artisanal gelato

Scirubetta Festival: Gelato, Sorbetto and So Much More!

Gelato, sorbetto, ice cream, sherbet… what’s in a name? Who hasn’t enjoyed all of the above at one time or another? Reggio Calabria has a frozen-dessert event with an interesting name – the Scirubetta Festival. The multi-day indulgence is dedicated to gelato artigianale and takes place along the city’s beautiful seafront. This past September, I happened upon the event and had the opportunity to sample a few scoops of the festival’s delicious artisanal gelato with a view of the Strait of Messina. Read More

Sibari Archeological Park in Calabria

Sybaris, The Lost City of Luxury

Nothing grabs attention like a good mystery. A person disappears and we can’t imagine where he or she may have gone, but a whole city? What happened to Sybaris? Where did the pinnacle of ancient Greek civilization go? The accounts of its grandeur have undoubtedly heightened curiosity over the millennia. Modern technology has, in part, helped locate the lost city, and today, we can even visit Sibari Archeological Park in northeastern Calabria. Read More

Italy, A Geographical Expression? And Calabria?

“Italy is only a geographical expression” has been bandied about for almost two centuries. The phrase has that smack of the in-the-know Italophile with an intellectual bent. One day, as I was looking for a park bench on a sunny afternoon in Crotone, Calabria, I was confronted with a Calabrian take on the idea, that of Leonida Rèpaci. His thoughts were painted on a bench in the shape of a book and related to his own piece of the boot, in the geographical “toe” of the expression… Read More

skywalk

Skywalk Maratea

If you build it, they will come… Funny thing, or maybe not so funny, tourists continue to pile on the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast. Gorgeous locations, to be sure, but Italy is bursting with beautiful spots. Basilicata, located in the instep of the Italian boot, is full of them, but the tourism industry pretty much focuses on Matera. Interestingly, as if the natural landscape and culture weren’t enough, several towns in the region have installed special attractions to entice visitors. The latest in Maratea is the Skywalk. Read More

Carbonai in Serra San Bruno

Carbonai, The Last Charcoal Artisans in Calabria

Once upon a time, the hills and mountains of the Calabrian Serre were abuzz with an activity that today may be characterized as a form of industrial archeology, an out-of-doors cottage industry of carbon production. Woodsmen practiced the artisanal craft for millennia. In our times, the labor-intensive process is almost extinct. However, in Calabria, a handful of men still carry forth the tradition, transforming trees to charcoal in a mountainous zone between the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas. They are called carbonai, charcoal makers or charcoal burners, and their work is fascinating. Read More

Grand Tour in Calabria

Grand Tour in Calabria, from Past to Present

This month, I had the opportunity to speak with students at the Liceo Scientifico “Leonardo Da Vinci” in Reggio Calabria as part of the program for their 100-year anniversary celebrations. When teaching in Reggio, I had several students in my classes who attended this science-focused high school, which is recognized for excellence, boasting numerous students who have won national awards. I prepared a presentation entitled The Grand Tour in Calabria, from Past to Present, highlighting the region and Reggio Calabria in particular. Read More

The Other Italy

Happy 10th Anniversary to Calabria: The Other Italy

It seems like a lifetime, yet it’s been just ten years since I published Calabria: The Other Italy. My intention was to shine a light on an area that seemed to have been left in the dark – the tree that fell in the forest with no one around to hear it. I found that there was an audience out there, eager to listen, from those with Calabrian roots searching for an English text about their ancestral homeland to Italophiles and other curious individuals looking for a “new” place to explore, familiar yet different, the “other” Italy. Read More