Thanks to the location of Residente Osiris, you can quickly reach villages and various sites of historical, cultural and artistic interest.
Itinerary through villages, caves and museums
The Capo Vaticano – Tropea coast is famous for its breathtaking views and sunsets, marvellous coasts and crystal clear sea. However, it also boasts an immediate hinterland of extraordinary beauty, with villages rich in history, culture dating back thousands of years and a great tradition ofgastronomy based on olive oil.
1. Visit to Ricadi's wide choice of museums
The route begins with a visit to the extensive array of Mu.Ri. museums, the Civic Museum of the Municipality of Ricadi, located a few kilometres from the residence.
The Civic Museum of Ricadi is a museum network of five museums housed in different buildings located throughout the municipal area:
- Museo del Mare (Museum of the Sea) in Capo Vaticano;
- Onion Museum in Capo Vaticano;
- Museum of the Towers at Torre Marrana di Brivadii;
- Folk Art Museum in Ricadi;
- Anthropological and Paleontological Museum in Santa Domenica.
The Museo del Mare is located on the spur of Capo Vaticano, near the lighthouse and the two viewpoints overlooking the sea, from which you can admire breathtaking views of the beautiful bays and beaches below, the Aeolian Islands and the Strait of Messina.
Note: In spring and late summer, in the evening it is possible to admire truly unique sunsets (I Tramonti di Ulisse) as the sun “sets” in the crater of the Stromboli volcano (which is often smoking).
2. Nicotera, the historic centre and the panoramas
After taking the panoramic Ricadi – Joppolo road, you reach Nicotera, with its historical and cultural traditions, its castle and panoramic balcony, its town centre rich in history and the cradle of the Mediterranean Diet.
Places of interest include the eighteenth-century castle, the Giudecca district (i.e., the Jewish ghetto) built during the era of Frederick II, the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Archaeological Museum.
The eleventh-century cathedral, the old Bishop’s Palace, numerous views, granite portals, noble palaces and stone fountains.
There is a particularly fascinating panorama that can be admired both from the Madonna della Scala and from the balcony “behind the castle“, where your gaze passes beyond the Marina di Nicotera underneath, with its kilometre-long beach and golden sand, reaching the last stretch of the Tyrrhenian coast (the Costa Viola) of Calabria and up to Scilla and Aspromonte, then the side of Sicily with the Strait of Messina, Punta Faro, the majestic Etna volcano, which is visible on clearer days, and the Aeolian Islands further north.
3. Zungri, the museum and the rocky caves
From Nicotera, continue towards Zungri, crossing the Poro plateau, to visit the Museum of Rural Life and the Zungri caves.
Once you have reached the historic centre of Zungri, take a small road that leads to the Rock Settlement “The Zungri Caves“, an urban complex of cave houses carved into the rock that dates back to the twelfth to fourteenth centuries
The settlement consists of around one hundred caves, of various sizes and shapes, occupying an area of about 3000 square metres. It is considered unique in Calabria.
At the top of the road, at the entrance to the rock settlement, it is possible to visit the Museum of Rural Life.
The Museum houses a rich collection of objects from traditional local culture from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, located in three rooms and organised into different thematic sections, including: agriculture, weaving, forging, clothes and domestic furnishings.
Tropea, the pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea
After Zungri, cross the Poro plateau to reach Tropea and its historic centre, with its many small streets and churches, noble palaces and granite portals, white beaches and crystal-clear sea.
Once you have reached Tropea, which is known as “the Pearl of the Tyrrhenian“, the historic centre is worth a visit. The seventeenth-century urban structure is almost entirely preserved, with Corso Vittorio Emanuele and narrow alleys full of history, typical shops and restaurants, the Norman cathedral and numerous churches. The tall noble palaces of past centuries give it a royal look, and the views of the white beaches below and the clear water of the sea offer an extraordinary panorama and truly unique sunsets (I Tramonti di Ulisse). (I Tramonti di Ulisse).
The church of Santa Maria dell’Isola is located on a cliff/islet directly on the beach. A staircase leads up to the church, behind which there is a well-kept garden with paths that lead to terraces overlooking the sea, making it a very romantic place.
Discover the Itinerary of Flavours
Calabria is a land of authentic flavours and villages rich in history, with culture going back thousands of years and a great tradition of gastronomy based on olive oil. Above all, it is far away from the overly crowded routes and offers different kinds of experiential and food and wine tourism. Discover the Tour of Flavours
