Is a southern region delimited by Tyrrhenian Sea in the west and the Ionian Sea in the west.   Its capital is Reggio di Calabria and its provinces are Catanzaro, Cosenzo, Crotone, and  Vibo Valentia.   Calabria has a great influence with Greece, Rome and Byzantium, it had periods of great splendor as a part of Magna Grecia, as one can see from the ruins of the settlements at Locri, Sibari, Eraclea, Crotone. 

In Cosenza and Reggio Calabria, we can find remains of the Roman Age, such as baths, theatres and bridges.  The religious buildings show Byzantine influences dating back to the period when the region was part of the Empire of Byzantium.   The Gothic style was widespread during the thirteenth century.   The Renaissance style is present in the paintings.  The Baroque influence can be seen in several monuments.  Blessed with thousands of kilometres of stunning coastline, discover the wonderful beaches and

Lidos with many seaside resorts, some of which are outstandingly equipped, -  Locri, Praia a Mare, Paola, Crotone, Briatico, Tropea, Palmi, Bagnara, Capo Rizzuto, Scalea and Diamante of Reggio Calabria .   Because of its long coasatline, Calabria’s water sports facilities are second to none: Windsurfing, scuba diving, snorkelling, sailing and deep sea fishing are all popular – as is lazing on a sun drenched beach taking advantage of the beach lido facilities! 

Colourful boats

Locri beach

For diving fans, there are numerous specialist centres where you can learn to dive or for the more experienced, dive to one of the 50 sunken ships, some dating back to the 4th century.  Or perhaps you prefer to slide down the rivers in a kayak or canoe, or to float back to earth as you paraglide from high cliffs down to the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean sea.    Then visit the hinterland with places full of story and culture.

Tourists can make excursions to the Sila district and its lakes with Camigliatello Silano, Villaggio Mancuso and the artificial lakes Arvo, Ampollino and Cecita, has become an important center for holidaymakers.  Moreover, there are Villa San Giovanni (on the Straits of Messina), Sibari, Crotone and the Isle of Capo Rizzuto. 

Craftwork includes lace, embroidery, damasks, terracotta and wrought iron. The special dishes are aubergines cooked in thousands of different ways, and "peseta incasata", while the best known wines are Ciro, Greco and Savuto.   Citrus fruit is the region's leading crop, and forms the basis of many industrial enterprises.  

right: Tropea

Is a town and commune in Southern Italy, in the province of Cosenza.  The city is situated on an eminence two miles from the Gulf of Taranto.   The town is known for its marble and alabaster quarries and is the seat of a Catholic archbishop and has a notable cathedral and castle.

Rossano was the birthplace of Pope John VII and Pope Urban VII.    It is also the birthplace of Saint Nilus the Younger, whose chief work was the foundation of the famous Greek monastery of Grottaferrata, near Frascati, of which he is counted the first abbot.  

His life is a valuable source of information about southern Italy in the tenth century and  spent the end of his life partly there and partly in a hermitage at Valleluce near Gaeta.    His feast is kept on 26 September, both in the Byzantine Calendar and the Roman martyrology. 
    

The Cathedral is a must - 11th century, with massive interventions in the 18th–19th centuries, it preserves the Codice Purpureo, a 6^th century Greek manuscript and is the main attraction in Rossano.

• The church of Santa Maria Panaghìa ("St. Mary of All Saints"), an example of Byzantine architecture, with traces of frescoes portraying St. John Chrysostomos. 

• The St. Mark Oratory (tenth century, originally dedicated to St. Anastasia) is the most ancient monument of the city and one of the best preserved Byzantine churches in Italy. It was built by St. Nilus the Younger in the tenth century for the ascetic retreat of monks living in the tufa grottos underneath.   It is a Byzantine-style edifice with rectangular Greek-cross plan, with five domes on cylindrical drums.  Traces of the original wall frescoes remain. 

• The church of Santa Chiara (1546-1554) was built by Bona Sforza. 

• The church of San Francesco di Paola (late 16th century) has a notable Renaissance portal and a cloister. 

• The late-Gothic church of San Bernardino (1428–62) was the first Roman Catholic church in Rossano.   It houses the sepulchre of Oliverio di Somma (1536) and a seventeenth-century wooden crucifix. 

Rossano is also the home of the internationally renown annual Marco Fiume Blues Passion, a free three day open air blues/jazz festival named after a native son who was becoming a giant in the American blues/jazz guitar world before his early demise. The festival occurs in July and is linked to the Cognac Blues Festival in France.        

Logo of Marco Fiume Blues Passion

• The Torre Stellata ("Star Tower") is a 16^th century fortification built over an ancient fortress. 
• The Abbazia del Pàtire (11^th–12^th century), an abbey located in a wood outside the city, with some Arab-style mosaics, a Norman apse and ancient portals. 
 

