Chances are good that you’re familiar with the monuments of Rome, the canals of Venice, the fashions of Milan, and the art of Florence, so you probably feel like you have a decent grasp if Italian culture, and you might. But if you haven’t explored the hills of Calabria, the southernmost region of the metaphoric boot, you’re not just missing out on the country’s best food, best beaches, and most magical mountaintop villages, but a chance to experience the true Italy of daydreams and romantic films—the one where you’re invited to a dinner of homemade pasta at someone’s grandma’s house and end the night packing away a few ceramic jugs of wine with half the village. This is the slow-living , good-life Italy of lost time . . . except in Calabria, where it still exists. For now.

One of the great joys of Calabria is that it hasn’t been completely modernized like most of the rest of Italy. This can also be one of its great challenges. It’s by no means an insurmountable hurdle, though; in fact, even a mildly adventurous traveler can manage the logistics of traversing the region, and it’s becoming increasingly easier. Because the tourism industry hasn’t yet taken a strong foothold in Calabria, ground transportation (like car services) can be quite expensive, so your best bet is to rent a car and travel comfortably on your own schedule. Be sure to have reliable service for your cell phone’s GPS functionality—there’s no guarantee a rental car will have GPS, or that it will be in English. Having a car will make getting to Calabria easier, too: Fly to Rome (flights from Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa daily), grab a car, and head south. Without a car, you can still access the region from Rome by hopping a series of trains and riding the rails for about 8 hours, and this offers a decent view of the countryside, too.

Calabria reaches across the country to both of Italy’s southern coasts, with the Tyrrhenian Sea on the east and the Ionian Sea on the west. There’s a bit of a rivalry between the coasts, at least as far as the region’s famed beaches go (whose is clearer? whose is bluer?), but all agree that that the entire region is spectacular. You’ll need to decide for yourself which coast, if either, is really better than the other, so choose an itinerary that includes both.  While there are literally hundreds of villages and beaches to be found, the following five highlights will deliver an unforgettable overview of Italy’s best-kept secret.

Start on the Ionian Coast with a stay in the medieval mountaintop village of Badolato Superiore. Like many any Calabrian towns, Badolato has a sea-level population with a coveted beach and a medievial mountaintop counterpart with Superiore ("higher) added to its name for distinction. The thousand-year-old village is a twisting, turning labyrinth of snaking alleyways leading to stacks of houses built into the mountainside, punctuated with a couple of notable churches and a cheery central piazza. The piazza will be your centering point, and it’s where you’ll leave your car, because most of the remaining "roads" include stairs, and several aren’t wide enough to walk side-by-side, let alone accommodate a car.  From here, the village’s 200 full-time residents keep excellent tabs on the activity of the entire community. Everyone passes through on their way in and out, and it’s here that morning coffee and pastries are consumed at cafes with astounding views, neighbors catch up over lunch at Dr. Pizza and Mr. Wine (really), and crema di limoncello is sipped long into the night while kids play soccer under the stars.  There’s no escaping everyone’s notice (as is the case throughout Calabria), but you wouldn’t want to. You’ll be chatted up by everyone you pass, and will soon become a member of the family . . . many families, in fact.

If you decide to stay forever (and you might), the town is willing to give you one of its abandoned houses for free. You’ll just need to restore it to code within two years, and they’ll help you do that, too.  It’s all part of a revolutionary program Badolato has devised to save it’s forgotten infrastructure and build a stronger community, rather than let it slip away as many other villages have done. The restored homes are completely modern inside but retain the medieval exteriors that make these villages so charming, and the typical maximum budget for full restoration is under $95,000 CAD.  The program is a collaboration between Badolato’s government and a handful of dedicated contracting teams who recognize the value in maintaining this picturesque village with such a lively community, many of whom, because of this initiative, come from international backgrounds and weave a colorful tapestry of personalities.

