Gioia Tauro
Ancient Metauros, city of the port and the Plain
Ports and docks
Gioia Tauro - Regione Calabria
The present-day city of Gioia Tauro, in the province of Reggio Calabria, corresponds to the ancient Greek polis of Metauros and stretches across the plain that bears its name, the Plain of Gioia Tauro.
An important agricultural and commercial centre in Calabria, producer among other things of the prized Clementine di Calabria PGI, Gioia Tauro is one of the major industrial centres in the area: the Port of Gioia Tauro overlooks the coast of the Lower Tyrrhenian Sea, in the gulf of the same name.
Visitors to Gioia Tauro should definitely take a tour of its historical centre, Piano delle Fosse, the old medieval core of the town. The town stands on a panoramic hillock, which was fortified at the time with Saracen walls and towers.
Among the alleys and squares, you can admire the 16th-century Church of St. Anthony, the Cathedral of St. Hippolytus Martyr and several noble palaces, including the ancient Palazzo Baldari, an 18th-century building used by the Bourbons as an armoury, now the symbol of Gioia Tauro and home to the Metauros Archaeological Museum. Also of interest is the Opificio ex Gaslini, which was founded in the 19th century as a refinery used for the processing of pomace, oils and soaps. Of the old refinery, the central façade and one of the two original towers remain visible.
What to taste in Gioia Tauro? Obviously the struncatùra, one of Gioia Tauro's typical fresh pastries, today appreciated all over the world and the protagonist of the special Struncatùra Festival held every year in August on the seafront. Imported in ancient times by Amalfitan merchants in the city, struncatùra is now one of the most popular pastas in Calabria: its dark colour and callousness are due to the use of whole-wheat flour, durum wheat and a coarse milling of the flour. Gioia restaurants serve it in the ‘ammollicàta’ version, with anchovies, or seasoned with the spicy ‘Nduja di Spilinga.
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