Calabria

Calabria is a balance of strong flavors and sweet sensations, just like the cedars found along the Ionian coast; their scent wafts on the sea breeze through the narrow streets of its villages. Sharp contrasts dominate this land: water and rocks, spurs on which stand sanctuaries and castles surrounded by the crystalline blue sea, small islands and houses that seem to float like those of Tropea, home of the onion, but also a charming village. Chili pepper dominates the dishes just as the sea dominates the view, a strange equation well-known to skiers who descend from Gambarie with the feeling of finding the sea awaiting them. The Sila National Park is one of the region's prides, rich in pristine landscapes, streams and centuries-old beech trees, inhabited by Sila wolves, foxes, and skunks. It's the ideal place for nature and sports lovers, as well as for those who love small mountain villages nestled among the green woods and the silence of winter snow. Calabria is a bridge to the world, a welcoming land, today as in the past. Different peoples and ethnic groups have inhabited it, leaving behind a legacy of languages, cultures, and ancient traditions. The twenty-five villages that speak Arbëreshë, Albanian, are well worth visiting, and during their holidays they dance the Vaja, a folk dance honoring the deeds of George Castriota-Scanderbeg against the Turks. The region of legendary Scilla is a treasure trove of immense beauty, where magic is lost in time and strengthened by its surroundings. A journey filled with powerful emotions, like its cuisine, like its language, like a land yearning for rebirth. Calabria is waiting to be explored, and it's not just us who say so, but also the New York Times: seeing is believing.