The long and winding road

Calabria, Italy

All season we had been trying to see more of Italy’s Calabria region. With a wild mountain interior, a long history of poverty, and stories of Mafia activity, Calabria is less traveled and therefore less spoiled by tourism than many other places in the country.

We chose Tropea as our base for a few days of land travel, as it has a good marina for Berkeley East, and a central location that would allow us to drive easily both north and south, or so we thought. What we failed to consider is that Tropea sits on a headland with no direct road to the interior. It took more than an hour on narrow, winding roads to get to the major highway. Luckily, the path took us along the coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea, called the Costa degli Dei, the “Coast of the Gods,” one of the most stunning shorelines we have ever seen.

First on the list of places to visit was Reggio di Calabria. For months, we had wanted to see the Bronzi di Riace, two bronze statues in the National Museum. But on our way to Reggio, we came upon Scilla, a charming fishing village and the legendary location of a six-headed cave monster who guarded the narrow Strait of Messina, and menaced Odysseus / Ulysses as he sailed by. Swordfish is the specialty there, so Scilla was the perfect lunch stop for a swordfish sandwich.

When we finally made it to Reggio di Calabria, we found a nearly deserted city. It was Sunday and everything was closed, with few people in sight. We proceeded to the museum in search of the two large bronze statues that were dragged from the Ionian Sea in 1972. They are superb examples of the highest period of Greek art in the fifth century BC, and they are in excellent condition.

The next day, we ventured north on yet another winding road to Pizzo. This trip took us through the countryside, and several small villages where we passed several weddings, and a funeral. The tiny road was blocked with cars and pedestrians, literally thousands of people coming to pay their respect.

And then, we explored Tropea. We had been to Tropea once before and loved it. Although Tropea is presently dominated by tourism, it has maintained a feel of elegance and grandeur. The most famous view there is of the large rock outcrop jutting into the sea opposite the city center. This was once an island, and the monastery on the summit, Santa Maria dell’Isola, sits in gardens above the sea. After visiting the monastery for a view of the city, we had dinner in a restaurant overlooking Santa Maria, and took hundreds of pictures as the light changed with the sunset. Thank goodness for digital cameras.