Places of Interest

The Doric column of Hera's sanctuary on Capo Lacinio, Crotone

The Doric column of Hera's sanctuary on Capo Lacinio, Crotone

The Doric column of Hera's sanctuary on Capo Lacinio, Crotone

We want your stay at Palazzo Pizzo Residence to be most enjoyable!

Whether you want to relax or explore Pizzo and nearby places of interest in Calabria, we are happy to give you our personal advise. We have compiled a little guide book about Pizzo for our guest, but most of it you can read in my introduction 

Pizzo Guide

 - and here:

What to do in PIZZO

- read our

introduction "Pizzo Guide"

- watch

some videos

about Pizzo and the area

- visit Castello Aragonese Murat

- visit some churches in Pizzo, we have 10!

- visit the most unusual church, Chiesa di Piedigrotta (take the Ape taxi or car)

- join a guided Pizzo walking tours with Anna from

Dolce Vita di Pizzo

 (April, June-September) or just discover the alleys by yourself

- take a cooking class with Giovanna (upon appointment)

- improve your Italian, take language lessons with Carmen (depending on availability)

- boat trip,

gozzo

type, departure Vibo Marina to Piedigrotta Beach and back (depending on weather)

- visit some artists in their studio

- jog or power walk around the village and along the beaches

Where are the BEACHES

-

Pizzo Marina

(with several little beaches, but nearest from the residence within just 10 minutes walk is the beach below the

castello

; not serviced (bring our umbrella and beach towel), two sweet water showers and nearby bars and pizzerie).

-

Pizzo Piedigrotta

(to reach within 3 minutes by car or Ape Taxi, flat water, nice for little kids, can be combined with a visit of the Church Piedigrotta, a curiosity of Pizzo).

-

Pizzo Marinella

(by car, 8 min., for beach walkers, more tourists than locals)

-

Vibo Marina, Proserpina

(by car 8 min, serviced with sun chairs, umbrellas and music...)

-

Vibo Marina, La Vela

(by car 10 min, serviced, behind the harbour, deeper water, waves)

-

Briatico, Punto Safo

(by car, 15-20 min., waves, old ruin of the

torre di Briatico

)

-

Sant' Irene

(by car, 20-25 min, follow the sign 'Briatico' and then 'Sant' Irene')

-

Paradiso del Sub

, Zambrone (by car, 23-30 min, plus hiking, worth to see, park at train station)

-

Tropea

, (by car 35 min) below the city, crowded in summer but nice back drop

-

Capo Vaticano

, (by car 50 min) very crowded in summer, but worth to see

LOCAL MARKETS

(

see location and time

)

Pizzo on Thursdays above via Nazionale

Vibo Marina on Mondays

Vibo Valentia on Saturdays

DAY TRIPS

- Tropea

- Scilla :

A day trip to Scilla

- Seminara : Read "

A fish from Seminara

"; see

link

 for photos on our FB site

- Gerace

- Soverato

- Serra San Bruno

- Reggio Calabria (take the train)

- Stilo

- Rossano, Ciro, Le Castella

Eolie Islands (Lipari, Vulcano, Panarea, Stromboli):

There are day trips to the island of Stromboli via ferry from Vibo Marina (the port is 4km, 7 min drive from Pizzo) starting at 7.30am and back at around 8.00pm.

The first stop might be at Vulcano (or Panarea depending on the itinerary). After that you will land in Lipari, where you are free to explore the picturesque little town and have time for lunch. In the afternoon you will continue to the island of Stromboli. Here you can discover the village and the black vulcano beach.

There are also tours starting in Tropea. The transfer by boat is about 1h shorter as it is located closer to the island. On Thursdays there is a "Stromboli by night" tour.

You would need to spend the night on Stromboli if you want to hike the vulcano. Guided climbing tours usually start at 5pm and you are back around midnight at your accommodation in Stromboli. The ferry round trips to Stromboli can be interrupted for 1 or 2 nights (ask the operator when buying your ticket to reconfirm). Please note, the ferries run only when weather conditions allow. On clear days you can see Stromboli from our residence in Pizzo.

