Quinto Giorno/Day 5

Capo Vaticano & Tropea

• Breakfast / Colazione… and off to Capo Vaticano and Tropea e il mare che brilla! (where the sea shimmers)

• Capo Vaticano is a majestic granite promontory and probably one of the most ancient formations in the Mediterranean basin. Today it is an ecological sanctuary and in the Magna Grecia it was also a sacred destination. Two hundred meters off the cape there is a rock called “Il Mantineo” and from there a prophetess called Manto worked the oracle. Sailors would visit the cave to seek predictions about their journeys. We will also walk by Giuseppe Berto’s house and garden. The fact that a respected writer like Berto chose Capo Vaticano as his residence and wrote about its beauty lends it a literary cachet. He was also a fierce advocate for the preservation of the Capo and the rural architecture of Calabria, shielding it from unchecked development in the 60’s and 70’s that altered forever great extents of the Italian coast with cement buildings.

• Before heading to Tropea, we will stop briefly at the Giardino degli Dei, a curated park on the Belvedere dei Cannoni made up of shrubs and aromatic plants endemic to the Mediterranean. The garden is a veritable Eden overlooking the Tyrrenean sea.

• Tropea was named 'Italy's most beautiful village' in 2021. The town's historic centre with its narrow lanes and the faded glamour of its once-grand palazzos is perched on a rugged cliffside overlooking the Sea. From the center, there are great views of the monastery Santa Maria dell'Isola, which sits on top of a steep, rocky outcrop which was formerly an island.

• Explore Tropea’s historic center or spend time relaxing at the beach. Be sure to visit the Norman cathedral with arched cloisters. In one of the side chapels, there is a Byzantine icon of the Madonna of Romania, who is said to have protected the town from earthquakes.

• Dinner / Cena in Tropea

• Return to Popillia