Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Traces of Neanderthal, Palaeolithic and Neolithic life have been found in Calabria, but the
region only became internationally important with the arrival of the Greeks in the 8th cen-
tury BC. They founded a colony at what is now Reggio di Calabria. Remnants of this col-
onisation, which spread along the Ionian coast with Sibari and Crotone as the star settle-
ments, are still visible. However, the fun didn't last for the Greeks and in 202 BC the cit-
ies of Magna Graecia all came under Roman control. The Romans did irreparable geolo-
gical damage destroying the countryside's handsome forests. Navigable rivers became
fearsome
fiumare
(torrents) dwindling to wide, dry, drought-stricken riverbeds in high
summer.
Calabria's fortified hilltop communities weathered successive invasions by the Nor-
mans, Swabians, Aragonese and Bourbons, and remained largely undeveloped. Although
the 18th-century Napoleonic incursion and the arrival of Garibaldi and Italian unification
inspired hope for change, Calabria remained a disappointed, feudal region and, like the
rest of the south, was racked by malaria.
A by-product of this tragic history was the growth of banditry and organised crime. Ca-
labria's Mafia, known as the 'ndrangheta (from the Greek for heroism/virtue), inspires
fear in the local community, but tourists are rarely the target of its aggression. For many,
the only answer has been to get out and, for at least a century, Calabria has seen its young
people emigrate in search of work.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Northern
Tyrrhenian Coast
The good, the bad and the ugly line the region's western seashore.
The
Autostrada del Sole
(A3) is one of Italy's great coastal drives. It twists and turns
through mountains, past huge swaths of dark-green forest and flashes of cerulean-blue
sea. But the Italian penchant for cheap summer resorts has taken its toll here and certain
stretches are blighted by shoddy hotels and soulless stacks of flats.
In the low season most places close. In summer many hotels are full, but you should
have an easier time with the camping sites.
