The charm of the past and the beauty of nature

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Area Archeologica di Capo Colonna, Crotone - Regione Calabria

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Food Tips

Pecorino Crotonese DOP is a hard, semi-cooked cheese, produced exclusively with whole sheep's milk. Pecorino Crotonese PDO is produced in three types depending on the seasoning: fresh, characterised by a thin white or slightly straw-coloured rind and by a strong, soft and slightly acidulous taste; semi-hard, with a balanced taste and a thick, slightly brown coloured rind; mature (over 6 months of seasoning), with a hard, brown rind, an intense taste and a slightly spicy aftertaste. It can be eaten as an appetiser or even as a cooking ingredient and can be grated to accompany first courses.

A typical product of the dairy tradition of Southern Italy, Caciocavallo Silano PDO is distinguished by its oval shape at the bottom and rounded at its small end. Its flavour is aromatic and pleasant: it tends to be sweet, but becomes more intense and spicy as it matures. With its smooth and thin rind, Caciocavallo Silano PDO is ideal to eat on its own: also grilled or fried, it is also perfect to enrich recipes. The origin of the name probably comes from the custom of tying the cheeses in pairs and hanging them up to mature on a beam.

The Patata della Sila PGI is highly appreciated for its excellent culinary qualities. Round, round-oval or long oval in shape, it has a resistant skin, which is also determined by the characteristics of the cultivation soil and the particular climatic conditions of the Sila plateau. Thanks to its high dry matter content and the excellent consistency of its flesh, it is ideal for frying. In fact, the Patata della Sila PGI contains a higher than average amount of starch and this gives it greater nutritional value and a stronger flavour.

With their typical elongated teardrop shape and golden colour, Fichi di Cosenza DOP are dried fruits belonging to the Dottato variety. The skin is initially straw green, then turns greenish yellow. The flesh is amber-coloured, firm and slightly aromatic. The taste of the fruit is sweet, almost honey-like. Due to their intense flavour, they are excellent eaten on their own. They are also often used as ingredients in some local recipes, or stuffed with almonds, walnuts and covered in chocolate.

Crotone

Regione Calabria

Crotone is the archaeological gateway to Calabria: a modern city in attitude, it preserves on its territory the history and ancient beauty of what was once the famous Greek city of Kroton. Its position on the sea makes it a summer destination, but its secular wealth makes it a city to visit in any season. In Crotone you can discover the most important centres of Magna Graecia and follow in the footsteps of masters such as Pythagoras, who founded his school in the city. Symbolising the solemnity of the history that has passed through Crotone is the column of the temple dedicated to Hera Lacinia, in the area of Capo Colonna, where the Archaeological Park and the National Archaeological Museum of Crotone are also located. Dominating the city centre is the Castle of Charles V, a medieval fortress that follows the lines of the Greek Acropolis and from which you can admire the city's waterfront, a long strip of modernity that outlines and accompanies the beauty and colours of the sea.

Le Castella

Regione Calabria

Along the Costa dei Saraceni, in the province of Crotone, lies Le Castella, a tourist centre within the Capo Rizzuto Marine Reserve. The jewel of the town is undoubtedly the 15th century Aragonese castle, built on a small island and connected to the shore by a narrow strip of sand. It is said that the island of Calypso, sung about by Homer in his Odyssey, coincides with the area surrounding the present-day village: Le Castella, in fact, is part of the mythological three Japigi promontories, identified as Capo Rizzuto, Capo Cimiti and, precisely, Le Castella, so named because of the presence of the mythical Japyx, son of Daedalus, one of the most talented artists of ancient Greece, who, according to tradition, passed through Calabria.

Lago Cecita

Catanzaro, Cosenza and Crotone are the three Calabrian provinces that guard the green heart of Calabria: we are talking about the Sila National Park, where it is possible to take an almost mystical journey through the natural and scenic riches of the Calabrian plateau.
Guardian of one of the most significant heritages of biodiversity, the park's symbol is the wolf, which with extreme patience can be glimpsed in the protected woods. A fundamental stop is the nature reserve of the Giants of Fallistro, where the oldest and largest trees in Italy, Calabria's natural and inestimable heritage, stand out.
Since 1920, artificial lakes have been created in Sila, which have been perfectly integrated into the surrounding environment. Created for the hydroelectric exploitation of the Sila's watercourses, these lakes have ended up acquiring a considerable tourist value. The most important are Lake Ampollino, Lake Arvo and Lake Cecita.

Cosenza

Regione Calabria

Leaving the heights of Sila, we then descend towards Cosenza, a culturally lively city in continuous evolution. Ancient buildings characterise the City of the Bruzi, first and foremost the Swabian Castle, but also the buildings in the historic centre along Corso Telesio, once the street of merchants and goldsmiths. This is where the Cathedral stands, recognised by UNESCO as a Witness to the Culture of Peace. Cosenza's cultural wealth continues in Palazzo Arnone, once the seat of the court and prison, and now the National Gallery. But Cosenza's intellectual vitality also comes out of its buildings and into the streets: it does so with the Bilotti Open-air Museum, made possible by donations from Cosenza patrons Carlo and Enzo Bilotti, and located along the city's main street, Corso Mazzini. Here the works of great masters such as Dali, De Chirico and Sasha Sosno accompany the walk of those crossing the Corso: a permanent open-air exhibition, now a symbol of the city.