Calabria
Encyclopedia
Calabria in antiquity
known as Bruttium, is a region
in southern Italy
, south of Naples
, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula
. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro.
It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata
, to the south-west by the region of Sicily
, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea
, and to the east by the Ionian Sea
. The region covers 15080 km² (5,822 sq mi) and has a population of just over 2 million. The demonym
of Calabria in English is Calabrian (Italian: calabrese). In ancient times the name Calabria was used to refer to the southern peninsula of Apulia
also known as the heel of Italy.
Calabria is at the very south of the Italian peninsula, to which it is connected by the Monte Pollino massif, while on the east, south and west it is surrounded by the Ionian
and Tyrrhenian
seas. The region is a long and narrow peninsula which stretches from north to south for 248 km (154 mi), with a maximum width of 110 km (68 mi). Some 42% of Calabria's area, corresponding to 15,080 km2, is mountainous, 49% is hilly, while plains occupy only 9% of the region's territory. It is separated from Sicily
by the Strait of Messina
, where the narrowest point between Capo Peloro in Sicily
and Punta Pezzo
in Calabria is only 3.2 km (2 mi).
It is mainly a mountainous region. Three mountain ranges are present: Pollino
, La Sila
and Aspromonte
. All three mountain ranges are unique with their own flora and fauna. The Pollino Mountains in the north of the region are rugged and form a natural barrier separating Calabria from the rest of Italy. Parts of the area are heavily wooded, while others are vast, wind-swept plateaus with little vegetation. These mountains are home to a rare Bosnian Pine
variety, and are included in the Pollino National Park
. La Sila
is a vast mountainous plateau, about 1,200 metres above sea level, which stretches for nearly 2,000 square kilometres along the central part of Calabria. The highest point is Botte Donato, which reaches 1,928 metres. The area boasts numerous lakes and dense coniferous forests. The Aspromonte
massif forms the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula bordered by the sea on three sides. This unique mountainous structure reaches its highest point at Montalto
, at 1,995 metres, and is full of wide, man-made terraces that slope down towards the sea.
In general, most of the lower terrain in Calabria has been agricultural for centuries, and exhibits indigenous scrubland as well as introduced plants such as the prickly pear cactus. The lowest slopes are rich in vineyards and citrus fruit orchards. The Diamante citron
is one of the citrus fruits. Moving upwards, olives and chestnut trees appear while in the higher regions there are often dense forests of oak, pine, beech and fir trees.
The climate is influenced by the mountainous and hilly relief of the region: cold in the area of Monte Pollino, temperate with a very limited temperature range in the area of Aspromonte, while the Sila and Serre massifs ensure greater humidity on the Tyrrhenian coast and a drier climate on the Ionian coast.
Region up to the northeast of Sicily
, the Peloritano Mountains
(although some authors extend this domain from Naples
in the North up to Palermo
in the Southwest). The Calabrian area shows basement (crystalline and metamorphic rocks) of Paleozoic
and younger ages, covered by (mostly Upper) Neogene
sediments. Studies have revealed that these rocks comprise the upper Unit of a pile of thrust sheets which dominate the Apennines and the Sicilian Maghrebides.
The Neogene
evolution of the Central Mediterranean system is dominated by the migration of the Calabrian Arc to the southeast, overriding the African Plate and its promontories (Argand, 1922; Boccaletti and Guazzone, 1972). The main tectonic elements of the Calabrian Arc are the Southern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt, the "Calabria-Peloritani", or simply Calabrian block and the Sicilian Maghrebides fold-and-thrust belt. The foreland area is formed by the Apulia
Platform, which is part of the Adriatic Plate, and the Ragusa
or Iblean Platform, which is an extension of the African Plate. These platforms are separated by the Ionian Basin. The Tyrrhenian
oceanized basin is regarded as the back-arc basin. This subduction
system therefore shows the southern plates of African affinity subducting below the northern plates of European affinity.
The geology of Calabria has been studied for more than a century; For details concerning the older literature, i.e. from before 1973, the reader is referred to the review of Ogniben (1973)
.
Ippolito (1959)
presented a complete bibliography of the literature on the Calabrian geology as published up until that moment. Books, reviews and important "mile¬stones" concerning the geology of the Calabrian Arc are the following: Cortese (1895), Limanowski (1913), Quitzow (1935), Caire et al. (1960), Caire (1961), Grandjacquet et al. (1961), Ogniben (1969, 1973
), Caire (1970, 1975, 1978
), Burton (1971), Amodio-Morelli et al. (1976), Dubois (1976), Grandjacquet and Mascle (1978), Moussat (1983), van Dijk (1992), and van Dijk et al. (2000).
The earlier works were mainly dedicated to the evolution of the basement rocks of the area. The Neogene sedimentary successions were merely regarded as "post-orogenic" infill of "neo-tectonic" tensional features. In the course of time, however, a shift can be observed in the temporal significance of these terms, from post-Eocene
to post-Early Miocene
to post-middle Pleistocene
.
The area is seismically and volcanically highly active. This is generally ascribed to the re-establishment of an equilibrium after the latest (mid-Pleistocene) deformation phase. Some authors believe that the subduction process is still ongoing, which is a matter of debate (van Dijk & Scheepers, 1995).
Calabria was first settled by Italic Oscan-speaking tribes. Two of these tribes included the Oenotrians
(roughly translated into the "vine-cultivators") and the Itali
. Greeks settled heavily along the coast at an early date and several of their settlements, including the first Italian city called Rhegion (Reggio Calabria
), and the next ones Sybaris
, Kroton (Crotone
), the birthplace of the mathematician Pythagoras, and Locri
, were numbered among the leading cities of Magna Graecia
during the 6th and 5th centuries BC.
The Greeks were conquered by the 3rd century BC by roving Oscan tribes from the north, including a branch of the Samnites called the Lucanians and an offshoot of the Lucanians called the Bruttii
. The Bruttii conquered the Greek cities, established their sovereignty over present day Calabria and founded new cities, including their own capital, Cosenza
(known as Consentia in the ancient times).
The Romans
conquered the area in the 3rd century BC after the fierce Bruttian resistance, possibly the fiercest resistance the Romans had to face from another Italic people. At the beginning of the Roman Empire the region would form the Augustan Regio III Lucania et Bruttii of Roman Italy.
