Things to do in Calabria
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Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia
A Magna Graecia munificence fills the excellent Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia. The museum’s pride, displayed in an earthquake-proof basement, are the world’s finest examples of ancient Greek sculpture: the Bronzi di Riace, two exquisite bronze statues discovered on the seabed near Riace in 1972. Larger than life, they depict the Greek obsession with the body beautiful, inscrutable, determined and fierce, their perfect form more godlike than human. No-one knows who they are – whether man or god – and even their provenance is a mystery. They date from around 450 BC, and it’s believed they’re the work of two artists.
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Valli Cupe
You can take fantastic trekking trips with Valli Cupe – on foot or via donkey or jeep – in the area around Sersale (in the southeast), where there are myriad waterfalls and the dramatic Canyon Valli Cupe. Trips cost only €7 per person per day. Specialising in botany, the guides (who speak Italian and French) also visit remote monasteries and churches. Stay in their rustic accommodation in the town.
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Piazza del Duomo
This church originated in the 6th century, was consecrated in the 13th and rebuilt in Baroque-style in the 18th. Here you can see Isabella of Aragon's tomb (1271) and a copy of 13th-century Byzantine Madonna del Pilerio. Mary's face has a spot, a sign of her 1576 sacrifice. She had inflicted herself with plague to save those who carried around her likeness.
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Piazza XV Marzo
This elegant square is fronted by the Palazzo del Governo and the neoclassical Teatro Rendano. Smack bang in its middle is a 1914 statue of hero-philosopher Bernardino Telesio. The northwest corner has his Accademia Cosentina and, within it, an excellent library and museum. South of the piazza stretches shady Villa Vecchia, a huge and welcome oasis of green.
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Gran Caffè Renzelli
This venerable cafe behind the duomo has been run by the same family since 1801 when the founder arrived from Naples and began baking gooey cakes and desserts (cakes start at around €1.20). Sink your teeth into torroncino torrefacto – a confection of sugar, spices and hazelnuts – in elegant 19th-century surroundings.
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L’Arco Vecchio
This family concern is deep in the old town in a 16th-century house. It has attractive low-ceilinged rooms, white tablecloths, pretty paintings and a glossy baby grand, and serves tasty, traditional dishes like lagane e ceci (pasta with chickpeas, garlic and oil).
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Bracieria
A bit too rustic to be true - think terracotta mugs instead of glasses - but the food is the real thing. Specialising in grilled meat and fish, it also serves an amazingly good sapori della Calabria antipasto comprising brilliant ricotta and chilli-hot bruschetta.
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Odisseas Ghirol
There’s not much elbow room at this pint-sized Greek restaurant with just a few scrubbed pine tables. But this is the place to come if you yearn for something different from traditional Calabrian cuisine, with authentic Greek dishes on the menu like moussaka and souvlaki.
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Ristorante Calabria Bella
This is one of the best choices in the old town, located beside the cathedral. Join the local businessmen and ladies-who-lunch tucking into Calabrian cuisine, such as grigliata mista di carne (mixed grilled meats), in a series of wood-beamed rooms.
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Domenico Caruso
Sila’s main town, San Giovanni in Fiore (1049m) has an attractive old centre. It is famous for its Armenian-style handloomed carpets and tapestry. You can visit the studio and shop of Domenico Caruso, but ring ahead.
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Castle
From Piazza XV Marzo, follow Via Paradiso, then Via Antonio Siniscalchi for the route to the down-at-heel Norman castle, left in disarray by several earthquakes. It’s empty inside, but the view merits the steep ascent.
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Per… Bacco!!
This smart yet informal restaurant has windows onto the square. Inside are exposed stone walls, vines and heavy beams. The reassuringly brief menu includes a generous antipasto (€8) and various baccalà (cod) dishes.
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Le Rose al Bicchiere
A wine bar with some delicious fresh local and organic produce on offer to accompany wines so inviting you’ll have to pour yourself onto the ferry. The local cheeses and desserts are particularly good.
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Antica Salumeria Campanaro
Sniff around the Antica Salumeria Campanaro in Camigliatello Silano; it’s a temple to all things fungoid, as well as an emporium of fine meats, cheeses, pickles and wines.
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A Giulia
A tiny local restaurant with exposed stone walls, on a street just across the bridge, this is friendly and has daily pasta dishes and an antipasti buffet, and carafes of local wine.
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Baylik
Worth the slight trek, Baylik is friendly, and the calamari is so fresh your knife glides through it like butter; the spaghetti with clams is another winner.
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Teatro Rendano
Head along the corso to Piazza XV Marzo, an appealing square fronted by the Palazzo del Governo and the handsome neoclassical Teatro Rendano.
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Convento di San Francesco d'Assisi
Walk up Via del Seggio through a little medieval quarter before turning off to reach the 13th-century Convento di San Francesco d'Assisi.
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Festival dello Stretto
There are plenty of festivals in Reggio - early August sees the Festival dello Stretto, featuring the traditional music of the south.
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Cèsare
For Reggio’s best ice cream, visit Cèsare, a popular green kiosk at the end of the lungomare (seafront).
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Cathedral
The 12th-century cathedral has been rebuilt in restrained baroque style in the 18th century.
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Villa Trieste
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Ruins
About 4km south of the modern, fast-developing town of Sibari are the remnants of the seat of the ancient Sybarites, those luxury-loving Greeks renowned for their wealth and love of pampering. Sybaris was destroyed by a jealous Crotone in the 6th century BC. You can visit the ruins, though 90% remain buried. The small Museo Archeologico della Sibaritide is 7km away (signposted off the autostrada).
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