In the early 19th century, Scottish traveller Patrick Brydone was pondering how to reach Sicily from the Italian mainland.
He could sail along the coast to Messina or travel overland through Calabria.
He chose the ship and wrote to a friend: “The danger from bandits is so great, the accommodation so miserable, and the inconveniences of every kind so numerous… that we soon abandoned that plan.”
And that, more or less, is how tourists have seen the land at the “tip” of Italy’s “foot” ever since: poor, mafia-infested, with nowhere decent to stay.
But that is all changing. Ryanair has launched a weekly flight from Stansted to Lamezia Terme, a town in the heart of Calabria, and easyJet is starting one from Gatwick. There are new and refurbished seaside resorts, farmhouses and rural B&Bs starting to be built in the mountains.
On a trip to Calabria, Italy, Mark Jones visits the award-winning town of Tropea (pictured)
Above is the spectacular cathedral of Santa Maria dell’Isola di Tropea, perched atop a rocky cliff surrounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Fortunately, authorities have also been busy jailing leading members of Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta’ gang, so there is good reason to feel safer.
The best thing about Calabria is that it is cheap compared to the Amalfi Coast or even its neighbour Puglia, and the beaches and scenery are up to par. The food is not bad either.
I’ve given myself a week to drive from the northern end of Pollino National Park to the city of Reggio Calabria at the southern end, then continue east to west, looking towards Greece and then Sicily.
Mark says that Calabria’s beaches rival those of the Amalfi Coast. Above is Michelino Beach near Tropea
It turns out to be a lot of fun and extremely interesting, but you know how Italian drivers are: travelling hundreds of kilometres with someone just a few centimetres from your rear bumper takes its toll.
Fortunately, you can have a wonderful time by setting up a base near the town of Tropea without needing to rent a car.
It has been named one of the most beautiful borghi (villages) in Italy, with a historic centre perched high above the Mediterranean.
Overview: Mark is staying in a farmhouse in the village of Morano, framed by the Pollino mountains.
Calabria is known as the ‘tip’ of the Italian peninsula.
With my wife, Annie, I head to the viewing platform next to the house of Francesco Mottola, a priest from Tropea who died in 1969 and has since been beatified. Below, the emerald sea is clear, bathers scatter along the shore, while less hedonistic types walk towards the cathedral of Santa Maria dell’Isola.
We head south to the Baia del Sole resort. The weather is muggy, but the meadows are full of wildflowers. Bumping along the rough roads, we could be on a Caribbean island, even more so when we enter the resort, with its round cottages and lush gardens lined with palm trees.
Baia del Sole is a family-friendly property, while its sister resort on the coast, Capovaticano, is geared more toward couples seeking cocktails, spa treatments and beautiful sunset views. From a grassy shore, we watch the sun set behind the volcanic island of Stromboli. The next day I take a bike tour. With my guide Alessandro, we wind our way through fertile hills of olive groves to the village of Spilinga, famous as the birthplace of the spicy salami, ‘nduja. Every August they hold a festival, a rather special occasion.
We then head back to the outskirts of Tropea. There, Marco, who also works in tourism, his fiancée and his sister are waiting for us at the small family farm. They grow a Tropea speciality: sweet red onions. But Marco is also involved in winemaking and we end the day sipping rosés and whites among the vines. It’s a charming, homely and quirky place, a bit like Calabria itself.
We then head to the elegant restaurant de’Minimi in town for a truly extensive tasting menu. Elegant and luxurious things can be done in Calabria, although our favourite experience is none of those things.
Golden sands: Capovaticano resort beach, “aimed at couples looking for cocktails, spa treatments and beautiful sunset views”
Mark ends his journey in the mountain village of Santa Severina (pictured)
La Locanda del Parco is a farmhouse set in a farmland below the spectacular mountain village of Morano (topped, as so many Calabrian villages are, by a Norman castle). It’s a bit zany. Outside, there’s a London black cab used as a flowerbed. The poolside bar is inside a giant lemon. Inside, we prepare fresh pasta and polenta, serenaded by local musicians.
We end the trip on the other coast and another mountain range – La Sila – passing through the mountain village of Santa Severina and another excellent value country hotel and restaurant, Le Puzelle. On this quieter, rockier coast, we spend the last night enjoying the kind of hospitality that Calabria has been crying out for since the time of Patrick Brydone: the Praia Art resort.
Rooms are laid out neighborhood-style around a deserted beach, and the combined sound of waves and wind through the pines lulls you to sleep after dinner at the chic, super-healthy Pietramare restaurant. Calabria seems to be getting better all the time.