After the fall of the Roman Empire
, the inhabitants were in large part driven inland by the spread of malaria
and, from the early Middle Ages until the 17th century, by pirate raids. Calabria was devastated during the Gothic War
before it came under the rule of a local dux for the Byzantine Empire
.
In the 1060s the Normans
, under the leadership of Robert Guiscard
's brother Roger, established a presence in this borderland
, and organized a government along Byzantine lines that was run by the local Greek magnates of Calabria. In 1098 Roger, named the equivalent of an apostolic legate by Pope Urban II, and later formed what became the Kingdom of Sicily
. The administrative divisions created in the late medieval times were maintained right through to unification: Calabria Citeriore (or Latin Calabria) in the northern half and Calabria Ulteriore (or Greek Calabria) in the southern half.
Beginning with the subsequent Angevin
rule, which ruled Calabria as part of the Kingdom of Naples
, Calabria was ruled from Naples
right up until unification with Italy. The kingdom came under many rulers: the Habsburg
dynasties of both Spain
and Austria
; the Franco-Spanish Bourbon
dynasty which created the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte
, and then French Marshal Joachim Murat
, who was executed in the small town of Pizzo
. Calabria experienced a series of peasant revolts as part of the European Revolutions of 1848
. This set the stage for the eventual unification with the rest of Italy in 1861, when the Kingdom of Naples
was brought into the union by Giuseppe Garibaldi
. The Aspromonte
was the scene of a famous battle of the unification of Italy, in which Garibaldi was wounded.
The 'Ndrangheta organized crime families of Calabria began to appear after 1860. The Calabrian word ndrangheta comes from Ancient Greek
ανδραγαθία that means "valiance". According to a US Embassy cable, Calabria would be a failed state if it were not part of Italy. The 'Ndrangheta controls huge segments of its territory and economy, and accounts for at least three percent of Italy's GDP through drug trafficking, extortion, skimming of public contracts, and usury. Law enforcement is hampered by a lack of both human and financial resources.
Until the mid 20th century, Southern Italy was among the poorest regions of Europe
. Impoverished Calabria was a main source for the Italian diaspora
of the early 20th century. Many Calabrians moved to the industrial centres of northern Italy
, the rest of Europe, Australia
and the Americas
(especially Argentina
, Brazil
, Canada
, and the United States
). Since the 1970s there has been an increased affluence and a much improved economy based on modern agriculture, tourism, and a growing commercial base. Although the per capita income remains well below that of northern
and central Italy
, it is reportedly approaching the European Union
median.
Within the industrial sector, manufacturing contributes to gross value added by 7.2%. In the manufacturing sector the main branches are foodstuff, beverage and tobacco with a contribution to the sector very close to the national average.
The main Calabrian ports are in Reggio Calabria
and in Gioia Tauro
. The Reggio di Calabria port is equipped with five loading docks of a length of 1,530 metres. The Gioia Tauro
port has seven loading docks with an extension of 4,646 metres; it is the largest in Italy and the seventh largest container
port in Europe, with a 2007 throughput of 's from more than 3,000 ships.
The region is served by three heavily used roads: two national highways along the coasts and the A3 motorway, which links Salerno and Reggio di Calabria along the old inland route. In Calabria there are two main airports: one is situated in Lamezia Terme and the other in Reggio di Calabria
, both very close to the cities.
(38.60%), R1
(33.40%), E1b1b (15.80%), G
(10.50%), I
(1.75%). R1 and I haplogroups are typical in West European populations while J and E1b1b consist of lineages with differential distribution within Middle East
, North Africa
and Europe
.
Tourism in Calabria has increased over the years. The main tourist attractions are the coastline and the mountains. The coastline alternates between rugged cliffs and sandy beaches, and is sparsely interrupted by development when compared to other European seaside destinations. The sea around Calabria is clear, and there is a good level of tourist accommodation. The poet Gabriele D'Annunzio
called the coast facing Sicily near Reggio Calabria "... the most beautiful kilometer in Italy" (il più bel chilometro d'Italia). The primary mountain tourist draws are Aspromonte
and La Sila
, with its national park and lakes. Some other prominent destinations include:
since before unification in 1861, as a consequence of its deep and colourful history, Calabrian dialects have developed that have been spoken in the region for centuries. Most linguists divide the various dialects into two different language groups. In the northern one-third of the region, the Calabrian dialects are considered part of the Neapolitan language
(or Southern Italian
) and are grouped as Northern Calabrian or Cosentino. In the southern two-thirds of the region, the Calabrian dialects are considered part of the Sicilian language
and are often grouped as Central and Southern Calabrian.
Other historical languages have left an imprint on the region. In isolated pockets, as well as some quarters of Reggio Calabria (historical stronghold of the Greek language in Italy), a hybrid language that dates back to the 9th century, called Griko, is spoken. A variety of Occitan can also be found in certain communities and French
has had an influence on many Calabrian words and phrases. In several villages, the Arbëresh
dialect of the Albanian language
has been spoken since a wave of refugees settled there in the 15th century. In addition, since Calabria (as well as other parts of southern Italy and Sicily
) were once ruled by the Spanish, some Calabrian dialects exhibit Spanish
derivatives.
It is important to highlight the presence of Calabrians in Humanism
and in the Renaissance
. Indeed the Hellenistics in this period frequently came from Calabria maybe because of the Greek influence. The rediscovery of Ancient Greek was very difficult because this language had been almost forgotten. In this period the presence of Calabrian humanists or refugees from Constantinople was fundamental. The study of Ancient Greek, in this period, was mainly a work of two monks of the monastery of Seminara
: Barlaam
, bishop of Gerace, and his disciple, Leonzio Pilato. Leonzio Pilato, in particular, was a Calabrian born near Reggio Calabria
. He was an important teacher of Ancient Greek and translator, and he helped Giovanni Boccaccio
in the translations of Homer
's works.
Orthodox
congregations in the Greek and Albanian communities. There are also communities of Evangelicals on the western coast. The most famous saint in Calabria and also the patron saint of the region is St. Francesco from Paola.
