Calabria
Landscape
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At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
The handicraft of the mountainous zones tells the story and the traditions of the people who have inhabitated the region: in Longobucco, tapestries and covers are of notable facture, in Tiriolo characteristic shawls called Vancali are produced, in S. Giovanni in Fiore the embroidered textiles are plaited according to the Armenian way and between the communities of Greek origin of Roghudi, with ancient processings we can find the last broom covers. The ceramics production is intense in Asprotnonte in the manufactories of Gerace and Seminara, important center for the famous masks; notable the productions of Altomonte and Bisignano. In the art of woodworking we can distinguish the production of utensils from the community of Greek origin, while the woodcarving of furniture has almost disappeared and the art of lutemaking is still alive in Bisignano and Delianuova. The wicker-working and the straw-working are typical of Soriano Calabro on the Serre where are produced articles for the house and the garden. The Greek tradition comes back to life in the production of the goldsmith of San Giovanni in Fiore, and the works in copper end wrought iron can be found in Dipignano, Serra San Bruno and other small centers.
Calabrian cuisine is natural and immaginative, with strong and sharp flavours, a remarkable mix of the various cultures which have found home in the region over the centuries. Pasta is generally made at home and there are as many types of pasta as there are pasta sauces. These sauces are nearly always prepared using beef, veal, pork, lamb, patiently and carefully cooked in a home-made tomato puree and conserved with extra virgin olive oil. This is then further flavoured and spiced with some local chilli. In Calabria's mountain villages, you must try the various mushroom dishes which are prepared using the fragrant pore mushroom of the Sila or the rosito mushroom. The many varieties of mushroom are well suited to the Calabrian cuisine with its many tasty recipes whose poverty is only apparent and only enhances the flavours without altering them. Meat is generally cooked in a sauce or roasted. Roast kid with potatoes and embellished with peas and artichokes depending on the season is a particular delight. It is not rare for the countless vegetables and home-grown products proffered as side dishes to eclipse the main dish: stuffed aubergines and stewed peppers often act as a foil to conserves prepared with the same vegetables. In the coastal zones on the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, fish is also important in Calabrian cuisine. Tuna and the thousands of ways of preparing swordfish, fried locally-caught fish, soups, fish in sauce and the various types of oven-baked rolls are all dishes no visitor should leave Calabria without having tried. Of Calabria's cakes, the most characteristics is undoubtedly the cozzupa which is always shaped as an animal or a human or a basket or a heart. The mixture is that for ciambelle or ring- shaped cakes and it is baked after having been decorated with eggs fixed with a small cross. The list of Calabrian cakes is very long; honey torrone (nougat), or compittu, mostaccioli, nepitelli (cakes stuffed with nuts, sultanas, chocolate and spices), pitte 'nchiuse, grain and ricotta cottage cheese tarts. Calabria's cheeses and salami are in a class of their own, Among the cheeses, the most renowned are the provolone cheese from Sila and the cheese produced at Monte Poro near Vibo Valentia. The range of salamis include sausages, brawn, and capicollo salami, Calabria’s wines have a tradition which dates back many hundreds of years. The most well-known is Ciro which is produced in the area of the same name near Crotone and was offered to eminent guests of Magna Graecia and to the athletes who won in the Olympic Games, Other, less well-known Calabrian wines are those produced in the zones of Sibari, Cosenza and Reggio Calabria, DOC Calabrian wines include: Bivongi, Ciro, Crati, Greco di Bianco, Lamezia, Melissa, Pollino, Savuto, Wines from the zones of Vibo and Rossano also well worth a try.
