Calabria > The Tirreno Coastline

The Tirreno Coastline

Proceeding southwards, the Tirreno coastline winds it’s way down from Basilicata to Reggio Calabria for over 300 km. Steep cliffs and white beaches amongst a landscape of olive trees, fruit groves and vineyards, lookout towers line the coast, once used for defence against pirates and barbaric north Africans; and then we have the caves, jagged walls of rock and arches descending into the sea, the island of Dino emerges with it’s winding paths over a sparkling sea, little coves of azure waters lapped up by the Mediterranean landscape, and just inland, lemon cultivations, the citrus fruit typical of Calabria, whilst small villages appear clustering onto the cliffs which dominate the sea. The Tirreno coast in all its splendour offers ideal conditions for lovers of skin diving with geological rock stacks and reef many meters high. On nearing Reggio Calabria the coast assumes, at sunset, so many different tonalities of colour that it well deserves it’s given name the Violet Coast, the fishing industry of tuna and swordfish, to be found abundantly in the sea, has since long provided an important resource for the economy of the region, while, on higher ground the Mediterranean landscape and palm trees stretch out into a territory which, in ancient times was once a theatre for many legends and myths.