Even though it is currently a very small community, there has been a long history of the presence of Jews
in Calabria. The Jews have had a presence in the region for at least 1600 years and possibly as much as 2300 years. Calabrian Jews have had notably influence on many areas of Jewish life and culture. Although virtually identitical to the Jews of Sicily, the Jews of Calabria are considered a distinct Jewish population due to historical and geographic considerations. There is a small community of Italian Anusim
who have resumed the Jewish faith of their ancestors.
, making sausages and cold cuts (Sopressata
, 'Nduja
), and, along the coast, curing fish- especially swordfish
, sardine
s (sardelle rosamarina) and cod
(Baccalà
). Local desserts are typically fried, honey-sweetened pastries (Cudduraci, scalille or scalidde) or baked biscotti
-type treats (such as nzudda).
Some local specialties include Caciocavallo
Cheese, Cipolla rossa di Tropea (red onion), Frìttuli
and Curcùci (fried pork), Liquorice (liquirizia), Lagane e Cicciari (ceci) (a pasta dish with chickpeas), Pecorino Crotonese (Cheese of Sheep), and Pignolata
.
Although Calabrian wines are not well known outside Italy, in ancient times Calabria was referred to as Enotria (from Ancient Greek
Οἰνωτρία - Oenotria, "land of wine"). According to ancient Greek
tradition, Οἴνωτρος (Oenotrus
), the youngest of the sons of Lycaon
, was the eponymous of Oenotria. Some vineyards have origins dating back to the ancient Greek colonists. The best known DOC
wines are Cirò (Province of Crotone
) and Donnici (Province of Cosenza
). 3% of the total annual production qualifies as DOC. Important grape varieties are the red Gaglioppo
, and white Greco
. Many producers are resurrecting local, ancient grape varieties which have been around for as long as 3000 years.
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
known as Bruttium, is a region
Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
in southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, south of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula
Italian Peninsula
The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe , spanning from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale...
. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro.
It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata
Basilicata
Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...
, to the south-west by the region of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
, and to the east by the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
. The region covers 15080 km² (5,822 sq mi) and has a population of just over 2 million. The demonym
Demonym
A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...
of Calabria in English is Calabrian (Italian: calabrese). In ancient times the name Calabria was used to refer to the southern peninsula of Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
also known as the heel of Italy.
Geography
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
and Tyrrhenian
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
seas. The region is a long and narrow peninsula which stretches from north to south for 248 km (154 mi), with a maximum width of 110 km (68 mi). Some 42% of Calabria's area, corresponding to 15,080 km2, is mountainous, 49% is hilly, while plains occupy only 9% of the region's territory. It is separated from Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
by the Strait of Messina
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea, within the central Mediterranean...
, where the narrowest point between Capo Peloro in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and Punta Pezzo
Punta Pezzo
Punta Pezzo is a point in Reggio Calabria, southern Italy. It is the closest point of Calabria to Sicily and is the northernmost point of the Calabrian side of the Strait of Messina, lying on the northern channel. The coasts of this sea area are crossed by very strong currents and the topography...
in Calabria is only 3.2 km (2 mi).
It is mainly a mountainous region. Three mountain ranges are present: Pollino
Pollino
The Pollino is a massif in the southern Apennines, on the border between Calabria and Basilicata, southern Italy...
, La Sila
La Sila
The Sila is the name of the mountainous plateau and historic region located in Calabria, southern Italy. It occupies part of the provinces of Cosenza, Crotone and Catanzaro, and is divided into the Sila Greca, Sila Grande and Sila Piccola sub-ranges...
and Aspromonte
Aspromonte
Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the province of Reggio Calabria . The name means "rough mountains", so named by the farmers who found its steep terrain and rocky soil difficult to cultivate. It overlooks the Strait of Messina, being limited by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas and by the Pietrace...
. All three mountain ranges are unique with their own flora and fauna. The Pollino Mountains in the north of the region are rugged and form a natural barrier separating Calabria from the rest of Italy. Parts of the area are heavily wooded, while others are vast, wind-swept plateaus with little vegetation. These mountains are home to a rare Bosnian Pine
Bosnian Pine
The Bosnian Pine is a species of pine native to Bosnia but is also found in the mountains of southeastern Europe, in southwestern Bulgaria, Bosnia, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, northern Greece , and locally in southern Italy ,...
variety, and are included in the Pollino National Park
Pollino National Park
The Pollino National Park is a national park in Basilicata and Calabria, southern Italy. Comprised within the provinces of Cosenza, Matera and Potenza, with its 1,820 square kilometres it is the largest natural park in the country...
. La Sila
La Sila
The Sila is the name of the mountainous plateau and historic region located in Calabria, southern Italy. It occupies part of the provinces of Cosenza, Crotone and Catanzaro, and is divided into the Sila Greca, Sila Grande and Sila Piccola sub-ranges...
is a vast mountainous plateau, about 1,200 metres above sea level, which stretches for nearly 2,000 square kilometres along the central part of Calabria. The highest point is Botte Donato, which reaches 1,928 metres. The area boasts numerous lakes and dense coniferous forests. The Aspromonte
Aspromonte
Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the province of Reggio Calabria . The name means "rough mountains", so named by the farmers who found its steep terrain and rocky soil difficult to cultivate. It overlooks the Strait of Messina, being limited by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas and by the Pietrace...
massif forms the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula bordered by the sea on three sides. This unique mountainous structure reaches its highest point at Montalto
Montalto
-Town names:* Montalto delle Marche - Municipality in the province of Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Italy* Montalto Uffugo - Municipality in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy* Montalto Dora - Municipality in the province of Turin, Piedmont, Italy...
, at 1,995 metres, and is full of wide, man-made terraces that slope down towards the sea.
In general, most of the lower terrain in Calabria has been agricultural for centuries, and exhibits indigenous scrubland as well as introduced plants such as the prickly pear cactus. The lowest slopes are rich in vineyards and citrus fruit orchards. The Diamante citron
Diamante citron
The Diamante citron is a variety of citron named after the city of Diamante which is its most known cultivation point. Diamante is located in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, on the south-western coast of Italy...
is one of the citrus fruits. Moving upwards, olives and chestnut trees appear while in the higher regions there are often dense forests of oak, pine, beech and fir trees.