The territory of the province of Crotone is included between the Sila mountains to the west and the Ionian Sea to the east, and was in antiquity an area of very early Greek settlements; ancient Kroton, the present province capital, was the hometown of Pitagoras, Milo, Alcmeon.  In the early 20^th century the province had a remarkable industrial development, and though most of the chemical plants of those days were closed, the car industry is still growing. The main resources however are in the tourist sector and in agricultural production, especially of wine and wheat. 

                   Crotone coast line                                                    Looking down towards Crotone - Castella

Croton was an Achaean colony from c. 710 BC on the coast of the the Gulf of Taranto, that became a powerful early city of Magna Grecia.   It was notable for its resident Pythagoras and his school, the Pythagoreans, for its school of medicine and for producing many generations of victors in the Olympic Games and the other Panhellenic Games.  

One of the most famous and legendary athletes in the ancient world was Milo of Kroton.  Born in southern Italy, where Greece had many colonies.

• Wrestler 

• Wore the victor's crown at Olympia no less than six-times: 
    - Won once in boys' wrestling, 60^th Olympiad, 540 BCE 
     - five-time wrestling champion from 62^nd to 66^th Olympiad, 532 to 516 BC 

Milo excelled even in warfare.  When a neighboring town attacked Kroton, Milo entered the battle wearing his Olympic crowns and dressed like Herakles, in lion's skin and brandishing a club, and led his fellow citizens to victory. 

Milo - Herakles entered into battle.

Madonna di Capo Colonna

Castle of Charles V

•  The 16^th century Castle of Charles V.   It houses the Civic Museum near the Piazza Duomo, with findings excavated in the ancient site of Kroton,     Notables are also the remnants of the walls, of the same century, and of various watchtowers.   The ancient castle built on an island, with accessibility on foot limited to a narrow strip of land, is referred to as Le Castella.

• As for museums, there is the national archaeological museum where you can find numerous coins, vases made of terra cotta, miniatures made of bronze, votive ceramics and other interesting artifacts that have been discovered in the area of Crotone.  There is also a municipal art gallery where various exhibitions are shown.

 VCoins - about 480-460 a.c.

As you approach Reggio di Calabria, the provincial capital, you travel through some of the most extreme landscapes in the South.   Dilapidated villages lie stranded among mountains, which are themselves torn apart by wide fiumare, or riverbeds – empty or reduced to a trickle for nine-tenths of the year, but swelling with the melting of the winter snows to destructive torrents. 

Reggio itself was one of the first ancient Greek settlements on the Italian mainland; today, it's Calabria's biggest town by some distance, with a large population – but also one that's been synonymous for years with urban decline.   Happily, there are now signs that Reggio may be turning the corner.   Efforts to regenerate the city are evident wherever you look, not least in the superb seafront and its gleaming, newly-restored promenade that faces Messina across the Straits – finally living up to its billing by Gabriele d'Annunzio as "the most beautiful kilometre in Italy".   Meanwhile, the passeggiata down Reggio's main street, Corso Garibaldi, stretching for 2km across the centre of town, is one of the most animated in Calabria.

What to see and do:

•   Museo Nazionale (The National Museum) is situated at the Lido end of Corso Garibaldi (open daily except first and third Mon of the month 9am–8pm, May–Sept also open until 11pm on Sat).    It is one of the most important archaeological museums in Italy and offers the visitor a wonderful overview of the archaeological heritage of Calabria, most of the items inside date from the Hellenic period, with examples from all the major Greek sites in Calabria, including the famous pinakes or carved tablets from the sanctuary of Persephone at Locri.

I Bronzi di Riace -  "Riace Warriors"  

The main attraction is the most renowned and splendid findings from the Magna Grecia civilization, the Greek bronze statues, the famous I Bronzi di Riace - "Riace Warriors" that have attracted thousands of visitors from all over the world.   They were found and dragged out of the Ionian Sea near the village of  Riace and Porticello in 1972.    They are examples of the highest period of Greek art (fifth century BC), attributed to Phidias or followers of his school, and especially prized because there are so few finds from this period in such a good state of repair.   Around them are detailed explanations of the recovery and cleaning-up of the statues that preceded their tour around the country, when they caused a minor sensation.   Now they seem almost forgotten in the well-lit basement they share with another prize exhibit – a philosopher's head from the fourth century BC.    Upstairs, you can see examples of Byzantine and Renaissance art, including work by Antonello da Messina.

• Duomo, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1908, what remains of the Castello Aragonese on Piazza Castello make a pleasant backdrop for summer festivities.   left: Duomo

•  A stroll along the lungomare seaside esplanade is the other chief pleasure of a visit to Reggio, affording wonderful views of the Sicilian coastline and Mount Etna.  However, as you gaze over the Straits of Messina, you probably won't catch sight of the semi-mythical phenomenon known as the Fata Morgana, which appears as a shimmering, magical city of turrets and towers – quite unlike the city of Messina.   The legend is said to be connected with Arthurian myths brought south by the Normans, but some locals swear they have witnessed it, suggesting it may be a meteorological phenomenon – best conditions are apparently an absolute stillness of the air and water.