Across the valley from Badolato is a former Franciscan monastery dating to the 17-th Century. Once abandoned, it’s now home to a group of men who have restored the property through manual labor and craftsmanship, and who commit to a nearly monastic lifestyle of no modern technology and minimal contact with the outside world. No specific religion is associated with the community (atheists are allowed), but life here is devoted to work and quiet reflection. It’s a community of those who suffer with traditional society and need an alternative—an outpost of a larger organization called Mondo X.  Both the organization and the property are extraordinary, and the public is welcome to visit daily in the afternoon, when one member will provide a peaceful tour and the rest will remain out of sight. The road to Badolato provides a host of stunning vantage points for its mountaintop village, but the view from the monastery’s long, cypress-lined driveway is unbeatable.

From Badolato, take an hour-and-a-half scenic drive across Calabria to the Tyrrhenian coast and settle in Pizzo. Originally a medieval fishing village, Pizzo is best known today for its 15th-century castle on the sea, the 350-year-old cave church of Piedigrotta, and one very special culinary gem (no, it’s not pizza). Tartufo, a dessert of molten chocolate encased in a frozen sphere of ice cream, half chocolate and half hazelnut, and finished with a dusting of cocoa powder, was invented in Pizzo as a special presentation for a wealthy family visiting the village from Piemonte. It’s so famed today that it tops many an itinerary for visitors to this charming village. Tartufo is replicated far and wide, but as the village’s proud citizens will tell you, "if it’s not from Pizzo, it’s not tartufo." Particularly adamant are the owners of Bar Ercole Gelateria, a family-business run by two brothers whose grandfather was present when tartufo was invented, and consider their shop the destination for genuine tartufo. If you’re lucky, they’ll put on a good show and demonstrate how they make it, but don’t bother asking how they keep the molten core from freezing. It’s a secret.

Pizzo is livelier than the dreamier Badolato, with modern accommodations and a bustling piazza teeming with bars and cafes.  Less elevated than many of Calabria’s old villages, it’s also easier to reach Pizzo’s crystal clear beach and spend a day of relaxation with a castle in the background and a glittering sea ahead. Still, there’s plenty of hilly trekking to be had and tartufo calories to be burned, winding your way through the maze of narrow pathways on your way up to the town’s highest lookout, where you’ll realize just how beautiful Pizzo is.

From your base in Pizzo, two daytrips are a must: Tropea and Capo Vaticano.  Capo Vaticano is the farther of the two at about an hour away and if you’re short on time, it’s possible to combine both of these stunners into a single day by hitting Capo Vaticano in the morning, grabbing lunch, then spending the rest of the day in nearby Tropea. But if you have the luxury of time, spend a day in each.

Drive to the lighthouse atop Capo Vaticano, park here, and drool at the Cliffside view of white granite beaches and pristine water a shade of blue-green so striking that no filter could improve it. If you’re taking the half-day option, grab lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the beaches, and sip a glass of wine while you try to wrap your mind around the vision in front of you. If you have the day, work off your lunch with a trip down the zig-zagging dirt path to the beaches far below. The path is long, and the journey made longer by the countless vistas that will demand photos. You’ll get up close and personal with some interesting vegetation, and probably some lizards. By the time you reach the bottom, you’ll be ready for a reward of lying on the beach or floating on water so clear you can follow your shadow on the seafloor below. Sunsets are special in Capo Vaticano, but you’ll want to hike back up the cliff for a more impressive view and to avoid finding yourself at the bottom of the cliff when the sun goes down.

Tropea is undoubtedly the shiniest treasure in Calabria’s collection. With a lively (albeit touristy) town, it’s the beach that will make you swoon, and more than once. From the hilltop town, follow the main drag all the way to the end, where a railing will stop you from walking clear off the cliff overlooking the dazzling sea below. The view here is epic, and includes a clifftop church perched on an "island" jutting out from the coast, surrounded by nothing but olive groves and cliffs that lead to the sea. But even better is the view from below. A serious set of stairs at either end of Tropea will lead you to the beach. Trek out to the water (or better yet, climb some of the enticing rock formations in the water) and turn back for a breathtaking view of Tropea’s village built right on the edge of the cliffs. There’s nothing quite like this scene, and it’s easy to spend the better part of the day on the beach, exploring secret caves, swimming, and constantly turning back to ogle the mind-blowing view.