The climate is influenced by the mountainous and hilly relief of the region: cold in the area of Monte Pollino, temperate with a very limited temperature range in the area of Aspromonte, while the Sila and Serre massifs ensure greater humidity on the Tyrrhenian coast and a drier climate on the Ionian coast.
Geology
When describing the geology of Calabria it is commonly referred to "The Calabrian Arc", the arc-shaped geographic domain extending from the southern part of the BasilicataBasilicata
Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...
Region up to the northeast of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, the Peloritano Mountains
Peloritani
The Peloritani are a mountain range of north-eastern Sicily, in southern Italy, extending for some 65 km from Capo Peloro to the Nebrodi Mountains. At North and West they are bordered by the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, respectively.The highest peaks are the Montagna Grande and the Rocca Novara...
(although some authors extend this domain from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in the North up to Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
in the Southwest). The Calabrian area shows basement (crystalline and metamorphic rocks) of Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
and younger ages, covered by (mostly Upper) Neogene
Neogene
The Neogene is a geologic period and system in the International Commission on Stratigraphy Geologic Timescale starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and ending 2.588 million years ago...
sediments. Studies have revealed that these rocks comprise the upper Unit of a pile of thrust sheets which dominate the Apennines and the Sicilian Maghrebides.
The Neogene
Neogene
The Neogene is a geologic period and system in the International Commission on Stratigraphy Geologic Timescale starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and ending 2.588 million years ago...
evolution of the Central Mediterranean system is dominated by the migration of the Calabrian Arc to the southeast, overriding the African Plate and its promontories (Argand, 1922; Boccaletti and Guazzone, 1972). The main tectonic elements of the Calabrian Arc are the Southern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt, the "Calabria-Peloritani", or simply Calabrian block and the Sicilian Maghrebides fold-and-thrust belt. The foreland area is formed by the Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
Platform, which is part of the Adriatic Plate, and the Ragusa
Ragusa, Italy
Ragusa is a city and comune in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with around 75,000 inhabitants. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo and Cava Santa Domenica...
or Iblean Platform, which is an extension of the African Plate. These platforms are separated by the Ionian Basin. The Tyrrhenian
Tyrrhenian
Tyrrhenian may refer to the:* Tyrrhenian Stage, a faunal stage from 0.26 to 0.01143 million years ago* Tyrrhenians, an ancient ethnonym associated variously with Pelasgians, Etruscans or Lemnians* Tyrrhenian Sea* Tyrrhenian languages...
oceanized basin is regarded as the back-arc basin. This subduction
Subduction
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge. These 3D regions of mantle downwellings are known as "Subduction Zones"...
system therefore shows the southern plates of African affinity subducting below the northern plates of European affinity.
The geology of Calabria has been studied for more than a century; For details concerning the older literature, i.e. from before 1973, the reader is referred to the review of Ogniben (1973)
.
Ippolito (1959)
presented a complete bibliography of the literature on the Calabrian geology as published up until that moment. Books, reviews and important "mile¬stones" concerning the geology of the Calabrian Arc are the following: Cortese (1895), Limanowski (1913), Quitzow (1935), Caire et al. (1960), Caire (1961), Grandjacquet et al. (1961), Ogniben (1969, 1973
), Caire (1970, 1975, 1978
), Burton (1971), Amodio-Morelli et al. (1976), Dubois (1976), Grandjacquet and Mascle (1978), Moussat (1983), van Dijk (1992), and van Dijk et al. (2000).
The earlier works were mainly dedicated to the evolution of the basement rocks of the area. The Neogene sedimentary successions were merely regarded as "post-orogenic" infill of "neo-tectonic" tensional features. In the course of time, however, a shift can be observed in the temporal significance of these terms, from post-Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
to post-Early Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
to post-middle Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
.
The area is seismically and volcanically highly active. This is generally ascribed to the re-establishment of an equilibrium after the latest (mid-Pleistocene) deformation phase. Some authors believe that the subduction process is still ongoing, which is a matter of debate (van Dijk & Scheepers, 1995).
History
Oenotrians
The Oenotrians were an ancient Italic people of unknown origin who inhabited a territory from Paestum to southern Calabria in southern Italy...
(roughly translated into the "vine-cultivators") and the Itali
Italus
Italus or Italos was a legendary king of the Sicels or Oenotrians, who were among the earliest inhabitants of Italy...
. Greeks settled heavily along the coast at an early date and several of their settlements, including the first Italian city called Rhegion (Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
), and the next ones Sybaris
Sybaris
Sybaris was an ancient city in Magna Graecia on the western shore of the Gulf of Taranto. The wealth of the city during the 6th century BC was so great that the Sybarites became synonymous with pleasure and luxury...
, Kroton (Crotone
Crotone
Crotone is a city and comune in Calabria, southern Italy, on the Ionian Sea. Founded circa 710 BC as the Achaean colony of Croton , it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until 1928, when its name was changed to the current one. In 1994 it became the capital of the newly established...
), the birthplace of the mathematician Pythagoras, and Locri
Locri
Locri is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. The name derives from the ancient Greek town Locris.-History:...
, were numbered among the leading cities of Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
during the 6th and 5th centuries BC.
The Greeks were conquered by the 3rd century BC by roving Oscan tribes from the north, including a branch of the Samnites called the Lucanians and an offshoot of the Lucanians called the Bruttii
Bruttii
The Bruttii , were an ancient Italic people who inhabited the southern extremity of Italy, from the frontiers of Lucania to the Sicilian Straits and the promontory of Leucopetra, roughly corresponding to modern Calabria.-History:...
. The Bruttii conquered the Greek cities, established their sovereignty over present day Calabria and founded new cities, including their own capital, Cosenza
Cosenza
Cosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...
(known as Consentia in the ancient times).
The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
conquered the area in the 3rd century BC after the fierce Bruttian resistance, possibly the fiercest resistance the Romans had to face from another Italic people. At the beginning of the Roman Empire the region would form the Augustan Regio III Lucania et Bruttii of Roman Italy.
