History

 

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,

 

Art

 

Calabria's artistic heritage reflects the region's historical vicissitudes; this wealth of heritage is often to be found in Calabria's small towns and testifies to a cultural life, which dates back thousands of years. Buildings straight from art history textbooks, sculptures, bas-reliefs, works of art of various types of workmanship, all bear witness to the civilization of Magna Graecia and that of subsequent periods of Calabria's history, The paintings of all schools and centuries to be found in the region's museums and churches are considered an important part of Italy's cultural heritage. The majesty of the Riace Bronzes, now famous throughout the world, the canvases of Mattia Preti, the splendor of the wooden choirs and statues which adorn Calabria's churches, the minor architecture which dates back to the various

 

Historical periods, Calabria can offer to the tourist and also to the most demanding scholar a great, unique artistic itinerary. The artistic heritage intermingles with crafts tradition, which lives and flourishes in Calabria's small hill and mountain villages. Ceramics and wood sculptures, copper artifacts, yarn - the fantasy and the wealth of Calabria's celebrated quality crafts can amaze the tourist.

 

Geography

 

Calabria is a giant peninsular, which enjoys truly unique environmental and ecological equilibria between mountain, and sea, which are never more than 40 km from one another. The sole land border, that to the north consisting of the extensive Pollino Natural Park shared with the region of Basilicata might lead a tourist to believe that Calabria with its 800 km of coastline bathed to the east and south by the Ionian Sea and to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, is basically a sea-based region. Calabria's coasts are undoubtedly unique, extensive, tagged and bathed by a limpid sea. And yet some 90% of Calabria is hills and mountains. The bulwark of the Pollino, a massif replete with tree species unique in the world such as the loricate pine, and equally rare animal species is, in fact, the starting point of an articulated and complex Apennine system. The Silo plateau, for example, is the largest in Europe and first fascinated the Greek settlers and then the Romans, A, truly exceptional relief links Sila to the Serra and Aspromonte with its thousands of small rivers which flow to the sea, Calabria's mountains boast hospitable and modern winter and summer holiday and tourist resorts'. Camigliatello in the Sila Grande, in the province of Cosenza, the myriad of small villages by the lakes of the Sila Piccola in the province of Catanzaro; and then the resorts of the Serre between Chiaravalle, Serra San Bruno (which has a millenary) and Polia. In the province of Reggio Calabria, the Zomaro, the valley which links the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian coasts, with its lush forests is of exceptional beauty.

 

Lastly, the Aspromonte. 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. 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 Pythagoras taught, Ciro, Magna Graecia's land of wine, Punta Alice to the magnificent town of Sibari.

 

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 imagination 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 Arbreshes' 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.

 

Festivities and Celebrations

 

In Calabria, festivities and celebrations are popular manifestations, which are handed down from generation to generation. They represent the cultural, religious and profane 'humus' in which the customs and manifestations of Hellenic, Byzantine, French and Spanish have taken root and evolved. An important role in this 'melting pot' has been played by the influences of Albanian origin precisely for the admirable cultural and linguistic revivals which the Arberesh of Calabria have managed to put into effect over the past decades, even for the celebratory rites. It is impossible to provide a brief overview of the calendar of manifestations and festivals, as even this would be very long and still by no means exhaustive. To give an idea, each of the towns of Calabria, and sometimes even the small districts of a town, yearly celebrate their patron Saint with big popular events, an occasion which many emigrants take advantage of to visit their home town for a few days. There are numerous big and small towns both along the coast of and on the mountains of Calabria which dedicate one day to celebrating |; the Madonna appointed as the protector of many communities. These festivals and manifestations, made even more unique by the different local decorations. Illuminations, fairs, and firework displays which accompany each of them, take place throughout the year but generally pivot around three main events; Carnival, Holy Week (Easter) and the Nativity. These celebrations interweave with those of the Albanian and Grecian communities.

