Luxury cultural explorations in Calabria
1.Walking tour of Tropea, from 2 hours
From Tropea and Coast of Gods Villages
Meet your guide in Hotel to enjoy a Private Walking Tour. Tropea, also known as the Pearl of Calabria is located on a promontory between the Gulf of Gioia Tauro and the Sant'Eufemia Gulf, famous for its crystalline sea and white sand beaches. The city of Tropea, as well as a seaside resort, is above all an historic city. In fact, an ancient legend tells that the founder of Tropea was Hercules who passed and stopped on the Coast of the Gods while returning to Greece.
With your guide you will enjoy the architecture, take in breathtaking views and discover historic monuments of the old town. Walk through the town’s historic centre and discover many of itshidden gems that you would never reach alone!
You will visit the Norman cathedral, some of the most beautiful viewpoints and the famous church of Santa Maria dell’Isola. At the end the tour it will be possible to stop for some local food specialties tastings (from sweet to salty street food as per your preferences and time of the day).
Inclusions:
Guide Service 2h;
Entrance Fees;
Local food products tastings.
2.Private Tour Tropea and Pizzo, With Piedigrotta Church and Tartufo Ice Cream Tasting, from 8 hours
From Tropea and Coast of Gods Villages
Begin the day meeting with your guide in hotel to enjoy a private walking tour of the city center of Tropea: enjoy the architecture, take in breathtaking views and discover historic monuments in the old town with our professional local guide. Walk
through the town’s historic centre and discover many of its hidden gems that you would never reach alone! We will visit the Norman Cathedral, the most beautiful panoramic points of the town and the famous Church on the sea of Santa Maria dell’Isola.
After that, continue with your private guide and your private driver to Pizzo town, to visit its precious historic center. Pizzo or Pizzo Calabro, is a former picturesque fisher town in Calabria.
Like Tropea, the historic centre is built over a cliff overlooking the sea; In the old town, you can find the Castle Murat, known for the imprisonment and execution of Napoleon’s brother in law Gioacchino Murat in 1871.
Another highlight not to be missed is the “Chiesetta di Piedigrotta”, a small church built in a cave straight on the beach: Statues, carved into the rocks tell all stories of the bible and of the region’s saints. Very suggestive.
Pizzo is also known for its ice cream, especially the ‘Tartufo’ one. You cannot miss a tasting of this king of Italian ice creams; after a stroll through the corso, the main street of the old town, enjoy this delicious desert made of nut ice cream and melted dark chocolate inside. Transfer back to Tropea at the end of the Tour.
Inclusions:
Guide Service and Driver at disposal 8hs,
Entrance Fees to Piedigrotta Church
Ice cream tasting.
3.Full day Reggio Calabria Archeo tour + Scilla, from 8 hours
Best suggested From: Tropea and Coast of Gods Villages
Pick up from your hotel with your private driver. A journey to discover the beauties of Magna Graecia in Calabria, starting from the Coast of Gods to the Purple Coast of Scilla, and the fishermen’s little village of “Chianalea”.
Arrive in Reggio Calabria after two hours driving time from Tropea, meeting with your guide and visit of the National Archaeological Museum, 2 hours
visit and tickets included.
Continue for a walk or the panoramic drive of “Lungomare”, a sea-side walk promenade known as the “most beautiful kilometer of Italy” and enjoy a lovely lunch overlooking the sea and or one of the best ice cream ever at Gelateria Cesare! Combine the nice walk while visiting some of the Greek and Romans archaeological ruins open-space along the sea side corso.
After lunch, continue with driver and guide to the little town of Scilla to admire the best view of the Strait of Messina, from the top of the Castle of Ruffo di Calabria, or overlooking the Viola Coast and the Marina Grande beach. Take a walk into the narrow streets of the picturesque fishermen’s village of Chianalea into a magical and quite unique atmosphere before returning to Tropea at the end of the visit.
Inclusions:
Driver and guide at disposal 8h
National Archaeological Museum Entrance Fees
4.The borgo of Fiumefreddo with lunch, from 8 hours
Best suggested From: North Tyrrenean Coast
Pick up with your driver in hotel and arrive in Fiumefreddo di Bruzio where you will be meeting with your guide and enjoy a Private walking tour of the Middle-age village.
The historic center of Fiumefreddo Bruzio is among the most admired and to be visited during a holiday in Calabria. Celebrated by artists, many contest and awards have included it in the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Fiumefreddo has an almost millennial history, the village was fortified by the Norman leaders who arrived in the area in the 11th century.