After the fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the inhabitants were in large part driven inland by the spread of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and, from the early Middle Ages until the 17th century, by pirate raids. Calabria was devastated during the Gothic War
Gothic War (535–552)
The Gothic War between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy was fought from 535 until 554 in Italy, Dalmatia, Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica. It is commonly divided into two phases. The first phase lasted from 535 to 540 and ended with the fall of Ravenna and the apparent...
before it came under the rule of a local dux for the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
In the 1060s the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, under the leadership of Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
's brother Roger, established a presence in this borderland
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
, and organized a government along Byzantine lines that was run by the local Greek magnates of Calabria. In 1098 Roger, named the equivalent of an apostolic legate by Pope Urban II, and later formed what became the Kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
. The administrative divisions created in the late medieval times were maintained right through to unification: Calabria Citeriore (or Latin Calabria) in the northern half and Calabria Ulteriore (or Greek Calabria) in the southern half.
Beginning with the subsequent Angevin
House of Valois-Anjou
The Valois House of Anjou, or the Younger House of Anjou, was a noble French family, deriving from the royal family, the House of Valois. They were monarchs of Naples, as well as various other territories....
rule, which ruled Calabria as part of the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, Calabria was ruled from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
right up until unification with Italy. The kingdom came under many rulers: the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
dynasties of both Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
; the Franco-Spanish Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
dynasty which created the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
, and then French Marshal Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
, who was executed in the small town of Pizzo
Pizzo, Calabria
Pizzo is a seaport and comune in the province of Vibo Valentia , situated on a steep cliff overlooking the Gulf of Santa Eufemia.Fishing is one of the main activities, including that of tuna and coral.-History:...
. Calabria experienced a series of peasant revolts as part of the European Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
. This set the stage for the eventual unification with the rest of Italy in 1861, when the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
was brought into the union by Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
. The Aspromonte
Aspromonte
Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the province of Reggio Calabria . The name means "rough mountains", so named by the farmers who found its steep terrain and rocky soil difficult to cultivate. It overlooks the Strait of Messina, being limited by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas and by the Pietrace...
was the scene of a famous battle of the unification of Italy, in which Garibaldi was wounded.
The 'Ndrangheta organized crime families of Calabria began to appear after 1860. The Calabrian word ndrangheta comes from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
ανδραγαθία that means "valiance". According to a US Embassy cable, Calabria would be a failed state if it were not part of Italy. The 'Ndrangheta controls huge segments of its territory and economy, and accounts for at least three percent of Italy's GDP through drug trafficking, extortion, skimming of public contracts, and usury. Law enforcement is hampered by a lack of both human and financial resources.
Until the mid 20th century, Southern Italy was among the poorest regions of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Impoverished Calabria was a main source for the Italian diaspora
Italian diaspora
The term Italian diaspora refers to the large-scale migration of Italians away from Italy in the period roughly beginning with the unification of Italy in 1861 and ending with the Italian economic miracle in the 1960s...
of the early 20th century. Many Calabrians moved to the industrial centres of northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
, the rest of Europe, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
(especially Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). Since the 1970s there has been an increased affluence and a much improved economy based on modern agriculture, tourism, and a growing commercial base. Although the per capita income remains well below that of northern
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
and central Italy
Central Italy
Central Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
, it is reportedly approaching the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
median.
Economy
A typical feature of agriculture in Calabria is the high fragmentation of the farm structure. Holdings of less than two hectares made up 69% of the total in 2000. The main cultivation in Calabria is olive tree, representing 29.6% of UAA and 70% of tree crops. In fact the majority of farms (137,938 units on a total of 194,600) produce olives.Within the industrial sector, manufacturing contributes to gross value added by 7.2%. In the manufacturing sector the main branches are foodstuff, beverage and tobacco with a contribution to the sector very close to the national average.
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
and in Gioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria , on the Tyrrhenian coast. It has an important port, situated along the route connecting Suez to Gibraltar, one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world....
. The Reggio di Calabria port is equipped with five loading docks of a length of 1,530 metres. The Gioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria , on the Tyrrhenian coast. It has an important port, situated along the route connecting Suez to Gibraltar, one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world....
port has seven loading docks with an extension of 4,646 metres; it is the largest in Italy and the seventh largest container
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
port in Europe, with a 2007 throughput of 's from more than 3,000 ships.
The region is served by three heavily used roads: two national highways along the coasts and the A3 motorway, which links Salerno and Reggio di Calabria along the old inland route. In Calabria there are two main airports: one is situated in Lamezia Terme and the other in Reggio di Calabria
Reggio Calabria Airport
The Reggio Calabria "Tito Minniti" Airport , also known as Aeroporto dello Stretto is an airport located near Reggio Calabria, Italy.-Description:...
, both very close to the cities.
Demographics
The following is a list of Italian municipalities with population over 20,000:- Reggio CalabriaReggio CalabriaReggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
- 186,013 inhabitants - Catanzaro - 93,265 inhab.
- Lamezia TermeLamezia TermeLamezia Terme, commonly named Lamezia, is an Italian city of 71,287 inhabitants in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region.-Geography:...
- 71,123 inhab. - CosenzaCosenzaCosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...
- 69,827 inhab. - CrotoneCrotoneCrotone is a city and comune in Calabria, southern Italy, on the Ionian Sea. Founded circa 710 BC as the Achaean colony of Croton , it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until 1928, when its name was changed to the current one. In 1994 it became the capital of the newly established...
- 61,529 inhab. - Corigliano CalabroCorigliano CalabroCorigliano Calabro is a comune and town located in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria, southern Italy. In the comune are the ruins of the ancient city of Thurii.-External links:* * *...
- 40,533 inhab. - RossanoRossanoRossano is a town and comune in Southern Italy, in the province of Cosenza . The city is situated on an eminence c. 3. km from the Gulf of Taranto. The town is known for its marble and alabaster quarries....
- 38,280 inhab. - RendeRende- Churches :Miracle of St. James]]* Church of Our Lady of the AssumptionThe small building rises not far from the old church rebuilt several times and destroyed by a landslide. The old chapel were two columns, which still are the pillars of the new, and a marble bas-relief: the miracle of Saint...
- 35,352 hab. - Vibo ValentiaVibo ValentiaVibo Valentia is a city and comune in the Calabria region of southern Italy, near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital of the province of Vibo Valentia, and is an agricultural, commercial and tourist center . There are also several large manufacturing industries, including the tuna district of...
