Calabria tour
Flight 8 days / 7 nights
Arrival at Lamezia Terme Airport. Meet your tour guide and transfer to your hotel in or around Cosenza. Check-in, welcome cocktail, dinner, and overnight stay.
Visit Cosenza, the capital of Calabria, to see the 12th-century Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the Chapel of the Madonna del Pilerio, the city’s patron saint. Explore the Church and Monastery of San Francesco d’Assisi and climb up to the castle for panoramic views. Continue to the Sila Mountains, a protected nature reserve and one of Southern Italy’s largest forested areas. Enjoy a rustic lunch in a converted railway carriage and a stroll through a typical mountain village. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Drive to Sibari to visit the archaeological area, including the excavations at Parco del Cavallo and Parco dei Torri, remnants of the ancient Greek city of Sybaris. Optional visit to the National Archaeological Museum, featuring exquisite finds such as a gold leaf necklace. Continue to Rossano for a walk through the historic centre and visit the Cathedral with its coffered ceiling and the fresco of the Madonna Achiropita. Optionally, visit the Diocesan Museum to admire the Codex Purpureus, a precious 6th-century Byzantine manuscript. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Drive to Crotone, founded in 708 BC by Greek settlers as Kroton. Visit the archaeological site of Capo Colonna with the remains of the Temple of Hera and the Via Sacra. Continue with a walk through Crotone’s lively old town to see Piazza Pitagora, the 16th-century castle and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Proceed to Le Castella to visit the scenic Aragonese Castle, uniquely built directly on the sea. Free time in the village, then continue to your hotel in the Tropea area for dinner and overnight stay.
Drive to Pizzo, a small medieval town crowned by an Angevin castle. Stroll along Piazza della Repubblica and visit the Baroque Church of San Giorgio and the atmospheric rock-hewn Church of Piedigrotta with its tuff stone sculptures. Continue to Tropea, one of Calabria’s most picturesque towns, for a walk through the old town to Piazza Ercole and the Cathedral with its painting of the Madonna di Romania. Enjoy a scenic drive along the coast to Capo Vaticano with free time to stroll or swim. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Drive to Gerace, one of Italy’s most beautiful villages and an ancient settlement of Magna Graecia. Stroll through its picturesque streets and visit the Byzantine Church of Santa Maria del Mastro and the Norman Cathedral, Calabria’s largest. Continue to Locri to explore the archaeological park with remains of the Ionic Temple of Marasà, the ancient city walls and the Greek theatre. On the return journey, visit a local farm for an olive oil and wine tasting. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Drive to Reggio di Calabria to visit the Archaeological Museum, home to the famous Riace Bronzes. Enjoy a stroll along Lungomare Matteotti, one of Southern Italy’s most beautiful seafront promenades. Optionally, visit a local bergamotteria to sample liqueurs, jams and teas made from locally grown bergamot. Continue to the atmospheric ghost village of Pentedattilo with its churches and castle ruins, then on to the charming fishing village of Scilla, famed in Homer’s Odyssey. Free time before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Lamezia Terme airport and return journey. Travel home.