You will begin with a visit the village to learn about all the history of this place.
On the edge of the ancient village stand the
remains of the castle, a manor that was the residence of the historic feudal lords of the town during Middle Age. The castle of Fiumefreddo Bruzio was also the last bulwark in the siege of the Napoleonic French of 1806-07. Never forget, it is also today a wonderful balcony overlooking the sea with great red sunsets.
Another a stop at Laretta Torretta, one of the most beautiful panoramic views. We recommend a lunch stop at Convivio restaurant, one of the best and authentic Calabrian meal you can ever taste!
Return to hotel at the end of experience.
Inclusions:
Driver and guide at disposal 8h
National Archaeological Museum Entrance Fees
5.Scolacium Archaeological Park, Le Castella and Capo Colonna, from 4 hours
Best suggested from: Crotone & Isola Capo Rizzuto Area
Pick up with your driver in hotel and reach Scolacium National Archaeological Park. We are in the Gulf of Squillace, on the Oriental Coast of Calabria, known also as the Coast of Saraceni (Saracens).
Arrive at the park and meeting with your guide for a visit of this incredible Archaeological Park. Into the Park there are two museums housed in what used to be a farmhouse: the Museum of Olive Oil (industrial archeology), featuring a restored
olive oil Mill dating back to 1934 and, of course, the Archaeological Museum, where are kept most of the findings found on the site from all over the world. There are imports from around the Mediterranean, ranging from fine ceramics and tableware from Corinth, Roman Africa, from Mauritania and the region of Carthage, and some from Asia, all suggesting the dense network of relationships of Scolacium in the Mediterranean.
In the afternoon we will go to Le Castella, where, in one of the most beautiful stretches of the "Capo Rizzuto" Marine Protected Area, to admire The fortress, from the 15th century, located on an islet connected to the coast only by a thin strip of land.
Capo Colonna is one of the symbolic places of Western Greece. The sanctuary of Hera Lacinia of Capo Colonna, dependent on the ancient city of Crotone, was one of the most important sanctuaries of Magna Graecia from the Archaic age up to the 4thcentury BC. Stop for lunch in a suggested restaurant
included during the day.
Inclusions:
Driver and Guide at disposal Full day
Entrance Fees
Optional:
Local Calabrian Food or Wine Tasting can be added.
6.The Mosaics Tour, from Archeology To Contemporary Art: the Roman Villa of Casignana and the MUSABA Museum of Mammola, from 8 hours
Best suggested as stop on the way from Tropea – Rosarno to Locri, Gerace, Roccella, Caulonia, Riace.
Early morning pick up with your driver in hotel and take the highway called “Limina” that links the East and the West coasts of Calabria.
The first stop is to visit to Mammola. The origins of the town date back to the times of Magna Graecia, it developed further at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century, representing a safe place for Byzantine monks from the East. Here you can still admire the Abbey of San Biagio and the Grancia di Santa Barbara (11th century), which is home to the very famous Santa Barbara Museum.
The MuSaBa, (Santa Barbara Museum) Museum of Modern Art was founded by Nik Spatari, a famous multifaceted artist of international fame, collaborator of Le Corbusier, one of the greatest architects of the twentieth century. A large Park-Museum within which you can admire 39 works by contemporary artists, all conceived on site in close dialogue with the nature.
After the visit of MUSABA, that must to be in the morning because the Park Museum is open only from 10am to 2pm, you will continue with your driver to a delicious break for lunch in one of our suggested restaurants. Lunch based on local and typical product of this area, not included.
In the afternoon we will visit the Archaeological site in Casignana, which preserves the remains of a Roman villa dating back to the 1st century AD. Currently it represents one of the most important Roman sites in southern Italy, comparable to the mosaics of the Roman Villa in Piazza Armerina in Sicily. Return to hotel with your driver at the end of
the day.
Inclusions:
Driver and guide at disposal as per itinerary;
Entrance Fees to the Museums
Stop for lunch in a suggested restaurant
Lunch not included
7. The stunning abbey of Serra San Bruno, from 8 hours
Best suggested from: Tropea but also from Ionian Coast - Soverato, Monasterace, Locri area, Serre National Park area
Pick up with your private driver in hotel to reach Serra San Bruno through a road that crosses Calabria from the Ionian to the Tyrrhenian and winds through a mainly mountainous environment crossing the Calabrian Serre. Serra San Bruno Certosa is a Carthusian abbey that has its origins in 1091, founded by the hermit saint Bruno when he arrived in Calabria, and it is the cradle of the monastic order dedicated to silence and contemplation. The Saint founded the hermitage of Santa Maria and the monastery right where the stupendous Charter house now stands, immersed in the green woods of the Serre Regional Natural Park. The part of the original Gothic architecture is still preserved: the current complex is of nineteenth-twentieth century matrix, but it is equally interesting and it is a destination for pilgrims from all over the world.
