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A holiday to live in colour

WHAT TO SEE IN ITALY

What to see in Italy: the 2 treasures of the Province of Vibo Valentia, the Serre and the Coast of the Gods in Calabria Region

If you are undecided and do not know what to do or what to see in Calabria, then here is a useful guide to Vibo Valentia and its province. 
Sea, sun, the natural beauty of the coast and silent mountain landscapes covered in thick forests that create a connection with archaeology, culture and history in this part of Calabria overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.

In Vibo Valentia, on a hill at the foot of an ancient castle, it overlooks the Sea of the Gods to which it is linked for over 2000 years. The central part of the Serre is very similar to Sila, from which it differs due to its smaller size and elevation: the shapes are generally rounded and the hollows where Serra San Bruno and Mongiana are located were filled by Quaternary lake materials. The village of Mongiana and the  Reali Ferriere museum are a true paradise for lovers of industrial archaeology.
And right here, in a solitary hollow among the Serre woods, Bruno of Cologne in 1091 created a monastic hermitage on the model of the Grande Chartreuse he founded in the French Alps, still a place of prayer and meditation today.

In the Serre Regional Park, biogenetic nature reserves protect a precious tree flora that varies according to altitude: at altitudes of around 900 m there are hazelnut trees, aspen, plane trees, yew trees and holm oaks; from the lower slopes the chestnut tree rises to 1300 m, but the king of the ridges and valleys is the beech tree, with dense woods, a heritage of Biodiversity.

Nardodipace is a village in Calabria far from the tourist routes, a corner where time seems to have stopped. Its altitude ranges from about 600 metres (Precariti valley) to 1370 metres, an extraordinary place in itself, and where nature is truly uncontaminated. In the early 2000s, almost by chance, a researcher/anthropologist discovered megaliths, gigantic constructions (the largest is ten metres high and 20 metres wide) dating back 6 thousand years, which everyone here calls the stones. An Italian Stonehenge, but one that few people know about.

From the mountains to the sea, we are on the Coast of  Gods: the promontory of Mount Poro, with Tropea high on a cliff and the cliffs of Capo Vaticano, is one of the symbols of the region. Crystal-clear waters lap against white beaches enclosed by cliffs.
 Also overlooking the sea is Pizzo Calabro, the city of truffles (a delicious homemade ice cream that you absolutely must try), where in its historic centre of medieval architecture, you can visit the castle where Giocchino Murat (brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte) was shot to death in 1815. Among the churches to see in Pizzo Calabro is Piedigrotta, a church of history and legend, a place of Catholic worship, carved entirely out of the tuffaceous rocks.

A few kilometres from Tropea and the beautiful Costa degli Dei, there is a village, a place that offers neither dream beaches nor fairytale woods, but is immersed in a timeless setting.  We are talking about Zungri, the stone town of Matera Calabrese.