Things to Do in Calabria Italy - Travel Guide & Information

This description page of Calabria, Region Of Italy, will guide you in planning your trip to Italy and help you to find useful travel information about the Things to Do in this Italian Region.

Sport and leisure

The geographical position, climate and morphology of the territory make Calabria ideal for any type of sporting activity. The particularly extensive coastline, with cliffs falling into the sea alternating with little creeks and endless kilometers of beach, offers the chance to practice swimming, sailing and windsurfing. Underwater diving is particularly exciting and you can explore the fantastic seabed. This region, long and narrow between the two seas, boasts exceptional mountains in the center of the territory with a natural environment that is both fascinating and beautiful. During the winter, although the peaks are not particularly high, the mountains of Calabria have abundant snowfalls that allow tourists to practice skiing in well equipped ski resorts. During the other seasons the mountainous areas of Calabria and the nature parks are the ideal places for other sports such as trekking, walking or horse riding. There are also plenty of opportunities to practice more adventurous sports such as rafting, river trekking and, in complete safety and guided by qualified coaches, you can try potholing in the area’s numerous natural caves. The region also offers two golf courses, set in a position where the green is surrounded by the colors of the sea and by Mediterranean vegetation.

Handicraft

A population of ancient cultural and historical traditions such as the Calabrians continues to produce centuries old items, from pottery to fabrics, from woodwork to jewellery to wrought iron.

The pottery of Seminara is the most famous in Calabria and it is renowned for its animistic characters with human subjects. The production of Polistena involves the Pignatari, manufactures of earthenware containers used as rustic crockery. The forms are very simple and of great effect, sometimes lightly decorated with floral designs. Very nice are also the production of pots used in ancient cooking traditions.

Along the extreme southern Ionian coast of Calabria is the land of the Granici, inhabited by a consistent ethnic linguistic community that produces everyday objects in wood as well as objects with symbolic value. One of the typical fabrics of the region is the pezzare, multicolored striped fabric made of cut-offs and the remains of various materials which is used as rugs or wall decorations.

San Giorgio Morgeto is famous for the production of wickerwork containers known as canistri.  Other typical handicrafts are some stone works and metal works as well as food, such as dried figs, nuts, almonds and chocolate.

Tradition and festivals

In Calabria there are numerous of festivals dedicated to the Virgin. These festivals are centered on the region’s many sanctuaries, and there are also many original folk festivals in the villages with Albanian and Greek origins, where the recurring theme is the yearning for their faraway homeland.

For example, in Crotone between the second and the third Sundays of May, there is the Festival of Madonna di Capo Colonna. You can taste typical dishes and on the eve of the third Sundays, an effigy of Mary is taken in a procession from Duomo to the sanctuary. On the Sunday afternoon, it is taken back to Crotone by sea with a boats procession.

Numerous are also the traditional product fairs, such as the mushrooms, the chestnut, the harvest, and the grape-picking festivals.

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