In the early 19th century, the Scottish traveller Patrick Brydone considered how to reach Sicily from the Italian mainland.
He could sail along the coast to Messina, or travel overland through Calabria.
He chose the boat – and wrote to a friend: ‘The danger from the bandits is so great, the accommodation so miserable, and the inconveniences of every kind so numerous… that we soon gave up the plan.’
And that is, in fact, how tourists have seen the country at the ‘toe’ of Italy’s ‘foot’ ever since: poor, mafia-ridden and with no decent places to stay.
But that’s all changing. Ryanair has launched a weekly flight from Stansted to Lamezia Terme, a city in the heart of Calabria, and easyJet is starting one from Gatwick. There are new and updated coastal resorts, ‘agriturismo’ farm stays and rural B&Bs that start in the mountains.
During a trip to Calabria, Italy, Mark Jones visits the award-winning town of Tropea (pictured)
Above you can see the spectacular cathedral Santa Maria dell’Isola of Tropea, perched on a rocky cliff surrounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea
Fortunately, the authorities are also busy locking up leading members of the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta gang, so there is every reason to feel safer.
Best of all, Calabria is cheap compared to the Amalfi Coast or even neighboring Puglia – and the beaches and scenery are more than equal. The food isn’t bad either.
I have given myself a week to drive from the far north in the Pollino National Park to the city of Reggio Calabria at the southernmost point, then drive east to west, towards Greece and then to Sicily.
Mark says that the beaches of Calabria can rival the Amalfi Coast. Above is Michelino Beach near Tropea
It turns out to be both a lot of fun and a lot of fun. But you know how Italian drivers are. Hundreds of miles with someone just inches from your rear bumper takes its toll.
Fortunately, you can have a great time with a base near the town of Tropea, without the need for a rental car.
It is considered one of the most beautiful ‘borghi’ (villages) in Italy, with a historic centre towering over the Mediterranean Sea.
Panorama: Mark checks into an ‘agriturismo’ farm stay in the town of Morano, which is surrounded by the Pollino Mountains
Calabria is known as the ‘toe’ of the Italian peninsula
With my wife Annie, I go to the viewpoint next to the house of Francesco Mottola, a priest from Tropea who died in 1969 and has since been beatified. Below, the emerald sea is clear, sunbathers are scattered along the shore, while less hedonistic types stroll towards the cathedral of Santa Maria dell’Isola.
We drive south to the resort of Baia del Sole. The weather is balmy, but the meadows are full of wildflowers. As we bump along the poorly constructed roads, we could be on a Caribbean island – especially as we drive into the resort, with its round huts and lush gardens lined with palm trees.
Baia del Sole is a family-run resort, while its sister resort down the coast, Capovaticano, is geared more toward couples looking for cocktails, spa treatments and stunning sunset views. From a grassy shoreline, we watch the sun set behind the volcanic island of Stromboli. The next day, I go for a bike ride. With my guide Alessandro, we ride through fertile hills covered in olive groves to the village of Spilinga, celebrated as the birthplace of the spicy salami, ‘nduja. There’s a festival there every August – a pretty hot occasion.
Then we drive back to the outskirts of Tropea. Here Marco, who also works in tourism, his fiancée and sister meet us at his family farm. They grow a Tropea specialty: sweet red onions. But Marco has also started making wine and we end the day sipping rosés and whites among the vines. It is charming, homemade and quirky – a bit like Calabria itself.
Then we head to the fancy restaurant de’Minimi in town for a seriously long tasting menu. You can do fancy, fancy things in Calabria, but our favorite experience is anything but.
Golden sand: the beach at the Capovaticano resort, which ‘caters to couples looking for cocktails, spa treatments and stunning sunset views’
Mark ends his journey in the mountain village of Santa Severina (pictured)
The Locanda del Parco is an agriturismo set in farmland below the spectacular mountain village of Morano (topped, like so many Calabrian villages, by a Norman castle). It’s a bit of a quirky place. Outside, a black London taxi is used as a flowerbed. The pool bar is in a giant lemon. Inside, we make fresh pasta and polenta, serenaded by local musicians.
We finish the trip on the other coast and another mountain range – La Sila – via the mountain village of Santa Severina, and another fantastic, affordable agriturismo hotel and restaurant, Le Puzelle. On this quiet, rocky coast we spend our last night enjoying the kind of hospitality that Calabria has been crying out for since the time of Patrick Brydone: the Praia Art resort.
The rooms are arranged neighbourhood-style around an empty beach, the combined sounds of waves and wind in the pine trees lull you to sleep after dinner in the super healthy, stylish Pietramare restaurant. Calabria just keeps getting better.