This is the first monastery in Italy and second in Europe after that of Grenoble in France, and to the Carthusian Museum which houses materials belonging to the Charter house.
Visit of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Bosco and sepulcher of San Bruno with your private guide.
After the visit, time for a lunch break in one of our suggested local restaurants, enjoy a menu based on typical and local products.
After lunch, opportunity to visit the Mongiana arms factory, part of the Eco museum of the Ferriere and Fonderie di Calabria, undergoing restoration or to add a food or wine tasting in a local winery.
Inclusions:
Driver and guide at disposal as per itinerary;
Entrance Fees to the Museums
Stop for lunch in a suggested restaurant
Lunch not included
8.The Ionian Iconic Borgos of Gerace & Stilo, from 8 hours
Best suggested from: Ionian Southern Coast
Pick up with your driver and transfer to Stilo village.
Stilo is located in the Locride area, it was listed as one of the "Most beautiful villages in Italy" circuit.
Stilo is town of ancient foundation, it was an
important Byzantine center and is known for being the birthplace of the philosopher Tommaso Campanella in the seventeenth century. The famous church "Cattolica"a precious and sacred building of the fifteenth-sixteenth century, considered one of the masterpieces of Byzantine architecture, which still preserves remarkable fragments of frescoes.
With your private guide, you will also visit the historic center of Stilo, which presents
important sites and buildings, mainly of the XV-XVII century, as noble palaces, the Arab fountain known as the Dolphin, the medieval Stefanina gate and the Norman castle and caves used by Byzantine monks.
You will enjoy having lunch in a farmhouse or in one of our suggested restaurants to taste the amazing products of this land.
After lunch, continue to Gerace village. Gerace is probably one of the most interesting historic center in all of Calabria, dates back to the 10th century and has maintained its original Byzantine structure. Your private guide will lead you to admire the impressive 11th century Cathedral with its Diocesan Museum which houses the precious 17th century Leyniers tapestry and other important medieval and Byzantine churches, noble palaces and the castle.
Return to your hotel with your private driver at the end of the visit.
Inclusions:
Driver and guide at disposal as per itinerary;
Entrance Fees to the Museums
Stop for lunch in a suggested restaurant
Lunch not included
9. Altomonte, Civita & Morano Calabro: The Middle Age Borgos of Pollino National Park, from 8 hours
Best suggested From:North Tyrrenian or Ionian Calabria, or as a stop on the way arriving from North Calabria.
Pick up in hotel with your driver and transfer to the Northern side of Cosenza province starting with Altomonte where you will meet your guide for a private guided experience of the beautiful little borgos of Pollino National Park. Altomonte with its churches of Santa Maria della Consolazione and San Francesco da Paola, you will continue the visit with the Civico Museum, built in the 400 ac.. Your next stop will be Civita, home of the historic Albanian (arbëreshë) community; you will visit the village and see some typical arbereshe houses and continue until the famous Bridge that connect the village overlooking the canyon . Time for a stop for lunch, in a typical and suggested restaurants in Civita. The experience continue towards the charming village of Morano Calabro.
Morano is located on the slopes of the Pollino massif contributed to its development in the Greco-Roman era and to its splendor in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance under the Sanseverino family.
Since 2003 it has been part of the circuit of the "most beautiful villages in Italy", Orange Flag of the Italian Touring Club, his name has been included in the list of European destinations of the EDEN Project of the European Commission.
The visit will continue towards the Church of San Bernardino da Siena, rich in works of art and towards the Collegiate Church of the Maddalena, after that you will see the district of San Nicola, admiring one of the oldest fountains in Morano. We will then reach the Castle district and visit the Collegiate Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which houses statues of Pietro Bernini, father of the famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini and finally the Norman Swabian Castle, built on the top of the ancient village, from which it dominates the entire valley below, located at the foot of the Serre del Pollino.
Return to hotel with your private driver at the end of the experience.
Inclusions:
Driver and guide at disposal as per itinerary;
Entrance Fees to the Museums
Stop for lunch in a suggested restaurant
Lunch not included