Hello. Welcome to January 2024. Time flies when you are having fun. This month we visited a couple of beautiful towns in the hills of Calabria, celebrated our friend Justin’s birthday and went on walks along the beautiful Tyrrhenian sea.
Unfortunately the beginning of January was tarnished by both of us being ill with bad colds, so the first half of the month was quiet. But once we were better we needed to go out and get fresh air. So our ‘go to’ (even though we live near the sea in Scalea) is the Lungomare at Praia A Mare.
Praia A Mare is just a short drive north of Scalea. It has a great Lungomare (sea front) which is flat and has uninterrupted views of the sea, Dino Island, the coastline and towards to the Gulf of Policastro. If you didn’t know, John has a bad back so walking on a beach, especially a pebble one, is not good for him as it is not solid and he can twist his foot which can affect his back.
We go there quite a lot for a lovely walk. The lungomare goes from the beginning of Praia a Mare all the way to and through Tortora Marina, around 5.5km. It is a great place to go for a pretty long walk, run or cycle (as they have a dedicated cycle lane) with no interruptions. If you time it right you can join the locals taking their leisurely walk (passeggiata) on a Sunday, which is great.
Sangineto
While looking at the map app (as I do quite a bit) I saw a name of a seaside town called Sangineto Lido. I thought it would be nice to take a day trip there to see what it is about, so off we went.
As you enter the town you can see a castle called Castello del Principe (Prince’s Castle). This castle dates back to the 1400s and was used as a prison during the First World War. I am not sure it it is ever opened to visitors, it wasn’t when we visited, but part of the structure is covered in scaffolding and doesn’t look overly safe. But it is an interesting thing to see near the coast as most castles are up high.
Sangineto Lido looks to be mainly a tourist town as there weren’t many people around and most of the dwellings were empty. It has a nice lungomare with bars and restaurants which are now closed I guess until the summer. It was a beautiful sunny day so we had a lovely walk around.
As it is called Sangineto Lido there must be an old town and looking at the maps there is, way up in the hills. So off we went to have a look. Sangineto clings to the side of a mountain in the Pollino park it is amazing to see when approaching. On arrival there is basically one road through it and the rest of access are very steep steps either side. There is quite a large car park which was handy.
It is a small town with a population of just over 1,300 people. Whilst walking around we didn’t see a soul. It was 1pm so they all must have been at home having lunch. There was no bar or restaurant open that we saw. The town is lovely and the views from there are amazing. So if you want to walk around a sleepy town using the steep steps but amazing views, have a look if you are in the area, but maybe bring a picnic.
Birthday Boy
January is when it is Justin’s birthday. He wanted to celebrate it in a restaurant in Praia A Mare called La Piedigrotta. There was a good number of friends who attended. The food there is always good and the staff very friendly. John and I both had Fritto Misto (mixed fried sea food) with vegetables as a side, mine grilled and John’s fried. It was a lovely afternoon catching up with everyone and Justin received some lovely presents.
Fiumefreddo Bruzio
We decided to visit a place called Fiumefreddo Bruzio with Justin and Michael. It was on my radar for a while but we hadn’t been yet. Then Justin asked if we wanted a day trip somewhere so I suggested there as it should be OK for Michael because it looks like there are not many stairs. They were up for it.
Fiumefreddo Bruzio is a hill town one hour south of Scalea on the SS18 then up a winding hill road. It is part of the “I Borghi più belli d’Italia” association (The most beautiful villages in Italy) that promotes beautiful small Italian villages. The altitude is 220m/721ft above sea level and the population is 2,880.
It is indeed a beautiful unspoilt village and you feel you are going back in time. As you enter the gate there is the Santa Maria ad Adnexis church on the right with a huge door dating it at 1674, so this year it is 350 years old. Unfortunately it wasn’t open. When we arrived we stopped at a bar just around the corner called Il Localetto. I had a very tasty hot chocolate and everyone else had a coffee of some sort.
It is a great place to wander around and as there are very few steps it is easy to get around. There are a ridiculous amount of churches for the size of the town but all looked beautiful from the outside. We need to return when they open, whenever that is as we were there in the morning, so I can’t blame pausa pranzo.
I think the main attraction of this village is the castle ruin. The castle dates from the 1200s and then modernised in the 1500s. And like a lot of places on this coastline it was decimated by Napoleon’s troops in the early 1800s led by his brother Joseph.
There are parts of it where you can imagine the grandeur of rooms. It’s unfortunate that it was destroyed but it was a violent place then thanks to the Bonapartes.
The views from there are amazing, you really get to feel how high you are as it just goes straight out down to the sea level where the newer town is.
After seeing the castle, we wandered further around the town and came across the viewpoint which contains a sculpture of a Surfer Girl by Sicilian artist Salvatore Fiume. Quite unexpected.
There are a few pieces of modern art around this village so this is not as sleepy as it may seem.
Shops were open when we were there and people were about. Although no restaurant or church were. Oh well, on the way back to Scalea we stopped at a lovely restaurant on the lungomare of Paola called Atmosfera Versatile, John and I had been before so we thought it would be a good time to return and share our knowledge to Justin and Michael.
The weather this month started very cold with snow on the mountains with a few rainy days but ended with beautifully sunny days but cool nights. It feels like Spring is on its way.
Hope you enjoyed reading about our trips. It is great learning and sharing with you about this lovely.
Until next time
Alla prossima!
It was aa lovely month we had some really nice days out
Hi, Michelle! I’ve missed seeing you, John, Justin & Michael on their Prego Italia channel. John told me about your blog and I’m just now getting ’round to reading some of it. I hope both you and John are doing well.
Jon