A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON CALABRIA & TUSCANY

CALABRIA

is the southern most region of Italy, the ankle and toe of the Italian "boot" – a rugged peninsula where grapevines, fig and olive trees cling to arid mountainsides, and where the timeless sea crashes against the cliffs and beaches of its long and intricate coastline, which faces east, south and west all at once.

It's true that the Calabrese are not quite ready for masses of English-speaking tourists. Indeed, you won't find too many people who converse confidently in English. Nor will you find many signs printed in English, or be able to buy English books, newspapers or magazines. But, then so what?, it is true that Spain was like this forty or so years ago. 

History

In the 8th century BC Calabria became a colony of the Greeks, who founded the cities of Reggio Calabria, Sibari and Crotone. Then in the 4th century BC it was occupied by the Bruttii, who during the Punic wars sided with Hannibal against the Romans. In 132 BC it was conquered by the Romans and included in the Third Region as Brutium, while the name Calabria was used only for the Salento Peninsula.

After the Roman Empire was split into Western and Eastern (with capital Byzantium), Calabria stayed under the Byzantines until the Lombards occupied it in the 7th century AD. In 885 the Byzantine general Niceforo Foca defeated Lombards and Saracens recovering the region.

Later on it was conquered by the Normans (1060), then by the Swabians, the Anjou and the Aragonese, under whose domination there were peasants' riots in 1459 and the famous rebellion led by Tommaso Campanella in 1599. The Spanish occupation was especially tyrannical for the region, and the 19th century saw the rise of patriot movements (the Carboneria) and riots, until in 1860 the population rose to support Garibaldi after he landed with his "red shirts" at Melito.

Calabria was then united to the newly established Kingdom of Italy. The decades that followed saw an increase in poverty and emigration, also due to the great disparity between the rich industrial regions of Northern Italy and the agricultural, poorer South.
But now... Calabria is reclaiming its past glory and pride, tired of being the forgotten and neglected part of Italy it grew accustomed to being during the last 500 years or so and ready to transform itself into a premier destination. It's got everything going for it.
When you come to the "new" Calabria, you will be dumbfounded by its scenery - whether you stay up in the mountains, or find your way along the winding coastal highways, to Calabria's seaside towns and beaches. You will find resorts, hotels, inns, hostels, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, lidos and tourist parks, of every quality and degree, catering to people with small, medium or large budgets.

Food

The ancient Greeks lived and dined more lavishly in Calabria than in any other part of Magna Græcia. But the mountainous toe of the Italian boot remained isolated and poor for centuries after, as its cooking took on the tasty integrity of a country tradition.
Calabrians have an appetite for hefty soups and pastas laden with vegetables, headed by eggplants, peppers and tomatoes and ranging on through artichokes, asparagus, potatoes, beans and peas. The red onions of Tropea, a town on the Tyrrhenian coast, are renowned for aroma and flavor. The lofty Sila range between Cosenza and Catanzaro abounds in mushrooms, including the prized porcini.

Wine

Calabria, which forms the toe of the Italian boot, is a predominately mountainous region with marked variations in microclimates between the sunny coastal hills along the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas and the chilly heights of the Sila and Aspromonte massifs. Two grape varieties of Greek origin dominate, Gaglioppo in red wines, Greco in whites, though the types of wine they make can vary markedly from one place to another.
Calabria's best-known wine is Cirò, which grows in low hills along the Ionian coast between the ancient Greek cities of Sybaris and Kroton (Sibari and Crotone today). Local legend has it that Cirò descended directly from Krimisa, the wine Calabrian athletes drank to celebrate victory in an early Olympiad.

Art

The region has a rich heritage of remains from the local artistic civilization. Archaeological excavations have brought to light ancient colonies in Sibari, Crotone, Catanzaro, Locri, Vibo Valentia. In Cosenza and Reggio Calabria, we can find remains of the Roman Age, such as baths, theaters and bridges. The religious buildings show Byzantine influences, dating back to the period when the region was part of the Empire of Byzantium. The Gothic style had a large diffusion during the thirteenth century. The Renaissance style is present in the paintings. The Baroque influence can be seen in several monuments.

Museums

Catanzaro's Provincial Museum houses outstanding relics, from the Neolithic period to the Greek-Roman Age, and a remarkable collection of coins. In Reggio Calabria, the National Museum holds one of the most important archaeological collections in Italy: Paleolithic, Byzantine and Arab art, relics of the Bronze and Iron Ages, tomb outfits, pictorial tables and the world famous Bronzes of Riace, the two great bronze statues of warriors of the fifth century B.C. In Cosenza, one can visit the Museo Interdiocesano, with the treasure of the Cathedral, and the Civic Museum with prehistoric bronzes, Paleolithic manufactured goods and instruments.

TUSCANY

Lines of cypresses breaking the horizon, serried rows of vines and olive groves … this is the ordered paradise painted by Leonardi, Botticelli and Raphael. It could also be your new home.

