Archaeological Calabria: educational trip to the Lower Ionian Sea

Our school trip to Calabria to discover the ancient civilisations of the East begins with our arrival and a guided tour of Stilo, one of the region's Most Beautiful Villages in Italy: an ancient medieval town and home of the philosopher Tommaso Campanella, who was inspired to write his masterpiece, The City of the Sun, in Stilo. The highlight of this stop is the Cattolica di Stilo, a jewel of Byzantine architecture in Calabria: nestled in Mount Consolino, with a panoramic view of the Stilaro Valley, the Cattolica is a Greek cross building inscribed in a square with five oriental domes, in keeping with the typical structure of the Middle Byzantine period. The interior is divided by four columns resting on different bases; the frescoes, among the few preserved in archaeological Calabria from this period, make it unique.

The second stop on the school trip to Calabria in the footsteps of the Eastern peoples is the splendid Monastery of San Giovanni Theristìs, in the nearby village of Bivongi, already famous for its Bivongi DOC wine. The monastery was built on the site of the ancient hermitage where the Basilian saint Giovanni Theristis lived and worked in the 9th century. After his death, these places became a pilgrimage destination and, in the 11th century, the current Greek Orthodox monastery was built, a perfect synthesis of Byzantine and Latin-Norman architecture. After a long period of neglect, in 1995 the monastery was renovated and entrusted to the care of a community of monks from Mount Athos (Greece); today it is used by the Romanian Orthodox Church.

A must-see stop on any school trip to Calabria and Locride focused on archaeology is the municipality of Marina di Gioiosa Ionica. On this stretch of coastline stand the remains of the ancient Roman (or Greek-Roman) Theatre, one of the most important examples of the transition from Greek architecture (2nd century BC) to typical Roman architecture (2nd century AD) for this type of building, with an original capacity of 1,200 seats. Not far away stands the Spina Tower (or Cavallara), one of the typical coastal watchtowers against the Saracens in Calabria (16th century, probably built on top of a previous Byzantine fortification).

Climbing up the hill and its splendid landscape, we reach the municipality of Giosa Ionica to visit Palazzo Amaduri (town hall, 15th century) and another important archaeological site in Calabria: the Roman Villa of Naniglio. Continuing on from the coastal settlement, this monumental Roman villa was built towards the end of the 1st century BC and reached its peak around the 3rd century. The large underground cistern with three naves, accessed by a spiral staircase, is elongated in shape and in excellent condition, as are some of the polychrome mosaic floors and a few rooms with painted walls.

Every school trip to Calabria focused on archaeology must include a visit to the National Archaeological Park of Locri Epizefiri, on the coastline of the modern city of Locri. A true immersion in the fascinating world of Magna Graecia, the ancient city-state of Locri Epizefiri was the homeland of Zaleucus, the first legislator of the Western world, and the poetess Nossis. Founded at the end of the 8th century BC by Greek refugees, Locri was one of the most important players on the political, religious and intellectual scene in the Mediterranean until Roman times.

Walking through its ruins, you can admire monumental sanctuaries and temples, such as the one in Contrada Marasà, with its remarkable sculptural decoration from the school of Phidias; the Doric temple dedicated to Zeus, near the theatre, which is very important for its archive of bronze tablets; the Temple of Aphrodite, protector of sailors and the sea, and the famous Persephoneion, which Diodorus Siculus called “the most illustrious sanctuary in Italy”, from which the famous pinakes (terracotta tablets depicting the myth of Persephone) originate. The visit is completed by the National Archaeological Museum in Marasà.

The school trip to Calabria, between East and West, stops in Gerace, another town listed among Italy's Most Beautiful Villages, in a panoramic location. The historic centre of Gerace, as a whole, is one of the most effective examples of architectural fusion between the two styles to achieve the unique style that we now call Byzantine-Norman. The beating heart of the village passes through the 16th-century Porta del Sole, through which you reach Piazza del Tocco and, finally, surrounded by noble palaces and sumptuous carved portals, you arrive at Piazza Tribuna, dominated by the monumental Cathedral of Gerace. From the cathedral, you will come across other wonderful churches and convents until you reach the remains of the ancient Castle of Gerace (11th century) and the large open space of the Baglio, from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view.

One of Calabria's archaeological sites not to be missed is the Roman Villa of Casignana, located in the municipality of the same name on the Costa dei Gelsomini. Among the most important Roman imperial villas discovered in southern Italy, the one in Casignana is particularly valuable because of its mosaics, which are truly rare! The most important phase of the Villa di Casignana (whose original structure dates back to the 1st century AD) dates back to the 4th century: a large private spa complex, accessible from a portico and richly decorated with mosaics.

Among the most beautiful and best-preserved subjects is that of the frigidarium (“Hall of the Nereids”), which depicts four female figures riding a lion, a bull, a horse and a tiger respectively. The thermal complex also includes a room paved with coloured marble slabs and a monumental nymphaeum with cisterns. On the opposite side of the road is the residential part of the villa, with rooms arranged around a large central courtyard and mosaic floors, among which those of the “Hall of the Four Seasons” and the “Hall with Apse” stand out.

Among the Eastern communities that have populated the region over the centuries, there is also a strong Jewish presence. It is no coincidence that the penultimate stop on our school trip to Calabria takes us to visit the interesting synagogue of Bova Marina, located within the “ArcheoDeri” Archaeological Park. The site is located in San Pasquale and was discovered in the 1980s. The synagogue, dating back to between the 4th and 5th centuries, is the oldest example of this type of building in the West after that of Ostia Antica. It features a beautiful polychrome floor mosaic depicting a menorah (the traditional Jewish seven-branched candelabrum) alongside other symbols, such as Solomon's knot. In addition to the synagogue, a visit to the ArcheoDeri park includes the MArRc, the adjoining museum that displays further artefacts and works of art.

The school trip to Calabria can only end on a high note, in the presence of the famous Riace Bronzes, in the special room that houses them at the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria. Discovered by chance in Riace during a dive in the summer of 1972, the two heroes/warriors (classified as “The Old Man” and “The Young Man”) are an exceptional example of “heroic nudity”: almost 2 metres tall and weighing 160 kg, they must have been armed with a shield and spear. Their powerful musculature is rendered with plastic vigour, revealing the veins of their hands and feet, the mother-of-pearl of their eyes and their nipples, applied with a hammer. The Riace Bronzes date back to the mid-5th century BC. According to some scholars, the pair must have been part of a larger group of statues: a composition of the Seven Against Thebes, in which the two statues represented the brothers Eteocles and Polynices, sons of Oedipus. The school trip to Calabria ends with a walk along the main street of Reggio Calabria to admire the Aragonese Castle.