Southern Calabria
the best tours in the province of Reggio Calabria
There are many places to visit and monuments to see in Reggio Calabria and its province. Walking along the tip of the Italian Peninsula is already a great emotion.
A holiday in the deep South of Italy is the journey that everyone, once in a lifetime, should take. To go and find out what Magna Graecia was, our fundamental origins.
It is the journey that the nobles and writers of the Grand Tour made in the 1700s. Those people left for Italy, and stayed away for months, to make the journey of a lifetime.
They wanted to acquire a cultural education. A long and intense grand tour to discover the beauties of Southern Italy too.
Good vibes on the Calabrian side of the Strait of Messina
Traveling in Calabria, wandering among the territories that happily end the Italian boot, you can admire priceless treasures.
Think of the iconic beauty of the Cattolica di Stilo in Locride, a splendid testimony of the Byzantine past. Or focus on the landscape of the Costa Viola, where the town of Scilla is a picturesque, bewitching, little Venice of Southern Italy.
The Riace Bronzes, leave them for the last in the lineup of your trip. Let their desired live vision, a real daydream, magically accompany you on the way back home.
Costa Viola, the cliffs and the beaches
We suggest starting your grand tour in the province of Reggio Calabria with something exciting. A sensational trek along the hills of the Tracciolino path, in Palmi.
It is a walking route to appreciate the most beautiful panoramic views of the Costa Viola, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, one of the most interesting nature itineraries to do in Calabria.
On the coast between Scilla and Villa San Giovanni, then, stop your car and enjoy the views on the horizon. You are completely captivated by the charm of the Strait of Messina, which is just a stone’s throw away.
The Aspromonte show
From Bagnara Calabra, traveling by car along the provincial roads that go inland, you arrive at about 1300 meters above sea level, in Gambarie d’Aspromonte.
Here, if it snows heavily in winter, you can enjoy the unique spectacle of skiing with the blue sea in front of you. Rare beauty.
Aspromonte is also a wonderful national park of almost 65 thousand hectares, colored by beautiful beech trees, pines and firs.
Rivers, canyons and waterfalls attract thousands of nature tourism enthusiasts every year. Hiking in the eastern part of the Aspromonte has recently made it possible to discover extraordinary waterfalls, such as those of the Maesano in the upper part of the Amendolea fiumara.
And what about the amazing rock giant monuments, such as the so called Towers (Dolomites) of Canolo, or the Valle delle Grandi Pietre where Pietra Cappa stands.
Pietra Cappa is certainly one of the most mysterious natural monuments.
Moving along the Statale 106, among bergamot trees, archeological sites, Calabrian people that speak Greek
In the municipalities of Condofuri and Bova, on the Ionian coast of Reggio province, some Greek vocabulary strenuously resists. Probably, idiom is a legacy of the Middle Ages, Byzantine age. Maybe it’s a way of speaking, words that come from very far away, from the glorious Magna Graecia past of the VII-VI century BC, there is an ongoing debate among scholars.
Continue the tour in southern Calabria towards Locri, where there is an interesting archaeological park, with very significant finds preserved in the nearby museum.
Bergamot is one of the agricultural symbols of this Calabrian territory.
Bergamot essence (essential oil obtained from the peel) is a highly prized raw material in the perfume industry.
The villa of Casignana, from the Roman age, is one of the archeological sites in Calabria with the largest surface of mosaics.
The village of Gerace, the MuSaBa park and the cozy beaches of Roccella Jonica
Then, a slow tour in the medieval village of Gerace is not to be missed.
When you travel on the Ionian-Tyrrhenian road, make a stop in Mammola. Here, in addition to the typical stocco dish, there is the triumph of contemporary art that is the MuSaBa park.
In Roccella Jonica, a popular seaside destination, enjoy Roccella Jazz, one of the longest-running music festivals in southern Italy. It has been taking place for more than forty years.
The dragons in the impressive mosaics of Monasterace and the charm of the Cattolica di Stilo
We recommend a visit, along the 106, to the archaeological park and the museum located in Monasterace marina. There are very valuable finds from ancient Kaulon. There are mosaics with the depiction of a sea dragon, which was perhaps an apotropaic element that pushes evil away.
Moving a few kilometers inland, you visit Stilo, the home of the great philosopher Tommaso Campanella. The church of the Cattolica is a Must See monument.
Morning at the museum in Reggio Calabria, face to face with the Riace Bronzes
Writing an ideal ranking of places to visit and monuments to see in Reggio Calabria and its province, the Reggio museum and the Riace Bronzes undoubtedly occupy the first position.
In 2022 the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery in the depths of Riace, in the Ionian Sea. The discovery that changed the history of tourism in Calabria.
Enjoy waiting to meet them.
These masterpieces of Greek bronzes are unparalleled. Few comparisons can be made with other masterpieces of the fifth century BC. (or thereabouts), because there are few bronze statues, from that period, found today.
Talk to the two warriors, observe the details, the looks, feel the breath, perceive their movement.
By identifying yourselves, with a stretch of the imagination you will guess their feelings.
And spread the word, spread the beauty of the Riace Bronzes. All tourists must see them.
