Calabria Today

Calabria is a land of mystery and traditions. Harboring one of Italy’s longest coastlines (about 500 miles), which takes in all the geographical variations of both the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas, is dotted with picturesque fishing and beach front villages. Known today only to adventurous travelers, you won’t witness many tour groups here. At least, not anytime soon. Surprisingly though, even in this current era of information overload, Calabria still remains a secret destination. This is a land of dark and steep contrasts and has a lot to offer anyone seeking an alternative to the current desensitized and branded destinations lazily reached via Google.

Now, I’m biased, I know, this was my playground as a kid, but I would say Calabria is the ultimate summer destination. Countless unspoiled beaches and summer festivities last well into the early morning hours, especially around Ferragosto when Calabrian expats all return to their homeland and Northern Europeans flock south seeking sun and tons of bacchanal fun. Rated as one of the top ten regions to visit in 2016 by Rough Guides and boasting the cleanest air in all of Europe (yup...you read that right), this is no ordinary place.

Here, time can feel as if it’s standing still and in some remote parts of the region, it does. Almost like standing in one of De Chirico's cityscape paintings. (Is that such a bad thing?) Calabria is the poster child for the Mediterranean lifestyle. You’ll see locals smiling at each other on the streets, making small talk and quickly turning into long drawn out conversations about how to perfect pasta dishes, exchange recipes, gardening tomatoes to their ever precious lungomare all the while vespas and fiats crazily ride by you in the streets. Its coffee bars brew some of the strongest espresso found in all of Italy luring in people to want and sit and admire ancient Greek artifacts within arms reach before continuing on with their day. You'll witness people taking a dip in la spiaggia during siesta before heading back to work. You’ll also find wild plants and herbs randomly growing off cliff sides and in the streets while easily getting intoxicated by the scent of wild oregano lashing out everywhere you turn; and countless fruit trees like prickly pears and pomegranate along with the famous bergamot (one of the region’s most important exports), falling out from the sky.

You can easily get swept away by Calabria's la dolce vita energy that may have you staying even longer than originally planned. Forget the stereotypes you may have had before venturing inside this expansive region. Start eyeing those travel guides with suspicion that limit this ancient land to just two paragraphs and get ready to take in the enormity of profound beauty and unwavering hospitality of its people. Buon viaggio!

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