At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
History and Culture - Calabria is a region of ancient Mediterranean culture and it is the place from which Italy derives its name. Italia, in fact, is a derivation of Italo, a king of Calabria. There are many archeological traces of ancient times, from prehistory to the settlements of the autochthonous Bruttians, to the great epic period of the Magna Graecia. Calabria can still give important visible testimony of these epochs, which were so fundamental for European history and culture. For example, the ruins of Sibari, the Roccelletta at Borgia, Locri and in its many museums. The Romans, Lombard Goths, Byzantines, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragoneses up to the Bourbons have left architectural remains of great cultural and artistic importance in the land of the Bruttians. Calabria was therefore a ’bridge’ for different cultures, a land of transit, and for this reason exposed to assaults and invasions, to dominations and great popular uprisings for freedom. These historical phases have left their indelible imprint in the life and culture of Calabria, and still tangibly shape the form of Calabria’s towns. For the tourist, all this undoubtedly makes this journey through the history of man more fascinating.
At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
Traditions and folklore - Popular traditions and folklore are for Calabria an incommensurable source of wealth which bear witness to its great past. The women’s costumes in towns with Albanian communities are sumptuous; austere and simple, but also unique, are those of mountain villages. There is a very strong religious tradition in Calabria. At Easter and Christmas, for centuries, customs, celebrations and theatres, in which all the inhabitants participate, have been handed down. Even Carnival has its own customs which, when they do not draw on ancient texts, provide actors with an opportunity to put their immagination and creativity to the test. The folklore events in the towns with Albanian communities are tormented with their leitmotiv of yearning for the lost homeland and the exaltations of Scanderberg, the Arbrëshes national hero. There are innumerable village festivals for local products, such as those for mushrooms, chestnuts, the grain and grape harvest, and so forth. All the above have a common characteristic, they are choral events whose protagonists are the sentiments, traditions and cultural roots of all Calabrians.
At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
The Coast - Its soft, slow and tortuous descent, from mountain and hill, leads to the sea. The shores of Calabria are places of history and legend, but also and above all sea resorts, exclusive villages and havens of peace, The allure of the Tyrrhenian coastline, from Praia a Mare, off which there rises the island of Dino, to Scalea, Cirella, Diamante, Belvedere Marittimo, Sangineto, Cetraro, Acquappesa, Guardia Piemontese, Fuscaldo, Paola, S. Lucio; to Amantea to the Gulf of S.Eufemia. The motorway links pearls of international tourism such as Pizzo, Tropea, Ricadi and Nicotrea, halfway between the Gulf of S. Eufemia and the Gulf of Gioia Tauro.
At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
Still on the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the direction of Reggio Calabria, there is the Costa Viola, so called because the sea is violet and at sunset the sky is tinged with violet. The magnificent, sunny beaches of the Ionian coast mark the many stages of Calabria's fascinating history; Bova, Roghudi, Roccaforte del Greco, Condofuri, with their hill villages which once sheltered the population from the incursions of the Saracens. Up along the Ionian coast, the Magna Graecia intertwines with the subsequent Byzantine influence: Locri, Gerace, Caulonia, Riace, the home of the famous Bronzes, Monasterace, Punta Stilo, Guardavalle, Soverato, Copanello, Squillace - the birthplace of Cassiodorus - Capo Colonna, Crotone, where Pythagorus taught, Ciro, Magna Graecia's land of wine, Punta Alice to the magnificent town of Sibari.
At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
Today, travelling as a tourist in Calabria means rediscovering the allure and the peace of the ancient historical centres which populate the hills, the mountainous terraces over the sea, the cuisine with its full-bodied and sincere flavours. Calabria is a modern region with airports, railways, motorways and trunk roads and above all, prestigious hotels which can satisfy any need, make the trip comfortable and the stay pleasant. Calabria's most important cities - Catanzaro, Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia - all welcome guests and are the starting points for natural and historical - cultural excursions of great charm.
A vast motorway and railway network, efficient airports and accommodation facilities offering a wide selection.
The intent of the Region of Calabria is to bring within everybody's reach a delightful holiday full of the splendours of an ancient region in the heart of the Mediterranean.
Hotels Calabria Handicraft
Hotels Calabria Art
Hotels Calabria History / Culture
Hotels Calabria Folklore
Hotels Calabria Gastronomy
Hotels Calabria Sea
Hotels Calabria Landscape
Hotels Calabria Bronzes of Riace
At Calabria, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent, holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
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