Calabria at a Glance
Pointing directly towards Sicily, Calabria comprises the slender toe of Italy's
boot. Greek Sicilians braved the whirlpool waters of the Strait of Messina to
inhabit the untamed lands, founding Reggio
Calabria where, in 1972, the Bronzi
di Riace, two bronze statues thought to be at least 2,500 years old, mysteriously
appeared on the shores. Calabria's original settlers also created Crotone,
developing the region's first, and still only, Ionian port, and also where Pythagoras
established his Society in 508 BC.
Capital city Catanzaro
once supplied the finest lace and linens to the Vatican, and from here beautiful
beaches stretch both north and south. Remote, inland villages are settled in
mountains of elemental appeal. Terrible and periodic earthquakes have slowly
reduced some of the region's monuments to rubble, but Gerace
still preserves a huge, Romanesque cathedral,
and Rossano's
cathedral
is a fine example of Byzantine sensibilities. The medieval city centres of Cosenza
and Pizzo
seem lost in time, and the region's legends include the six-headed beast of
Scilla,
which took delight in drowning sailors attempting to cross the strait.
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