- 33,857 inhab. - CastrovillariCastrovillariCastrovillari is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. As of 2010 its population was of 22,586..-History:...
- 22,518 inhab. - AcriACRIAcri can refer to:*Acri, a town in the province of Cosenza, southern Italy*The Association for Civil Rights in Israel*ACRI, acronym of the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance*ACRI, acronym of the American Committee for Relief in Ireland...
- 21,263 inhab. - Montalto UffugoMontalto UffugoMontalto Uffugo is a town and comune of the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.-External links:* - Hosts images and extractions of vital records for the residents of Montalto Uffugo....
- 20,553 inhab.
Population genetics
Y-Dna haplogroups were found at the following frequencies in Calabria : JHaplogroup J (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup J is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is one of the major male lines of all living men...
(38.60%), R1
Haplogroup R1 (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup R1 is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup, a subgroup of haplogroup R, associated with the M173 mutation. It is dominated in practice by two very common Eurasian clades, R1a and R1b, which together are found all over Eurasia except in Southeast Asia and East Asia...
(33.40%), E1b1b (15.80%), G
Haplogroup G (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup G is a Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is a branch of Haplogroup F . Haplogroup G has an overall low frequency in most populations but is widely distributed within many ethnic groups of the Old World in Europe, northern and western Asia, northern Africa, the Middle East,...
(10.50%), I
Haplogroup I (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup I is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup, a subgroup of haplogroup IJ, itself a derivative of Haplogroup IJK....
(1.75%). R1 and I haplogroups are typical in West European populations while J and E1b1b consist of lineages with differential distribution within Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Administrative divisions
Calabria is divided into five provinces:| Province | Population |
|---|---|
| Province of Catanzaro Province of Catanzaro The Province of Catanzaro is a province of the Calabria region, in Italy. The city of Catanzaro is capital both of the province and of the region.- Demographics :The following is a list of the province of Catanzaro comunes with population over 5,000:... |
368,318 |
| Province of Cosenza Province of Cosenza The Province of Cosenza is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza.It has an area of 6,650 km², and a total population of 733,797 . It is the biggest Calabrian Province... |
734,260 |
| Province of Crotone Province of Crotone The Province of Crotone is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was created in 1996 out of part of the Province of Catanzaro. The capital is the city of Crotone.It has an area of 1,717 km², and a total population of 172,970... |
174,076 |
| Province of Reggio di Calabria | 565,813 |
| Province of Vibo Valentia Province of Vibo Valentia The Province of Vibo Valentia is a province in the Calabria region of Italy, set up by a national law of 6 March 1992 which came into effect on 1 January 1996, and formerly part of the Province of Catanzaro... |
166,760 |
Main sights
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
called the coast facing Sicily near Reggio Calabria "... the most beautiful kilometer in Italy" (il più bel chilometro d'Italia). The primary mountain tourist draws are Aspromonte
Aspromonte
Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the province of Reggio Calabria . The name means "rough mountains", so named by the farmers who found its steep terrain and rocky soil difficult to cultivate. It overlooks the Strait of Messina, being limited by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas and by the Pietrace...
and La Sila
La Sila
The Sila is the name of the mountainous plateau and historic region located in Calabria, southern Italy. It occupies part of the provinces of Cosenza, Crotone and Catanzaro, and is divided into the Sila Greca, Sila Grande and Sila Piccola sub-ranges...
, with its national park and lakes. Some other prominent destinations include:
- Reggio CalabriaReggio CalabriaReggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
, on the strait between the mainland and SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, the largest and oldest city in Calabria, renowned for its panoramic seaside with botanical gardens between the art nouveauArt NouveauArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
buildings and the beautiful beaches, and its 3,000 years of history with the old Aragonian Castle and the Museo Nazionale della Magna GreciaMuseo Nazionale della Magna GreciaThe Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia , Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria or Palazzo Piacentini is a museum in Reggio Calabria, southern Italy, housing an archaeological collection from sites in Magna Graecia.Initially formed with a nucleus of material ceded from the...
where the famous Riace bronzes (Bronzi di Riace) are located. - CosenzaCosenzaCosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...
, seat of the Cosentian AcademyCosentian AcademyThe Cosentian Academy was founded in Cosenza, Italy, by Aulo Giano Parassio, in 1511. Initially named after its founder, Accademia Parassiana, it was dedicated to philosophical and literary studies. After Parassio’s death Bernardino Telesio reorganized the academy, which was renamed Accademia...
, renowned for its cultural institutions, the beautiful old quarter, a RomanesqueRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
Cathedral and a Hohenstaufen Castle. - Scilla, on the Tyrrhenian SeaTyrrhenian SeaThe Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
, "pearl" of the "Violet Coast", has a delightful panorama and is the site of some of HomerHomerIn the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's tales. - TropeaTropeaTropea is a municipality located within the province of Vibo Valentia, in Calabria .The town is a famous bathing place, situated on a reef, in the gulf of St...
, on the Tyrrhenian SeaTyrrhenian SeaThe Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
coast, is home to a dramatic seaside beach, and the Santa Maria dell'Isola sanctuary. It is also renowned for its sweet red onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s (mainly produced in RicadiRicadiRicadi is a small rural town, as well as a municipality, located along the Tyrrhenian coast, in the province of Vibo Valentia), in the Italian region of Calabria.-Boundaries:...
). - Capo VaticanoCapo VaticanoCapo Vaticano is a wide bathing place in the Municipality of Ricadi in Calabria, Italy. The 'Cape' is formed by a particular white-gray granite, which is examined worldwide for its geologic characteristics.-Geography:...
, on the Tyrrhenian SeaTyrrhenian SeaThe Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
, is a very famous wide bathing place near Tropea. - GeraceGeraceGerace is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy.Gerace is located some 10 km inland from Locri, yet the latter town and the Sea can be seen from Gerace's perch atop a 500 m vertical rock...
, near LocriLocriLocri is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. The name derives from the ancient Greek town Locris.-History:...
, is a beautiful medieval city with a Norman castle and an ancient cathedral. - SquillaceSquillaceSquillace is an ancient seaside town and comune, in the Province of Catanzaro, part of Calabria, southern Italy, facing the Gulf of Squillace....
