Calabria

A region in southern Italy, Calabria occupies the "toe" of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. It is bounded in the north by the region of Basilicata, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea. Calabria faces the island of Sicily across the Strait of Messina. The region covers 15,080 km² and has a population of 2.05 million.

The regional capital is Catanzaro. The region is divided into five provinces: Catanzaro, Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio di Calabria and Vibo Valentia.

Calabria was originally inhabited by a variety of Italic tribes, cousins of the Latins who populated Rome. Greek traders encountered one of these tribes, the Itali, and gave their name to the entire peninsula. Thus, in many ways, Calabria was the first "Italy."

Calabria was an important centre of Ancient Greek civilisation before the rise of the Roman Empire. It was home to Pythagoras, the father of geometry, and its most famous Greek sculptures are the Bronzi di Riace now in Reggio Calabria. Greek civilation was already on the wane when other Italic tribesmen, the Lucanians and Bruttians, began pouring into Calabria. These tribes, close relatives of the Samnites, founded many of the Calabrian cities still extant today.

After several wars with rival Italian tribes, Calabria became thoroughly Romanized, through population by Roman soldier-colonies. Many Romans, including Cicero, had vacation homes in Vibo Valentia. Calabria was for many years part of the Roman Empire and after its fall came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire and the Normans. These last formed the Kingdom of Naples which in one form or other ruled Calabria until the unification of Italy. This kingdom itself came under many rulers: the Hapsburg dynasties of both Spain and Austria; the french Bourbon dynasty, and briefly Napoleon's general Murat.

Throughout all this Calabria remained a very rural and exploited region. The Aspromonte, a mountainous region of central Calabria, was the scene of a famous battle of the Risorgimento (unification of Italy) in which Garibaldi was wounded. Several of the important philosophers of the Risorgimento came from the Cosenza region, and famous Americans of Calabrian descent are almost too numerous to name.

Organized crime used to be quite strong in Calabria for many decades, but seems to be waning.

The seawater around Calabria is very clear, and there is a good level of tourist accommodation. The poet Gabriele d'Annunzio called the seafront at Reggio "The most beautiful kilometer in Italy".

Important tourist sites

• Tropea, on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast, is a beautiful city, with a nice seaside, renowned for its sweet onions.
• Siderno, on the Ionian Sea coast, has good hotels.