Regional Features

Costa Degli Dei and Capo Vaticano

Tropea is considered a part of the Costa Degli Dei, as you can see from a map within the link above. It stretches around the protruding coastline in the province of Vibo Valentia. From Tropea, we drove south, enjoying some of the beautiful views the sweeping coastline offers. We made our destination the Belvedere Capo Vaticano; it is identified on Google Maps as a ‘look out’ point with the little camera icon. Explore more panoramic view points on the coast in this article. We parked near here as there was ample and free street parking and then began our exploration. If you are less mobile, I would recommend stopping, seeing these views, and then driving down around to another more accessible beach.

You can see the ‘zig-zagging’ path behind me that we took on foot from the lookout point above down to the beach below

See the views from up top. Then, brave the path down to sea. This look out point offers open views of the both undulating and craggy coast to the south. Views of turquoise water are framed by ‘cacti’ which, being from Texas, I am used to, but it was a rather uncanny surprise to see as part of an Italian landscape. If for any region, an abundance of cactus feels appropriate in Calabria. (The Italian wild west?) I mentioned the popular regional amaro, called Vecchio Amaro Del Capo in the food related posts, but if you examine the bottle, you will see these views. In fact, 'the ‘Del Capo’ of the name refers to this particular ‘cape’. The area is known for abundance of a ‘white-gray granite’ which creates the perfect compliment to the sea greens and blues. From the top, we descended on a rather steep but short path down to the water’s edge. From here we did traverse some rocky inlets with water up to our knees at least in order to explore other beaches further down, so if you take this route, travel light! The area is known as Ricadi and Groticelle beach, and we settled into some lettini (sunbeds).

Rent a paddle boat (pedalò) for the hour. (This should cost no more than 10 euro.) Just like below the city of Tropea, there are a number of ‘lidi’ to choose from in this beach area, known as Grotticelle, but I would say even more options for renting boats and recreation are available here. (I will say the beaches near Ricadi seem to cater to families a bit more, with these options, so keep this in mind for better or worse.) The paddle boats are usually just stretched out on the beach, so you can walk over to what you are interested in renting and someone should be nearby to take your money and help you push it into the water. This area is well suited for exploration by man powered boat; we sailed back under the look out point and admired the cacti and rocky cliffs from below.

Take the long road around and explore from above. As mentioned, you can find parking closer to the beaches, but often, you have to pay. Instead of hiking back up the steep trail we took on the way down, we opted to wind up around the paved road back to our car. This afforded the opportunity for some exercise and also different sea views. This area of Ricadi, and specifically Faro Capo Vaticano, is not overly developed yet. It felt rather quite tranquil as we walked along the paved roads. Beautiful views of the water accompanied us along the way. Although we saw some hotels, they looked quite modest and not over subscribed and we passed a lot of homes in halted construction phases. The beauty of Calabria.

Isole Eolie (The Aeolian Islands)

I make an exception here and move beyond the region of Calabria for this feature. This group of islands is part of the region of Sicilia, not Calabria, but they are gorgeous, also an UNESCO world heritage site, specifically related to the field of vulcanology, with their ongoing volcanic activity. I am not always a proponent of organized day tours, but the itinerary offered from Tropea is a convenient and advantageous way to break up a beach vacation on shore. Taking this tour was so easy, as you just wander down to the port, jump on board and relax. Factor in a day away from Tropea and the region of Calabria to take this excursion.

Book a full day tour of these three islands—Vulcano, Lipari and Stromboli. You can buy tickets from a booth at the port of Tropea. We bought tickets the night before the tour and were offered a nice discount, so you might want to check this out. Again, I am not always a fan of larger organized tours, with a set amount of time in a number of spots. For these islands, I thought the tour was a perfect compromise. It was reasonably priced (about 45 euro without a discount) and there is almost complete autonomy throughout the day. The departure time from Tropea was 7.45 AM and we returned just before 7 PM. The medium-sized boat was filled with about 35-40 people on our trip in early July, but I imagine these numbers could grow in August. Part of the fun is enjoying the relaxing time at sea as it takes between 1 hour 30 minutes- just under 2 hours to reach the islands in both directions. Look out for dolphins in the summer months! We were lucky and a pod accompanied us on our way back to Tropea, just before sunset.

A dolphin friend on our journey home to Tropea

The temperature was 38 degrees C (100 degrees F) in the rejuvenating mud baths of Vulcano

Explore Vulcano and Lipari, which are the first two island stops on the tour. The boat docks at Vulcano about 10.15 in the morning. You have the opportunity to take a sulfur bath here. Do this if you are brave. We only observed and found a nearby beach to bathe in the sea instead; the temperature of the mud bath was a deterrent even if the health benefits were tempting. The next stop is Lipari, which is the largest Aeolian island. There is evidence of inhabitants from Neolithic times (around 4,000 BCE), and in more recent history, there is commanding 16th century castle that you will see upon arrival at the shore. Read more about the complex cultural history of the island on the Thinking Traveller website. We took a cab over to the beach area of Canneto, which I must say was pretty, but perhaps not worth the hustle and hassle to get over there and back. While there, we walked on the pebble beach and enjoyed a leisurely lunch of Sicilian cuisine at the Coral Beach lido. We ate the traditional Sicilian ‘pane cunzatu’ which is thick seasoned bread topped with fresh ingredients, appropriate, as we had crossed regional borders. Save time to explore around the port area of Lipari where you were left off and don’t be late for the 2.30 departure.

A view of Stromboli with a sheer side view as lava flowed recently to the sea

Experience Stromboli, ‘the spiritual island’. This island is the pièce de résistance in my opinion. In fact, it might just be my favorite island. Not to sound corny, but I do feel like I had a spiritual experience on this island. The volcano is active and reminds visitors of its vitality with a perpetual stream of smoke billowing forth from the top. It is one of the three active volcanoes in Italy (along with Etna on Sicily and Vesuvius in the Campania region, near Napoli, but Stromboli is “one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, according to Geology.com, and has almost been erupting continuously since 1932.” In fact, there was a powerful eruption on July 3rd 2019 that tragically killed a hiker, just days before we arrived. When arriving by boat, there are epic views of Stromboli (name of the Volcano and the island).

I encourage you to prepare yourself in cultural terms as a visit will be more enjoyable. First, watch the 1950 film Stromboli directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring the famous Swedish actress, Ingrid Bergman, who had become his lover and soon after, his wife. Be sure to download the song ‘Ingrid Bergman’ set to music by the contemporary folk singers Wilco and Billy Bragg, but with lyrics by the eminent Woody Guthrie. Find out more about the incredible album here.

Views over of Stromboli on a beach of Volcanic rock

I listened to the song resting on the black sand beach while gazing at the ebullient summit of the volcano. I couldn’t get it out of my head for days. The truly sublime power felt upon visiting the ‘terra di Dio’ (land of god) has stayed with me indefinitely.

On future trips to Calabria, I would love to visit the home of the tartufi, Pizzo and another costal town called Paola. Both of these towns are further north than Tropea but boast beautiful coastlines as well. The town of Paola came on my radar about 10 years ago when I taught a wonderful woman from here. She was a transplant and had lived in Rome for decades because she worked as an opera singer and was a part of the company at Rome’s Teatro del Opera. She spoke so fondly of her Calabrian hometown, however, and religiously visited every summer.

Spots in Tropea

Restaurants in Tropea