Where in Italy can you sit 60 metres above a white sandy beach and watch the sun drop slowly into the mouth of an erupting volcano surrounded by pearlescent seas? The answer lies way down in the south where you will find the Calabrian town of Tropea, a gem as yet unvisited by many. Originally founded, according to legend, by Hercules, Tropea’s historic centre is one of the most interesting and well preserved in the region, with its 16th and 17th-century layout still intact.
One of the greatest joys of staying in this town is to wander the streets and alleys, savouring the visual feast: churches, piazzas and baroque portals; the warm sandstone buildings with their ornate shutters and balconies and intricate carved stonework; corners and courtyards filled with flowers and trees.
Video courtesy of Ma&Ma Viaggi, a travel and holiday agency based in Tropea.
Sands to Suit All Tastes
The main street – Corso Vittorio Emanuele III – leads the visitor from the tourist office in Piazza Ercole, down past numerous café-bars, all perfect for a morning cappuccino and a view of the town’s occupants as they go about their daily business.
The street ends at a set of wrought iron railings and a view overlooking Tropea’s main attraction: several kilometres of white sand beach lapped by azure sea and backed by weather-sculpted sandstone cliffs and rocks. You can pick your favourite spot from a long stretch of coastline. In the immediate vicinity of Tropea there are the Rotonda and Linguata beaches linked by a passage or grotta in the rock.
The snorkelling in this area is superb. Or walk for 10 minutes to the beach by the Convent, with bars and restaurants and a rock in the sea that makes a good diving platform. For peace and quiet keep heading south, where you’ll eventually get away from any crowds.
Visitors with a car can go to Riace to see the impressive rock formations, or Forum Ercolis, near Santa Domenica village, with its sugar-like white sands. A minute’s walk from the tourist office down the narrow Via Roma is Tropea’s Duomo, which was built on the site of an ancient place of Greek worship in the 12th century, with various additions and changes over the years. The interior is rather gloomy and spartan but there are one or two points of interest. Above the main altar is the icon of the Blessed Virgin Our Lady of Romania, who is the patron saint of Tropea. Every year on 9th September, the icon is taken in procession around the town.
Divine Intervention
Leaving the Duomo you can see, hanging near the door, two bombs that fell on Tropea in 1943 but which, the Tropeans believe, did not explode thanks to the protection of the Blessed Virgin. Carrying on from the Duomo, you reach a terraced area with a view out over the port – setting for the hugely popular, recent Italian TV drama series Gente di Mare (People of the Sea), featuring Tropea’s own coastguard station. The vista is particularly wonderful at night when the lights of the boats in the harbour reflect in a shimmering sea surrounded by dark hills.
Back at the main piazza, walking in the opposite direction down one of the small winding streets adjacent to Corso Vittorio Emanuele III will bring you to another viewpoint and meeting spot by two cannons pointing proudly out towards the horizon. Here is the best place to see what is perhaps the strongest visual symbol of Tropea: Santa Maria dell’Isola. Now in fact joined to the mainland, this ‘island’ topped by a church dominates the beaches that stretch either side.
From the cannons there is a long flight of steps down to the beach – the main access point from town. At sea level, walk across the car park towards the Isola. Here, climb a set of steps to reach the church with its beautiful, shady gardens behind, offering some of the best views of the coast and town.
A tiny museum displays photographs from past festivals held every year on 15th August in honour of Santa Maria of the Isle, when her icon is taken in a procession of boats along the coast. Tropea is a place that seduces the visitor quickly and intensely with its wide ranging vistas and narrow, historic streets; the golden stone buildings; the limpid sea and soft sands, and the friendliness of the towns- people. It’s a place that once visited, remains in your heart.