Restaurants, cafes, and bars are in no short supply in Tropea, so do spend plenty of time in the actual village if you can. You can’t leave without trying the red onions so famous and distinctly Tropean that red onions throughout the region are simply known as  "Tropea onions." You’ll find them on every menu as a side dish, as an ingredient in other dishes, and even as a gelato flavor. (To be fair, the onions are delicious, but red onion gelato is not—still, you have to try it, so ask for a sample!) Taking onions home isn’t easy (or sometimes even possible with customs regulations surrounding agriculture), but a good way to bring this flavor home is through red onion pasta, or a tapenade. If neither of these options appeals to you, these onions adorn everything in town, so you’ll find something to bring back.

Along the journey back toward Rome, visit Amantea, an hour north of Pizzo. One of the more modern of Calabria’s mountaintop/beach combo villages, Amantea is good transition between the middle ages and the current day, as your trip winds down. There’s plenty of history to be found atop the mountains, from castle ruins and medieval churches to the charmingly puzzling alleys you’ll have to come to expect by now, but there’s also a considerable commercial center in the mile of town that separates the base of the mountain from the seemingly endless coastline, full of beach clubs and volleyball games. Here you’ll find something more akin to a small city, with a plethora of local shops and restaurants catering to a more lived-in environment than the other villages in this itinerary.  Even when exploring the medieval parts of Amantea, you’ll find you’re not terribly far from the present. It’s the perfect compromise between the most ancient and abandoned villages, and the home that awaits the end of your travels.

Like all of Calabria, Amantea is known for its spicy cuisine, with the chili pepper reigning supreme in the region and complimenting just about every dish. Particularly special to Amantea, though, are a couple of culinary notables on the sweeter side: pistachio gelato (admittedly popular throughout Italy) and chocolate covered figs. The selection of these is enormous, and they’re a great gift to bring back for friends.

Within a half hour of Amantea are a handful of other medieval villages boasting their own castles, ruins, and eye-popping vistas, the most notable of which is Fiumefreddo Bruzio. If you can manage to be here during sunset, climb to the second level of the castle ruins and watch through remnants of medieval windows as the sky blazes through its fiery palette. From Amantea, the drive back to Rome clocks in between five and six hours. If you prefer to leave your car here, Lamezia Terme International airport is only a half hour away and offers one-hour flights direct to the Eternal City. The train, as always, is also an option.

Calabria’s countless villages are as diverse as their offerings, but the common thread that unites them all (besides unbelievable beaches) is the warmth and openness of their citizens. In no village will you be turned away when asking for help, and in most you’ll be invited to some sort of get-together, or at least a drink with a new friend.  The Calabrese have a deep sense of togetherness and are welcoming to visitors; they’re proud of their heritage and eager to share it. It’s been both a blessing and a curse that the rest of Italy seems to have forgotten Calabria while it marched, however reluctantly, into modernity. It’s had a negative impact on the region’s economy, with many of the younger generations forced to settle elsewhere in search of industries that can support their families. But for those who have remained behind, the promise of tourism holds a glimmer of hope that Calabria can thrive again, and many of the region’s villages are waking up to this notion. Now is the time to visit, while Calabria is perched on the brink of potential development. The tourism machine hasn’t been able to standardize the region with chain restaurants and resorts yet, so crowds are manageable and the region’s true culture still permeates every encounter. An heartfelt effort is under way in Calabria to develop "the right kind of tourism,"—a phrase you’ll hear often if you ask around in any of its villages—to ensure authenticity remains, because it’s this culture that makes Calabria worth exploring, and this culture that will make it very difficult to leave.

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Contributor Brandon Schultz |

Locale Calabria, Italy |

Topic Accommodation and Lodging | Food | Travel |

Photo Gallery Calabria |Travel |