BADOLATO
The town is located on a hill 340 meters above sea level. Badolato, a suggestive middle-age “village” with typical Bizantine Architecture and several churches among characteristic narrow streets as ancient ways around. It lies on the hills, overlooking the Ionian sea.
Badolato importance and deep religious and spiritual history are represented by its 13 churches and 17th century Convento Santa Maria degli Angeli, once a monastery. Some say that its possible that the Holy Grail was transported here and may still be buried underground. In 1070, a group of Calabrian monks went to France and established the Ordre de Sion.
Thanks to the local tradition and hospitality unique to the population of Badolato, this is a wonderful corner of Calabria for all those that want to enjoy a healthy climate, ancient culture, folklore and wonders of nature. Situated in a strategic position in the Calabrian territory, Badolato offers all visitors the opportunity to move around freely. The beach, the hills, the mountains and the lake are all within a few minutes drive.
You will find Badolato to be a self-sufficient town. Conveniently located on either Piazza Castello or the main street, Corso Umberto I, are three cafes, two small grocery stores, a butcher, and a tobacco shop. Also, every Tuesday morning there is a buzz in the piazza as a farmers market full of fresh produce, linens, shoes, and more is set up.
ISCA SULLO IONIO
Isca sullo Jonio is located between the Ionian Sea and the Serre Mountains in Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot. The town is located on a hill 240 meters above sea level. The origins of Isca, like those of many other Calabrian villages, are lost in the legend and are still mysterious because no documents about its foundation have ever been found. Its origin is Greek and was founded, for the first time, in a place called Sanagasi, at a short distance to the sea. This place was abandoned because of Saracen raids and replaced by the present one on the Vallescura torrent, which is more hidden and was less subject to pirate attacks. The village rests on a sandy hill, surrounded by east facing mountains allowing you to see the Ionian Sea.
There are historical documents that explain why all the villages near the sea were abandoned. In the ninth century, the inhabitants - terrified by numerous Muslim attacks fled inland, to safer and more easily defensible places. Periodically, local actors perform dressed in ancient Roman costumes. They reenact the play, St. Marziale's life and martyrdom, according to a script written at the end of the nineteenth century by an anonymous author.
It is rich in springs, and its climate boasts warm summers, and mildly cold winters. The lower part is cultivated with olive-trees, mulberry-trees, fig-trees and vines. The upper part has chestnut-trees, oak-trees, holm-oaks and beeches. There are also many granite caves.
SANT'ANDREA APOSTOLO DELLO IONIO
Sant’Andrea is a real terrace over the sea that highlights the Gulf of Squillace, with its extremes of Capocolonna and Punta Stilo. S. Andrea is an area of great tourist attraction: this town boasts distinguishing old and narrow streets, and a myriad of ancient monuments such as the Byzantine frescoes of the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Campo, and the impressive Torre dell'Orologio in Piazza Castello, bastion of the ancient castle of Sant'Andrea. In the Navy of the country, can be admired the enchanting pine forest, a place of frequent excursions, because its immediate surroundings are full of extraordinary things, among which deserve to be highlighted as such offers dall'Alaca, with the green of the woods it goes through, with small waterfalls (the so-called "waterfalls"), which at one point he interrupted the course.
To visit The Grangia Carthusian, elegant loggia enclosed by a colonnade of granite; the majestic entrance gate, the cloister and interior furnishings. The beautiful ancient buildings including Palazzo Damiani dates back to the goal 'of 1500 and is' designed and built by craftsmen stonemasons who were headed back to the Charterhouse of Serra San Bruno, with a magnificent portal carved in granite. The clock tower with a quadrangular base of medieval origin, the church of S. Andrea eleventh century with some paintings and numerous wall paintings, the statue of the Protector, dated around 1000 and the wonderful staircase in granite stone. The Museum of Memories.