 Introduction
The word “Calabria” comes from that of the ancient Greek word “Calab”, meaning dense forest of pines trees, which were exactly what Greek explorers encountered upon landing at the toe of Italy's boot nearly 5000 years ago.
History and Culture
Greeks settled heavily along the coast at an early date and several of their settlements, including the first Italian settle called Rhegion (Reggio Calabria), and the next ones Sybaris, Kroton (Crotone), and Locri, were numbered among the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, the region never regained its former prosperity.
The Greeks were conquered by the 3rd Century BC by roving Oscan (Italic) tribes from the North, including a branch of the Samnites called the Lucanians and an offshoot of the Lucanians called the Bruttii. The Brutti established the main cities of Calabria, including the modern capital, Cosenza (then called Consentia).
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 XVII 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 9th and 10th centuries, Calabria, which had been the rich breadbasket of Rome before Egypt was conquered, was the borderland between Byzantine rule and the Arab emirs in Sicily, subject to raids and skirmishes, depopulated and demoralized, with vibrant Greek monasteries providing fortresses of culture. In the 1060s, 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, Pope Urban II bestowed on Roger the equivalence of an apostolic legate and the Hauteville clan formed the precursors of the Kingdom of Naples which in one form or another ruled Calabria until the unification of Italy. This kingdom itself came under many rulers: the Habsburg dynasties of both Spain and Austria; the French Bourbon dynasty, and briefly Napoleon's general Joachim Murat, who was executed in the small town of Pizzo.
Throughout all this Calabria remained a very rural and exploited region. The Aspromonte, a mountainous region of southern Calabria, was the scene of a famous battle of the Risorgimento (unification of Italy), in which Garibaldi was wounded. Several important philosophers (namely, Bernardino Telesio from Cosenza, Gioacchino da Fiore from San Giovanni in Fiore, Tommaso Campanella from Stilo) came from Calabria, and famous Americans of Calabrian descent are almost too numerous to name. The seawater around Calabria is very clear, and there is a good level of tourist accommodation. The poet Gabriele d'Annunzio called the Sicily-facing seafront at Reggio “The most beautiful kilometer in Italy”.
Places in the Region of Calabria
All of Calabria's beaches offer vividly green-blue water and clean beach fronts that are generally deserted during the hot summer months, unlike other beaches in the north of Italy. Some of Calabria's more popular beaches like the “Lungo Mare” beach front in Praia a Mare, are speckled by Italy's famous lidos (beach clubs), with lounge chairs and cold drinks available at your request. At night, some of these “lidos” turn into discos and you can dance next to the sea until dawn. Calabria is a land of ancient magic, generosity, tranquility and beauty.
Events
S.Giuseppe Rock Festival - March - Cosenza
Festival delle Invasioni - July - Cosenza
Festa del Vino - October - Cosenza
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Calabria Travel Guide
Double room - From 120€
Single room - From 55€
Single room - From 80€
Twin room - From 67€
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Twin room - From 95€
Twin room - From 58€
Single room - From 60€
Twin room - From 50€
Single room - From 35€
Double room - From 70€
Single room - From 30€
Double room - From 190€
Single room - From 45€
Double room - From 85€
Twin room - From 80€