, a seaside resort and important archeological site. - StiloStiloStilo is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is located 151 km from Reggio Calabria....
, the home of Tommaso CampanellaTommaso CampanellaTommaso Campanella OP , baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.-Biography:...
, with its Norman castle and beautiful ByzantineByzantine architectureByzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
church, the CattolicaCattolica di StiloThe Cattolica di Stilo is a Byzantine church in the comune of Stilo, Calabria, southern Italy. It is a national monument.-History:The Cattolica was built in the 9th century, when Calabria was part of the Byzantine Empire. The name derives from the Greek word katholiki, which referred to the...
. - PizzoPizzo, CalabriaPizzo is a seaport and comune in the province of Vibo Valentia , situated on a steep cliff overlooking the Gulf of Santa Eufemia.Fishing is one of the main activities, including that of tuna and coral.-History:...
, on the Tyrrhenian SeaTyrrhenian SeaThe Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
coast, known for its ice cream called "Tartufo". Interesting places in Pizzo are Piazza Repubblica and the Aragonian castle where MuratJoachim MuratJoachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
was murdered. - PaolaPaola, ItalyPaola is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.-Geography:The city borders with Montalto Uffugo and San Benedetto Ullano by the west, Fuscaldo by the north and San Lucido by the south.-History:...
, a town situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast, renowned for being the birth place of St. Francis of Paola, saint patron of Calabria and Italian sailors, and for the old Franciscan sanctuary built during the last hundred years of the Middle Ages by the will of St. Francis. - SybarisSybarisSybaris was an ancient city in Magna Graecia on the western shore of the Gulf of Taranto. The wealth of the city during the 6th century BC was so great that the Sybarites became synonymous with pleasure and luxury...
, on the Ionian sea, a picturesque village situated near the excavation of ancient Sybaris, a Greek colony of the 7th century BC. - Catanzaro, located at the centre of the narrowest point of Italy, from where the Ionian Sea and Tyrrhenian Sea are both visible, but not from Catanzaro. Of note are the well-known one-arch bridge (Viaduct Morandi-Bisantis, one of the tallest in Europe), the Cathedral (rebuilt after World War II bombing), the castle, the promenade on the Ionian sea, the park of biodiversity and the archaeological park.
- SoveratoSoveratoSoverato is a town and comune in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy.-Geography:Soverato sits on the Ionian Sea, in the Gulf of Squillace. Nearby there is a string of villages along the white beaches of the gulf like Montepaone, Davoli and Isca Marina.The Giardino...
on the Ionian SeaIonian SeaThe Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
, also known as the "Pearl" of the Ionian Sea. Especially renowned for its beaches, boardwalk and nightlife. - NicoteraNicoteraNicotera is a comune in the province of Vibo Valentia, Calabria, southern Italy.-History:Nicòtera origins lie with the ancient Greek city of Medma which was founded by the Locresis of Locri Epizephyris....
on the Tyrrhenian SeaTyrrhenian SeaThe Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
, is a beautiful little medieval town with an ancient Ruffo's castle. - Ancient temples of the Roman gods on the sun-kissed hills of Catanzaro still stand as others are swept beneath the earth. Many excavations are going on along the east coast, digging up what seems to be an ancient burial ground.
- Samo, a village on the foot of the Aspromonte, is well known for its spring water and ruins of the old village destroyed in the 1908 Messina earthquake1908 Messina earthquakeThe 1908 Messina earthquake and tsunami took some 100,000–200,000 lives on December 28, 1908 in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy.-Quake:On December 28, 1908 from about 05:20 to 05:21 an earthquake of 7.2 on the moment magnitude scale occurred centered on the of city Messina, in Sicily. Reggio...
.
Language
Although the official national language of Calabria has been Standard ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
since before unification in 1861, as a consequence of its deep and colourful history, Calabrian dialects have developed that have been spoken in the region for centuries. Most linguists divide the various dialects into two different language groups. In the northern one-third of the region, the Calabrian dialects are considered part of the Neapolitan language
Neapolitan language
Neapolitan is the language of the city and region of Naples , and Campania. On October 14, 2008 a law by the Region of Campania stated that the Neapolitan language had to be protected....
(or Southern Italian
Southern Italian
Southern Italian , or Napoletano-Calabrese, is a group of Italo-Dalmatian Romance dialects spoken in Southern Lazio, Southern Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Apulia, and Northern Calabria....
) and are grouped as Northern Calabrian or Cosentino. In the southern two-thirds of the region, the Calabrian dialects are considered part of the Sicilian language
Sicilian language
Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects make up the Extreme-Southern Italian language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is...
and are often grouped as Central and Southern Calabrian.
Other historical languages have left an imprint on the region. In isolated pockets, as well as some quarters of Reggio Calabria (historical stronghold of the Greek language in Italy), a hybrid language that dates back to the 9th century, called Griko, is spoken. A variety of Occitan can also be found in certain communities and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
has had an influence on many Calabrian words and phrases. In several villages, the Arbëresh
Arbëresh language
Arbëreshë, also known as Arbërisht, is an ethnolect spoken by the Arbëreshë, the group of Albanian-speaking minorities in Italy.-Classification:...
dialect of the Albanian language
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
has been spoken since a wave of refugees settled there in the 15th century. In addition, since Calabria (as well as other parts of southern Italy and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
) were once ruled by the Spanish, some Calabrian dialects exhibit Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
derivatives.
It is important to highlight the presence of Calabrians in Humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and in the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. Indeed the Hellenistics in this period frequently came from Calabria maybe because of the Greek influence. The rediscovery of Ancient Greek was very difficult because this language had been almost forgotten. In this period the presence of Calabrian humanists or refugees from Constantinople was fundamental. The study of Ancient Greek, in this period, was mainly a work of two monks of the monastery of Seminara
Seminara
Seminara is a comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 90 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 30 km northeast of Reggio Calabria....
: Barlaam
Barlaam of Calabria
Barlaam of Seminara , ca. 1290-1348, or Barlaam of Calabria was a southern Italian scholar and clergyman of the 14th century. Humanist, philologist, and theologian. He brought an accusation of heresy against Gregory Palamas for the latter's defence of Hesychasm...