Sila National Park

Aspromonte National Park

MORE ACTIVITIES

when it's raining:

visit a museum, read a book

for historians and archaeologists:

museum in Vibo Valentia and Reggio Calabria

for artists and gallery lovers:

Pizzo attracts artists, find the studio of Antonio La Gamba (Papa Parking), Antonio Montesanti's EOS Ceramica (in piazza), Francesca Procoppio's Studiolo Home Gallery (main road)

for kids:

visit artists in their studio and get creative (see above)

WINTER:

Skiing in Calabria

Winter in Calabria

(blog post)

Ski Etna

DISTANCES :

from:

Pizzo Calabro (VV)

to:

  • Lamezia International Airport (26 km, 30 min)

  • Vibo Marina port (4 km, 7 min)

  • Vibo Valentia (12 km, 20 min)

  • Briatico, Punto Safo Beach (about 15 km, 20 min)

  • Tropea (28 km, 32 min)

  • Capo Vaticano (about 40 km, 50 min)

  • Serra San Bruno (42 km, 45 min)

  • Catanzaro (via A3, SS280 60 km, 50 min)

  • Seminara (via A3 65 km, 50 min)

  • Scilla (via A3 83 km, 60 min)

  • Soverato (via SS182 65 km, 1h15)

  • Reggio Calabria airport (via A3, 104 km, 1h15)

  • Stilo (via SS110, 79 km, 1h23 min)

  • Gerace (SS18, SS11 90 km, 1h30)

  • Gambarie (Aspromonte National Park), (A3/E45, 96 km, 1h30) <-- skiing! *

  • Camigliatello Silano (Sila National Park), (A3/E45, 123 km, 1h33) <-- skiing!*

  • Messina, Sicily (via A3 and ferry 105 km, about 2h)

  • Taormina / Etna, Sicily (via A3 and ferry about 155 km, 2h 1/2 - 3h)

  • Catania, Sicily airport (via A3/E45 and A18/E45, 196 km, about 3 h, including ferry)

  • STROMBOLI, Eolie Islands (80 km, up to 12h, see Day Trips above)

  • Amalfi, Positano (via A3 365 km, about 4h) - or take the fast train to Salerno (2 1/1h only!)

  • Napoli airport (via A3 405 km, about 4h)

GUIDEBOOK

With your booking you will receive a little "Guidebook" compiled by us for your stay in Pizzo. You will find our and guests' recommendations for bars, restaurants, beaches, day trips as well as important phone number, detailed directions and more.

Christmas time in Pizzo!


Natale in Pizzo
 

The photo that Angelo sent me last night is so beautiful that I changed our facebook page cover for the first time to share the Christmas feeling in the South of Italy.

This week the temperatures are from 6 degree (lowest during night) up to 15 degree Celsius during the day. Winter clothes and heating is definitely required as occasional rain and wind make it feel more chilly.

 
This year's festive illumination (luminarie) in Pizzo is especially beautiful. On December 8, with the fiesta of the "immaculate conception", the day Italians traditionally decorate their homes for Christmas, a procession took place in Pizzo's piazza. I shared a photo and a link on Facebook. Click below and read more about this special day in Italy: 



Pizzo in April

"Questo mare e pieno di voci e questo cielo e pieno di visioni"

 - Pizzo Marina

We had a wonderful time in Pizzo this April. The first days, it was rainy and cold, and when the wind blows it feels even much colder. But after a few days the sun came out and spring was back. Without wind it then feels even warmer! We enjoyed lovely 20 degrees and up.

Everyday we saw people at the beach, even locals were sunbathing, and of course the usual crazy tourists from the Northern Europe who jump fearless in the beautiful clear turquoise but ice cold sea. Our son was one of them. With lots of aaah and iiihh screams he bravely swam at Pizzo Marina and even at La Seggiola, where the water was cleaner than ever without the usual little fishing boats around.

We enjoyed relaxing days in Pizzo, cleaning and ventilating the house, eating at la Nonna's house, trying the first

tartufo

ice cream of the season, inviting friends for dinner, reading books, spending a great time with visitors from Germany, going on little excursions, opening the boating season, buying local olive oil, making new friends, and participating in the Holy Week's Easter Processions.

We also went fishing, but the kids realised that they don't want to kill any of the caught fishes. We had to liberate the poor creatures (to my content) or the children would not touch any cooked or grilled fish at dinner. :-)

rainy April days in Pizzo

harbour project is still on ice ...

Spring in Calabria with little yellow flowers and olive trees

brave kids swimming at la Seggiola and Pizzo Marina

a reading session in the warm sun - warmer than inside the house!

a morning walk to the

commune

and stunning view of Pizzo from above

discovering a new great little restaurant in piazza: Il Cappero Rosso

best pizza in town at Il Cappero Rosso (photo: "Pizza Nera")

Beneditione

on Palm Sunday in piazza

most impressive the

'Affrundata

procession on Holy Thursday night from Dome San Giorgio to Chiesa San Sebastiano in Pizzo, centro storico

bye bye Calabria - with window seats on the left we spotted Capri and Ischia and Ostia antica near Rome. On a clear day, the vulcanos Stromboli and Etna (Sicily) can be seen as well.

