Violet Coast, There's No Comparison

Another day, another stop…today, though, we decide to do the whole Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria…as our starting point we set Gioia Tauro. One thing strikes you at first sight in almost all the Calabrian seaside towns…the stunning sea. A few photos and a bit of video and we continue along the coast towards Palmi…a town practically 'suspended over the sea'…and marked by a bathing area with a rock jutting out of the water, on the upper tip of which, would you believe, an olive tree has grown!!! Imagine a small rock with an olive tree on its tip…you're in Palmi!!!…going further down towards Reggio Calabria we visit Bagnara Calabra; continuing on we reach the unspoilt beauty of Scilla.

I've been lucky enough to see many beautiful places but Scilla leaves you quite breathless…from the Castello dei Ruffo di Calabria that overlooks the little promontory, the view of the gulf of Scilla is practically a postcard, the same one that you can of course admire at the end of the town in the little Belvedere garden, not by chance the destination of the many passers-by intent on photographing Scilla with the Castello dei Ruffo di Calabria in the background.

As if on purpose, towards sunset we reach the Calabrian tip of Villa San Giovanni…the colours of the sun as it sets reflected on the calm waters of the Strait of Messina simply have to be captured…as the sun goes down the first lights come on over Messina, clearly visible to the naked eye…after all, the distance between Sicily and Calabria is minimal…We arrive in Reggio Calabria just in time for dinner, we park right up against the seafront…called the most beautiful kilometre in Italy and I can confirm it, although at first sight (we didn't visit it much) at least the sea area of Reggio Calabria disappointed me, and quite a bit; only the promenade is nice to stroll along, otherwise neither a restaurant nor a pizzeria, some little snack bars here and there but nothing special…it doesn't happen every day to eat by the sea, where on the other side another city, another region appears, divide

d by the water, by a strait…in my opinion the people of Reggio Calabria should renew themselves in this respect JJJ. Tiredness was beginning to be felt by now…doing about 200 km by car with stops to see the most beautiful spots of the Calabrian Tyrrhenian coast, in the end you feel it in your legs and mentally; that's why around 11 pm we head back home, for a well-earned rest… Unfortunately with this stop our summer was coming to an end; this year too we visited new places, got to know new civilisations and new ways of living and doing… as always happens between me and Luca, though, on the journey that took us first to San Benedetto and then to Milan, guess what we talked about… …but of course about the next holiday to take together; after all, we always have to keep in training!!! See you next time… Luca & Selene