or chemical additives. The finely sliced and ground roots are infused in hot water for the time necessary to release the precious juice. Licorice of Calabria comes from the cultivation and spontaneous plants of Glycyrrhiza glabra (Leguminose Papillonacee) in the variety known in Calabria as Cordara and is a product with protected designation of origin. In Calabria is concentrated about 80% of national production.

Continue to another well-known location on the Costa degli Dei, just 7 miles away: Pizzo, famous for the production of the famous ice cream called “truffle” and for the quality ice cream in general, so much to be defined as “city of ice cream“. It is a hazelnut ice-cream that is modeled in the palm of the hand, in the shape of a semisphere with a heart of melted dark chocolate and covered with a dusting of cocoa powder and sugar. It was invented in the fifties of the last century. It is really worth tasting it at the Gelateria Artigianale Bar Dante. 

The historic center of Pizzo, given the location, offers beautiful views of the coast below, as well as buildings of historical importance, such as the Castle, testimony to the presence of the Aragonese in the fifteenth century, and place where Gioacchino Murat, King of Naples, was held prisoner and later sentenced to death in 1815. The suggestive Church of Piedigrotta, dug in the sandstone rock by Neapolitan shipwrecks at the end of the seventeenth century to thank God for his life. At the beginning of the twentieth century the cave was decorated with statues of the rock itself depicting characters from the sacred scriptures.

We start from Pizzo to reach Tropea in only 28 miles of route along the beautiful coast overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Tropea has been declared the Borgo dei Borghi 2021, a rare pearl. “La Perla del Tirreno” is known for its white beaches, crystal clear waters and fascinating caves that are part of the famous Costa degli Dei, Tropea is a city that combines its countless natural wonders with the care and careful enhancement of its immense cultural heritage, so much so that it has been nicknamed “the little Athens of Calabria”.

The village stands in a scenic position on a high tufaceous promontory, between the gulfs of Gioia and Santa Eufemia, rising as a panoramic terrace on the sea known and appreciated already in Roman times. Its architectural evidence is precious, including the splendid noble palaces of the XVIII and XIX centuries, perched on the cliff overhanging, with the enchanting beach below. Unmistakable symbol of Tropea is the great rock on which stands the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola, a place of unique beauty at the center of compelling stories and legends. To reach it and admire its mystical charm, you have to climb a suggestive staircase carved into the rock. Once at the top, you are faced with a show that leaves you breathless. 

The lush garden that surrounds the sanctuary, offers, in fact, a view that sweeps along the coast and goes as far as the Aeolian Islands and the Sicilian coasts, with Stromboli, Vulcano and Etna that stand out on the horizon. Housed in the complex of the Church of Santa Maria, the Odyssey Museum in Tropea is the first museum in Italy dedicated to the journey of Ulysses. It houses sculptures related to the main characters of the Odyssey, scenic panels, maps, maps, bas-reliefs and ornamental vases, helmets and armor inspired by the Magna Graecia.

We dedicate some time to taste, discovering some extraordinary products of Calabria that originate in this area. We start from the famous red onion of Tropea, gastronomic symbol of this wonderful territory. It impresses with its unique taste: sweet and crunchy, it lends itself to all uses and flavours any dish. Very good onion soup, the unsurpassed onion omelet, onion jam just to name a few examples. It is cultivated in Tropea and its surroundings in small plots on the sea, from late August to early October, with the harvest from October until March. Its qualitative peculiarity depends both on its genetic makeup and on its close relationship with the environment in which it is cultivated and produced. Just think of the specificity of the soil, the proximity to the sea, the duration of the day, temperature, humidity, all conditions that enhance the tenderness, the meatiness and sweetness.

We make a nice trip to reach Zungri, home to a rock village, 32291,73 feet consisting of 500 cave-houses, immersed in a scenery out of time. It goes back roughly to the Byzantine age and the silos that compose it testify that these anthropized environments were in some way functional to the life of the community that settled in this area. This stone city is simple and linear: a staircase carved into the rock crosses all the levels that make up the village, allowing access to the various caves located along the ridge. 

The cave-houses, however, are all different from each other: some are composed of a unique environment, others by more rooms, both arranged on a single floor on two levels. Inside the houses the niches dug into the rock, inside the cavities of the caves, make us think that those spaces were exploited as pantries and closets, or as beds. The men who lived within those walls decorated the entrance of the houses with arches or quadrangular openings and were able to create useful channels connecting tanks and canals, making sure that rainwater conveyed directly into a precise compartment of the cave. Do not miss the unique interactive experience offered by the Museum of Rupestrian and Peasant Civilization of Zungri which houses artifacts and secrets.

At about 8 miles there is Spilinga, a small village surrounded by hermit caves, for the most part natural caves chosen by hermits in medieval times as a place of refuge and prayer. Among these, the cave of San Leo with five fragments of frescoes of the sixteenth century. But Spilinga, thanks to its agricultural and breeding resources, produces the ‘nduja di Spilinga’, known throughout Italy as the red nutella, the pork sausage mixed with Calabrian red chilli. And just in August every year the Festival of ‘nduja is held. It is a typical Calabrian gastronomic excellence, with a soft texture and a more or less spicy taste. Historically the ‘nduja is a poor dish, born to use the scraps of pork; The abundant content of chili, with its antiseptic properties, means that ‘nduja does not need preservatives. It is eaten spread on slices of toasted bread, better if still hot, or used as a sauté for the base of a sauce or a tomato sauce, with garlic; it can be used to garnish the pizza, before the other condiments if raw, or freshly baked; It can be eaten on slices of semi-mature cheese or it can enter the composition of omelettes.

How many delicacies in Calabria: all inviting and appetizing!