, bishop of Gerace, and his disciple, Leonzio Pilato. Leonzio Pilato, in particular, was a Calabrian born near Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
. He was an important teacher of Ancient Greek and translator, and he helped Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
in the translations of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's works.
Religion
The majority of Calabrians are Roman Catholic. In the southern areas, there are some ByzantineByzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
congregations in the Greek and Albanian communities. There are also communities of Evangelicals on the western coast. The most famous saint in Calabria and also the patron saint of the region is St. Francesco from Paola.
Even though it is currently a very small community, there has been a long history of the presence of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Calabria. The Jews have had a presence in the region for at least 1600 years and possibly as much as 2300 years. Calabrian Jews have had notably influence on many areas of Jewish life and culture. Although virtually identitical to the Jews of Sicily, the Jews of Calabria are considered a distinct Jewish population due to historical and geographic considerations. There is a small community of Italian Anusim
Anusim
Anusim is a legal category of Jews in halakha who were forced or coerced to abandon Judaism against their will, typically while forcibly converted to another religion...
who have resumed the Jewish faith of their ancestors.
Cuisine
The cuisine is a typical southern Italian Mediterranean cuisine with a balance between meat-based dishes (pork, lamb, goat), vegetables (especially eggplant), and fish. Pasta (as in Central Italy and the rest of Southern Italy) is also very important in Calabria. In contrast to most other Italian regions, Calabrians have traditionally placed an emphasis on the preservation of their food, in part because of the climate and potential crop failures. As a result, there is a tradition of packing vegetables and meats in olive oilOlive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
, making sausages and cold cuts (Sopressata
Sopressata
Soppressata is an Italian cured dry salami. Two principal types are made, a cured dry sausage typical of Basilicata, Apulia and Calabria, the other, a very different uncured salami, native to Tuscany and Liguria. Each of these varieties qualifies for prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale P.A.T....
, 'Nduja
Nduja
'Nduja is a spicy spreadable sausage made with pork. It is typically made with parts of the pig such as the shoulder, belly and jowl as well as tripe, roasted peppers and a mixture of spices...
), and, along the coast, curing fish- especially swordfish
Swordfish
Swordfish , also known as broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood...
, sardine
Sardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
s (sardelle rosamarina) and cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
(Baccalà
Baccalà
Baccalà is Venetian Language for salt cod. Most baccalà dishes require that the fish be soaked numerous times to remove excess saltiness...
). Local desserts are typically fried, honey-sweetened pastries (Cudduraci, scalille or scalidde) or baked biscotti
Biscotti
Biscotti more correctly known as biscotti di Prato , also known as cantuccini , are twice-baked biscuits originating in the Italian city of Prato...
-type treats (such as nzudda).
Some local specialties include Caciocavallo
Caciocavallo
Caciocavallo is a type of stretched-curd cheese made out of sheep's or cow's milk. It is produced throughout Southern Italy, especially mostly on the Apennine Mountains...
Cheese, Cipolla rossa di Tropea (red onion), Frìttuli
Frìttuli
Frittole , is a traditional dish made of pork parts in the city of Reggio Calabria and the surrounding province. Curcùci is also made in the preparation process...
and Curcùci (fried pork), Liquorice (liquirizia), Lagane e Cicciari (ceci) (a pasta dish with chickpeas), Pecorino Crotonese (Cheese of Sheep), and Pignolata
Pignolata
Pignolata is a Sicilian pastry, and is also common in Calabria. It is a soft pastry, covered in chocolate and lemon flavoured syrup/icing. This pastry is half covered or iced in one flavouring and the other half in the other flavour, which hardens when the pignolata is ready to be served...
.
Although Calabrian wines are not well known outside Italy, in ancient times Calabria was referred to as Enotria (from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
Οἰνωτρία - Oenotria, "land of wine"). According to ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
tradition, Οἴνωτρος (Oenotrus
Oenotrus
In Greek mythology, Oenotrus was one of the fifty sons of Lycaon from Arcadia. Together with his brother Peucetius , he migrated to the Italian Peninsula, dissatisfied because of the division of Peloponnesus among the fifty brothers by their father Lycaon...
), the youngest of the sons of Lycaon
Lycaon (mythology)
For the Trojan Lycaon, see Lycaon .Lycaon was a king of Arcadia, son of Pelasgus and Meliboea, who in the most popular version of the myth tested Zeus and as a punishment was transformed into the form of a wolf.-Versions of the myth:...
, was the eponymous of Oenotria. Some vineyards have origins dating back to the ancient Greek colonists. The best known DOC
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...
wines are Cirò (Province of Crotone
Province of Crotone
The Province of Crotone is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was created in 1996 out of part of the Province of Catanzaro. The capital is the city of Crotone.It has an area of 1,717 km², and a total population of 172,970...
) and Donnici (Province of Cosenza
Province of Cosenza
The Province of Cosenza is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza.It has an area of 6,650 km², and a total population of 733,797 . It is the biggest Calabrian Province...
). 3% of the total annual production qualifies as DOC. Important grape varieties are the red Gaglioppo
Gaglioppo
Gaglioppo is a red wine grape that is grown in southern Italy, primarily around Calabria. The vine performs well in drought conditions but is susceptible to oidium and peronospera. The grape produces wine that is full-bodied, high in alcohol and tannins with a need for considerable time in the...
, and white Greco
Vino Greco
Vino Greco is the name of a wine style which originated, at least 2,150 years ago, as an Italian imitation of the sweet, strong Greek wines that were exported to Italy at the period of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Its names in other languages were: Latin vinum graecum; English Greek, greke,...
. Many producers are resurrecting local, ancient grape varieties which have been around for as long as 3000 years.
External links
- Calabria's History, Culture, Language and Genealogy
- Official Region homepage
- Living in Calabria - A Guide
- Calabria Property Website
- Official Region tourist information
- Web Portal of Calabria in the World
- KALìt Calabria in testa!
- The first web portal about Calabria
- A news aggregation website about Calabria
- Youth Association of Locri*
- Postcards from gioia tauro
- History and visit to art cities of Calabria
- Calabria Travel Guide VIDEO