Calabria

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Italy, Calabria, Costa Viola, Townscape of Scilla

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Overview

If a Vespa-riding, siesta-loving, unapologetically chaotic Italy still exists, it's in Calabria. Rocked by recurrent earthquakes and lacking a Matera or Lecce to give it high-flying tourist status, this is a corner of Italy less globalised and homogenised. Its wild mountain interior and long history of poverty, Mafia activity and emigration have all contributed to its distinct culture. Calabria is unlikely to be the first place in Italy you'd visit. But if you’re intent on seeing a candid and uncensored version of la dolce vita that hasn’t been dressed up for tourist consumption, look no further, ragazzi (guys).

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Museo Nazionale di Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calabria

Over several floors in Southern Italy's finest museum you'll descend through millennia of local history, from Neolithic and Palaeolithic times through…

L'Ecomuseo del Pollino

Calabria

This excellent museum focuses on the historical, cultural and natural heritage of the park. Highlights include the use of interactive video screens to…

Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Sibaritide

Calabria

Founded around 730 BC and destroyed by the Krotons in 510 BC, Sybaris was rebuilt twice: once as Thurii by the Greeks in 444 BC, and again in 194 BC by…

Museo Nazionale di Locri Epizephyrii

Calabria

Situated 3km south of modern-day Locri, the Greek colony of Locri Epizephyrii was founded in 680 BC, later subsumed by Rome and finally abandoned…

Santuario di San Francesco di Paola

Calabria

Watched over by a crumbling castle, the Santuario di San Francesco di Paola is a curious, empty cave with tremendous significance to the devout. The saint…

Parco Nazionale dell'Aspromonte

Calabria

Most Italians think of the Parco Nazionale dell’Aspromonte as a hiding place used by Calabrian kidnappers in the 1970s and ’80s. It’s still rumoured to…

Chiesetta di Piedigrotta

Calabria

The Chiesetta di Piedigrotta is an underground cave full of carved stone statues. It was carved into the tufa rock by Neapolitan shipwreck survivors in…

Castello Murat

Calabria

This neat little 15th-century castle is named for Joachim Murat, brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte and briefly King of Naples, captured in Pizzo and…

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