 

Carnival in Calabria

 

More than anywhere else, Carnival in Calabria is a feast of pranks and merrymaking. It embodies ancient libertarian motifs, which combine with the proverbial, good-natured ribaldry of the Calabrians. There are three key days in the Carnival celebrations, the Thursday before Lent, Sunday ' and Mardi gras. These are the days when, even today, in the mountain villages family and friends gather around a richly prepared table to savor freshly-slaughtered pork, cooked in a myriad of ways, and washed down by a good local red wine, just as at the sumptuous banquets of ancient times. In the evening, towns both small and big are still stages for the fancy dress processions which continue to almost always observe the tradition that men should always dress up in female costumes and the women in male costumes. In some communities, popular farces are still presented using ancient Commedia dell'Arte plots. In this farce, Carnival is always dying, surrounded by doctors who are as busy as they are ridiculous and ineffectual, Carnival's death is followed by the funeral, a grotesque rite which ends with an enormous bonfire which everyone attends, Calabria has a mask which dates back to the 16th-17th century, that of Giangurgolo. The Italian historian Benedetto Croce was one of those who studied this mask. Giangurgolo is, in his way. Cultured and for this reason rarely to be found in popular events.

 

Holy Week

 

The celebrations of Holy Week are both choral and dramatic; these celebrations are popular events in which each district of the town takes on those roles, which are most in keeping with its traditions. At Catanzaro, on Good Friday, since time immemorial, the "naca" winds its way along the city's central corso. The naca is a procession whose participants are dressed in historic costumes which evokes, among the emotion of everyone, Jesus’ painful path to the place of crucifixion. Numerous celebrations which commemorate'' Jesus's ordeal are held throughout Calabria.

 

The rite of the "Vattienti" (the flagellants) at Nocera Terinese (in the province of Lamezia Terme), which has survived the centuries, is both dramatic and moving. This rite takes place on Easter Saturday: groups of penitents, who have received grace, their heads encircled by a crown of thorns, lash their flesh with slivers of glass applied to a waxed cork called a cardo. Finally, a heightened sense of collective commotion permeates the various affruntatas or cunfruntas, which represents the meeting, on Resurrection Sunday between the Virgin Mary, who had disbelieved John's announcement that Jesus had risen, and Jesus Christ.

 

The Nativity

 

Christmas celebrations in Calabria are particularly heartfelt and still maintain their "ancient form. In many Calabrian towns, such as Cotronei (Crotone), Serra S. Bruno (Vibo Valentia), Soverato (Catanzaro), as at Easter, Christmas is an occasion for popular theatre presentations (the "live" Crib) with actors in flesh and blood who interpret the vicissitudes of the birth of Jesus as told by the Bible. At Caraffa the Albanian dances are an integral part of the marriage celebrations. The following are the most important towns of Albanian origin or those, which once provided refuge for those fleeing from ancient Albania as a result of the Arab occupation. In the province of Cosenza: Eungro, S. Demetrio Corone, Acquaformosa, Frascineto, Civita, Cerzeto, Falconara Albanese, Mongrassano, S. Maria di Finita, Rota Greca, San Benedetto Ullano, Santa Domenica Talao. In the province of Crotone: S. Nicola dell’ Alto. Carfizzi, Pallagrio. In the province of Catanzaro: Caraffa, Gizzeria. For the Grecian communities, which are all to be found in the south of the Calabrian peninsular, the most important annual event is their meeting at Bova, the town near Reggio Calabria which they have chosen as their moral capital. The meeting of this controversial community (Rohlfs maintains that they originate from Magna Graecia, others from Byzantine) can only be described as a festival with songs, dances and readings of texts, which date back many centuries. The Grecian communities are to be found in the province of Reggio Calabria and inhabit the area, which stretches from Bova to Condofuri, from Roccaforte del Greco to Roghudi.

 

Albanian and Grecian Festivities and Celebrations

 

At Easter, the Arbreshe and Grecian ^communities which live in Calabria hold their ancient and most beautiful celebrations. At Civita (Cosenza), on the Monday and Tuesday after Easter, the vallje, the Arbreshes' national dances, which for some five centuries now has symbolized the unity of all the communities of Albanian origin, are held. Males and females in concentric circles, which draw close and then move away, dance the vallja. The dancers wear the beautiful traditional Arbreshe costumes resplendent with? Color and: precious stones.

 

Cuisine

 

Calabrian cuisine is natural and imaginative, with strong and sharp flavors, 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, and lamb, patiently and carefully cooked in a homemade tomato puree and conserved with extra virgin olive oil. This is then further flavored 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 are only apparent and only enhance the flavors 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 homegrown 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 are 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 includes 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.