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Southern Italy

Guide to Tuscany

Calabria is a surprisingly mountainous region, with a high ridge running for its whole length, dropping down steeply towards the Mediterranean. It is also wonderfully rich in heritage, making for a great place to explore. Drive away from the coast, up into the mountains and discover tiny villages, perched over cliffs, with byzantine monasteries, and baroque churches. Hidden valleys have plantations of lime trees, where Rabbis can be seen in August, selecting the best fruits for the Jewish festival of Sukkót, a festival to commemorate the end of 40 days in the wilderness. Higher into the mountains, there are caves with paleolithic engravings, and tiny villages of Albanian refugees from several centuries ago. Show me properties in Southern Italy

Paestum

North of S.Maria del Cedro, over the border into Campania, you can visit Paestum, an old greek colony with 3 temples still standing. It was founded in around 600BC by the Greeks who were then colonising Southern Italy (Pythagoras’ school was based in Crotone, on the Ionian coast). By the 3rd centruy BC the Romans had taken the city and built a Forum, Amphitheatre and thermal baths. When the capital of the Roman Empire shifted to Constantinople Paestum fell into disuse and was largely forgotten by the turn of the millenium. During the building of a coach road in the 18th century it was rediscovered and became an obligatory stop on the Grand Tour, inspiring artists such as Goethe, Shelley, Byron, Piranesi. It is an astounding sight, with the 3 temples very well preserved and transmitting power and majesty.

paestum

Also north of the border is one of the largest Carthusian monasteries extant, the Certosa di San Lorenzo. Founded in 1306, it apparently has some of the best baroque work in it in Southern Italy. It was closed when I visited, so will write more when I manage to get in.

Around Santa Maria del Cedro

Around S.Maria del Cedro there are a number of towns and villages worth visiting: Praia a Mare - a town on the border with Basilicata, the northernmost point of Calabria. In front of the town, the Isola di Dino is an island with a grotto that has the same light effects as the blue grotto of Capri. Maierà and Vrasi – built upon two facing ridges pointing out ot sea, these two villages are very close as the crow flies, but miles apart by road – one must drive back down into the valley from Maierà and wind back up to Vrasi. They are reminiscent of the invisible cities of Italo Calvino, and one can imagine strings being strung across the valley marking relationships burgeoning and developing between the inhabitants, finally forming a cats cradle of lines across the deep valley. Maierà is a wonderful place to watch the sunset over the sea with an aperitivo. Papasidero – deep in the mountains, this town is reached through a narrow defile which must have been an impregnable defense. Now it has an ancient monastery (S.Maria di Constantinopoli) and, in a tiny chapel, an unexpected delight – a series of frescoes painted in the 16th C but in the byzantine style, to thank the local saint for preserving the town from the plague. The town’s isolation meant that the only local painting the had as reference were in the local byzantine monastery, and these were the reference for the new paintings. The plague struck the town very hard, until in desperation they changed patron saint, and the plague abated. A plaque records this, together with the previous patron saint’s demotion!

About 10kms beyond Papasidero you will reach the Grotta del Romito, where you can see the graffiti of the “Bos Primigenius”, carved into rock around 10.000 years ago. Below Papasidero flows the Lao, a torrent-like river on which rafting and canyoning trips are run.

About 10kms beyond Papasidero you will reach the Grotta del Romito, where you can see the graffiti of the “Bos Primigenius”, carved into rock around 10.000 years ago. Below Papasidero flows the Lao, a torrent-like river on which rafting and canyoning trips are run.

The Coast

Back on the coast, visit Capo Vaticano, Nicotera, Scalea, Tropea- wonderful beaches, beautiful views but most importantly, delicious food – whether you eat in a restaurant or buy your own groceries, the areas around here have been under-developed for a long time, and missed out on the agricultural revolution of the 50s and 60s – this means that many of the farms have never used chemical fertilisers or large tractors, making them ideal organic producers. The food is wonderful, fresh and delicious. Watch out for the local chili peppers, they really are very powerful.