During our stay in Pizzo, I posted on

our Facebook page

some more photos and videos. Check it out if you like. - One more month and we will be back in town! A presto!

Pizzo Calabro on TV and Youtube (selected videos)

Recently, on a Sunday morning, CC came across a YouTube video about Pizzo. He called us and we all gathered around him and looked at the laptop screen. Amazed, we wanted to go back right away to this humble village on the sea!

Curious what else is about Pizzo Calabro on YouTube, I started a research.

I have to say there are not many professional clips about Pizzo on YouTube, which is typical for Pizzo. It's a humble little city that could do much better regarding "quality tourism", but on the other hand, its simplicity is its charm.

Below, I want to share some clips that I liked. If there are comments, they are in Italian, which sets you in the right mood - even if you don't understand the language.

The first clip is my favorite. It makes me want to go right back. It gives a brief overview of the picturesque historic centre of Pizzo. The large port that you can see from a bird perspective in the beginning of the video shows Vibo Marina, which is about 4 km further South. Since the video is about 4 years old, it does not show the harbor project of Pizzo itself. Can you identify our palazzo ? :

The next clip, also by uomoinmare, takes you on a ride from Punta Safo, south of Vibo Marina to Capo Suvero, North of Lamezia with short stops in Vibo Marina and Pizzo. You can see the endless "wild" beaches and crystal clear turquoise sea.

The video below about Pizzo produced for Italian TV RAI features the castello and three churches:

And then of course, if you don't know already by now, Pizzo is most famous for its tartufo ice cream. And here is one of many videos that shows how its made featuring Franco from Gelateria Ercole:

Pizzo has an amazing number of churches (10!) but the most unusual one is the Chiesa Piedigrotta . See this video by Linea Blu, RAI uno (2006):

And another favorite of mine is this video by Raggio di Sole (a la scoperta del paradise Calabria) that includes an interview with our young and very charming major Gianluca Callipo. Together they stroll through the alleys of our neighborhood in Quartiere Carmine (pavement under restoration at that time). And if you are patient enough, at minute 16.08 you see our palazzo and my much beloved blaconccino gets a mention. Also our neighbors of the Piccolo Grand Hotel are visited. Produced and aired in Summer 2013:

If you have difficulties seeing the above videos,  click on the YouTube button (below right) of each video and try to see it on YouTube directly... and don't get lost with all the other recommended videos ;-)

Winter in Calabria

Camigliatello in La Sila National Park, Calabria

So far this blog was all about renovating and decorating a Beach House.

Now, we did it. Okay, it still needs some improvements and probably constant re-renovation work - but mainly we are done. And we are really happy with the result.

Strangely, when I saw the latest interior magazine AD during our skiing holidays in Europe, with lots of snow outside, and all these cozy homes and restaurants in the mountains with wooden fires inside ... I started dreaming ...

Sounds crazy, I know. - Shouldn't I focus on our beach house?

But then I remembered, that Calabria has not only 800 km of coast line to offer. Calabria is quiet hilly and has mountains up to 2,000 meters high above sea level. And when it snows, you can ski! Yes, there are a few ski lifts!

The most important "ski resorts" in Calabria are Camigliatello and Villaggio Palumbo in La Sila and Gambarie in Aspromonte. Both mountainous regions are National Parks.
 
Pizzo --> Sila  app. 120 km and 1,5h drive (via Google Map)

La Sila is about 120 km North of Pizzo and the Aspromonte about 100 km South.  We could reach a ski resort from Pizzo in aobut 1,5 hours drive ! 

From the sea to the mountains in no time. The highest mountain in Sila, Botte Donato (1,928 m) is covered with snow right now. Information about snow levels at Camigliatello via Skiinfo. There are two ski lifts only, but this will do for us when in Calabria in winter!

This is an excellent reason to push forward the installation of a chimney in our beach house. We could drink hot teas and wine in front of the wooden fire after a day skiing up in the mountains. :-)

And I really enjoyed this magazine, especially the featured home of Aerin Lauder in Aspen.

AD German Edition Dec/Jan 2012

Living room of Aerin Lauder's Aspen home


Wishing you all the best for 2012!