by On balmy summer evenings in the southern Italian town of Tropea – the “Pearl of Calabria” – a crowd gathers near the 17th-century cannon in the Piazza del Cannone of the same name, overlooking the Tyrone Sea.
As the sun goes down, the sky turns the shade of Calabrian clematis, and all eyes are drawn to the bright sandstone walls of Santa Maria dell’Isola, a sixth-century Benedictine monastery that has undergone some renovations due to earthquakes.
It sits atop the rocky outcrop as a key attraction for Tropea tourism, but on clear days, it’s the smoking Aeolian volcano Stromboli Island that steals the show, 35 miles across the water.
Tropea is probably the most beautiful Italian town you’ve never heard of, even taking the crown of Italy’s most popular Borgo dei Borghi (“Village of Villages”) in 2021. And yet, its relative remoteness – located almost on the toe of the Italian shoe. – has kept it off the popular tourist trail.
Visit in the summer, and you’ll mostly be in the company of northern Italian tourists (which helps keep standards high – no overcooked pasta or soggy-bottomed pizza here), although it’s in the spring, when businesses pick up local their shutters after the long winter, and in autumn the town is at its best (and still a pleasant 22C, on average).
It is a place defined in every sense by the sea that surrounds it. Viewed from afar (best done by boat), pink stone and apricot residences rise from 70m high granite cliffs, casting shadows on spearmint blue water.
This rugged coast is called the Costa degli Dei (Coast of the Gods), and the Tropea is thought to take its name from the Greek word tropaiameaning trophies, or from tropicsmeaning the hull of the ship (sailors say that the town is like the town when seen through the swirling sea-fogs).
Villa Paola is a dreamy 16th-century blackcurrant convent, now a boutique hotel where toiletries smell of incense and nights are lit by candlelight.
At his Michelin-recommended Ristorante De’ Minimi, seasonally delicate contemporary Calabrian cuisine from Chef Emanuele Pucci can be served indoors or al fresco on the terrace, shaded by a large canopy of 400-year-old Mediterranean pines.
The myth is that Hercules – after completing his 12 labors – came floating from the sea to found the town, which he called Forum Herculis (the locals like to joke that it was their first he is a tourist). The first traces of human settlement here are from the Neolithic period, and in the third century BC the Romans captured Tropa from the Greeks, who colonized Calabria in the eighth and seventh centuries BC.
The town gained its independence from the Spanish when the residents joined together to buy it in 1615. Take a walk with the local archaeologist Dario Godano through the oldest quarter of Tropea, starting at the Norman cathedral striking built at the end of the 11th century, popping in to see. the two undamaged bombs that could have wiped out the town during the Second World War (who is credited with avoiding that disaster is the patron saint of Romania).
From here, it’s a jumble of lanes lined with large palazzi built in the 18th century, when 80 noble families rubbed shoulders here. Look out for the sculpted grotesques above doors, intended to ward off evil (and unwanted neighbours).
The best snorkeling spots in all of Italy can be found in the crystalline waters under the cliffs of Capo Vaticano, seven kilometers along the coast. Tropea Sea Sports can whisk you there and to sea-washed caves and powder-soft sand coves, which can only be accessed by boat.
The town’s public beach has a pleasant 1950s feel, with men strutting around in Speedos, women in flowered swimming hats bobbing in crystal-clear water, and families strolling around picnicking. arancini alla ‘ndujamade with Calabria’s famous spicy sausage and sweet Tropea onion.
Back on top of the cliff is the small (though soon to be expanded) and somewhat eccentric Maritime Museum, located in a corner of the Santa Chiara Convent. The treasures inside the world’s most complete skeleton include a Metaxytherium (an extinct genus of dugong), and the second oldest shark tooth in the world.
When it’s time to stop for a glass of local Greco di Bianco, visit the terrace of the family-run Il Marchese – a great place to watch local life go by over a plate of fileja (chewy pasta).
Dessert should be saved for Gelateria Nonna Rosa, where experts shape mandarin and pistachio ice cream into wave-like peaks. In the Tropics, everything begins and ends with the sea.
Fundamentals
Kate Wickers was a guest at Villa Paola (villapaolatropea.it), which has rooms from £285, B&B, and can also book guests on the walking tour (€50 [£43] the couple), onion experience (€40 [£34] per person) and a private boat trip (from €350 [£300] for up to three people).
Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from London to Lamezia regional airport twice a week, from £50 return.
