Ortigia – Syracusa’s Stunning Island
Ortigia – Syracusa’s Stunning Island The ancient island of Ortigia has many delights. The Fountain of Diana in the Archimedes Square on Ortigia Island. Syracusa
Tropea - Sea, Sand and The Blues
Tropea is a small town on the Calabrian coast of Italy boasting sunny beaches, traditional life and an annual blues music festival.
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Explore Tropea
Tropea, a great place to spend a wonderful couple of days. A little town on the South West coast of Italy. Tropea is perched on the cliffs above the sea.
Atop a separated outcrop of rock is the the Chiesa dell’Isolla, and from this small santuary’s vantage point you can get a good view of the town and the coastline.
The village is enchanting. Narrow twisting lanes where you can shake your opposite neighbour’s hand without leaving your own doorway, small family-run ‘ristorante’ where the service and the food is good, alley ways to explore and discover, and bars where you can rest and recover.
The town has a helpful information centre and a good map to help you find the features of its (perhaps in terms of its architecture) more affluent past. Several grand doorways (porticos) are featured on the map and we spent this afternoon seeking them out.
We stayed at a hotel on the port, so to visit the town we had to climb the stairway that zig zags up the cliff front. The tourist season is almost over and most of the ristorante and souvenir shops will close at the end of September. Some of the streets we have to ourselves and the prices are starting to fall as the tourists thin out.
Tonight’s meal started with bruschetta, followed by swordfish for Jen and calamari for me with a shared mixed salad and a litre of vino rosso locale (the local red and this one wasn’t bad at all). The olive oil we poured over the salad was superb.
We will remember Tropea. On our first morning here we were woken by the sound of the goat herd running below our balcony, the neck bells of the leaders clanging to encourage the stragglers to keep up.
And The Blues?
One of the most notable cultural features of Tropea is its music.
From the melancholic melodies of traditional Calabrian folk music to the soulful strains of classical Italian opera, the town’s musical landscape is diverse and rich.
In fact, Tropea hosts an annual blues music festival where local and international musicians gather to showcase their talents.
The Festival is usually held over a couple of weeks in September/October each year. Check out their website for more detail.
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