February is the month of love and I have decided to write about one of the subjects I love on this blog while writing about wine, art. Often when on a press trip, or visiting wineries or regions on my own, I make a huge effort to understand the local culture and to visit local museums. I have been fortunate enough to travel all over Italy and have seen many of the amazing artistic treasures Italy has to offer. Some are the most famous of objects, and others are smaller gems that I seek out.

The two gentleman in the picture above, are known as Le Bronze di Riace. Two larger than life bronze gods that are now housed in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia museum in Reggio Calabria. in Calabria. When I visited this museum. I could hardly tear myself away from them. In fact, I organized an entire trip around these two stunning examples of greek warriors. The sculptures were found by a scuba diver off the Calabrian coast in the 1970s. What a find! It’s hard to understand why it took so long to undercover these sculptures from 400 BC. If you go there, you’ll see what I mean. The waters off the coast of Reggio, near Scilla, the home of a monster in Greek mythology, were some of the clearest I have seen anywhere in Italy, including Sardegna, no small feat. The sea, the food and wine and those two gods make Reggio an interesting place to visit.

If you’ve had any wine from Calabria, its probably been made with Gaglioppo, their signature red grape variety. Gaglioppo, is thought to be of Greek origins. The Greeks, in fact, played a large part in the early settlements in Calabria. Ciro and Ciro Classico are probably the most famous of the denominazione d’origine controllata (D.O.C.) areas of Calabria. Wines from Ciro and Ciro Classico are typically made with Gaglioppo. This region, as we know, is one of the most Southern Italian regions located in the “toe” of the Italian boot.
The core of the Ciro production is located in the towns of Cirò, Cirò Marina and Melissa. These ancient towns are located near the Ionic coast and benefit from wonderful sun and cooling breezes. They are not completely flat areas but instead have gentle rolling hills. The soil is a mix of clay, sand and calcareous deposits.

The white wines in Calabria are often made from Greco Bianco, a grape brought to Calabria during the period of the Magna Grecia. It works well in times of drought, perfect for this region.

On another note, in addition to the wines and the art in Calabria, a comment about the food is that it is home to some of the world’s most famous peperoncino. They put it in everything and while this site says it’s not that spicy, I beg to differ. It was very spicy for me, delicious but spicy. I always find in hot climates, the peperoncino is very spicy and helps you to cool off, oddly enough. It was very hot when I visited Calabria last and I went to the beaches but also kept peperocino with me when I needed a pick me up if it got to hot.

The other food from Calabria that I found fascinating was the Bergamotto. This citrus fruit is used in a variety of ways – as an essential element in many perfumes, as a celebratory fruit in Jewish ceremonies, and as an element in baking.

If you can visit wineries, eat great food, see the Bronzi di Riace and also swim in that beautiful sea at the same time, I think you will feel very satisfied with a trip to Calabria, a feast for the stomach, the heart and the soul.