Explore Basilicata and Calabria
The northern stretch of the Tyrrhenian coast in Calabria is peppered with holiday complexes that crowd the flat littoral. There are some attractive places to break the journey, notably the towns of Diamante, Belvedere and, further south, Paola.
South of the Savuto River the Piana di Sant’Eufemia plain is the narrowest part of the Calabrian peninsula, much of it reclaimed only in the last hundred years from malarial swamp: the mosquitoes remain but they no longer carry the disease. Heading south on the highway, past the high tableland of the Tropea promontory, the views grow ever more inspiring as the Autostrada del Sole winds round and through the mountains with the Aeolian islands visible to the west and Sicily to the south.
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Tropea
Tropea
Southwest of Pizzo, TROPEA can claim to be the prettiest town on the whole of the southern Tyrrhenian coast, built right on the edge of steep cliffs, towering high over its beach. It is also (after Maratea in Basilicata) the most fashionable, with a seaside charm missing from many of the other Calabrian resorts, though the charm can wear pretty thin in the face of the tourist influx during the summer months.
There are numerous beaches around the town, all within walking distance of the centre, and the buildings have character without being twee – see particularly the lovely Norman cathedral at the bottom of Via Roma, whose interior harbours a couple of unexploded American bombs from the last war (one accompanied by a grateful prayer to the Madonna), a Renaissance ciborium and a statue of the Madonna and Child from the same period. The views from the upper town over the sea and the church of Santa Maria dell’Isola on its rock (closed for restoration) are superb, and on a clear day you can see the cone of Stromboli, and sometimes other Aeolian islands looming on the horizon.
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Capo Vaticano
Capo Vaticano
Further around the promontory, Capo Vaticano holds some of the area’s most popular beaches, including Grotticelle and Tonicello, both spacious enough to allow you to get away from the bustle.
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Scilla
Scilla
Heading south along the coast, the proximity of Sicily becomes the dominant feature. This stretch of the autostrada can claim to be one of the most panoramic in Italy, burrowing high up through mountains with the Straits of Messina glittering below. Travelling by train or following the old coastal road, you pass through SCILLA, with a fine sandy beach and lots of action in the summer. Known as Scylla in classical times, this was the legendary location of a six-headed cave monster, one of two hazards to mariners mentioned in the Odyssey, the other being the whirlpool Charybdis, corresponding to the modern Cariddi located 6km away on the other side of the strait. Crowning a hefty rock, a castle separates the main beach from the fishing village of Chianalea to the north.