 … about the region

Why do so many of us want to buy property in Tuscany? Ask a foreigner to paint a picture of Italy and it will probably emerge looking something like this beautiful region of central Italy. Stone farmhouses sit atop rolling green hills, gazing down upon a land cultivated since Roman times. Lines of cypresses break the horizon, while serried rows of grapevines and olive groves bear witness to the fecundity of the Tuscan soil.

Population is clustered in hamlets that date back to the early Middle Ages, in walled mediaeval hill towns, and in stunning Renaissance cities such as Lucca, Pisa, Florence and Siena.

Tuscany was the cradle of the Renaissance, with masters such as Piero della Francesca, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli living and painting here — the Tuscan hills crop up frequently in the works hanging in galleries such as Florence’s Uffizi. Writers such as Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio studied and wrote here. And Tuscany produces some of the world’s best food and wine — the Chianti region being a shrine for oenophiles. In fact, this could be a paradise on earth … so why not buy a home in Tuscany?

Why purchase real estate in Tuscany?

This happy marriage of town and country is what makes Tuscany work for British and American property seekers. When we’re looking for real estate for sale in Italy, we may want to get away from it all, but we still want access to roads, airports, shops … a little civilisation. Tuscany provides this. You can live in perfect tranquility in your mountain hideaway in the Garfagnana, or your restored farmhouse in Chianti yet still be a car ride from the supermarket, the beach, or indeed from the very chic shopping streets of Lucca or Siena.

A look at the history of Tuscany explains why it has emerged as such an appealing place for people to relocate to. The name of the region derives from the ancient inhabitants, the Etruscans (their lands were known as Etruria). Not much is known about them, with their language and civilisation brutally expunged by the all-conquering Romans, but they did found the towns of Fiesole, Cortona and Arezzo. Buy a home in the moodily atmospheric town of Volterra and you are living where the Etruscans lived millennia ago.
Florence, Siena, Lucca and Pisa

Roman policy was to colonise new lands by building towns settled by army veterans. Such a town was Florentia, founded by Julius Caesar in 59BC. It was to grow into Florence, Tuscany’s major town. The Romans also founded Siena, Lucca and Pisa — important trading towns then and now. With the fragmentation of the Empire, these cities evolved into city states.

The Middle Ages saw a bewildering series of internecine wars between the increasingly rich cities of Florence, Siena and Lucca. The Papacy, the aristocracy, the merchant class and the people all vied for power, with loyalties and alliances shifting with baffling speed. The cities were largely ruled by the big merchant and banking families (the Medici in Florence being a famous example), who bankrolled the wars and the arts — their patronage allowing the flowering of talent that was to become known as the Renaissance.

Tuscany today

What does this mean to anyone looking at real estate for sale in Tuscany today? Several things. These cities became city states early on; they have all the infrastructure, the social cohesion, the traditions that came with having to be, effectively, a little country, and they established these early on. And they walled themselves in, in defence against marauding neighbours (and from the Goths, Lombards, Franks and others who sought to pillage the riches of wealthy Tuscany).

Today Lucca, for instance, doesn’t need to worry about invasion from Florence, but it is left as a complete mediaeval city, with churches, cathedrals, homes, shops, squares and gardens in place, and unspoiled by the 21st century (or a few centuries before that). Everything is within walking distance, and the food and wine are produced in the farmlands around. It has the antique architecture you’re looking for in Italian property for sale, and it is picturesquely sheltered by a monolithic mediaeval wall. Nowhere do history and modern comforts sit so well together as in Tuscany.

Tuscany transport and communications

This is where the region really scores. For anyone wanting to buy a villa, farm or apartment in Tuscany, the proximity of the motorway network and major airports is a huge bonus. It can make an Italian development property a reality as a holiday home, can increase its attractiveness for holiday lets in Tuscany, and it can allow you to nip back when you’re missing the home country. Florence and Pisa are both major airports, with Pisa undergoing further expansion. Ryanair flies into Pisa, so it could be worth investing in a €10 ticket back to London just to stock up on teabags!

Tuscan food and wine

One of the delights for those who buy property in Tuscany is the cuisine. It’s nothing fancy — Tuscany is all about the freshest, seasonal ingredients brought quickly to the table with minimum preparation. Peasant fare such as crostini and bruschetta now grace the dinner tables of London as much as Lucca — how could anybody be this creative with a piece of toast, a swish of garlic and a drizzle of olive oil? Hearty, simple soups are concocted from colourful mixtures of beans, and the white cannelini beans are a dish in themselves, simply dressed with olive oil.

Cuts of meat are served plain, grilled, and sprinkled with fresh herbs, and there’s an extraordinary choice. Beef, pork and chicken are there of course, but so might be guinea fowl, rabbit, wild boar … even porcupine. There are deliciously sticky desserts, panforte and meltingly good macaroons and then there is the wine. Chianti Classico, Montepulciano, Montalcino … the list goes on and on.