Based in Guardavalle Marina, within an hour's drive you reach Magna Graecia, Byzantine villages, waterfalls and a Charterhouse.
The position is strategic: Guardavalle is the last town of the Catanzaro province, bordering the Locride area and close to the Serre mountains. In a week you can alternate beach and trips without ever driving more than an hour. Times and distances are by car from the Marina.
The village of the twelve towers, the Sirleto palaces and the waterfall on the Assi stream with its natural pool.
Learn moreThe Achaean colony at Punta Stilo: the Doric temple, the baths and the great Hellenistic mosaic of dragons and dolphins, with a museum next to the digs.
One of Italy's most beautiful villages and the home town of Tommaso Campanella. The Cattolica, a five-domed Byzantine church from the 10th century, is the icon of Byzantine Calabria.
The nativity-scene village: stacked houses, thirteen churches and flagstone alleys. In December a living nativity turns it into a natural stage.
The Pearl of the Ionian: the protected seahorse bay, the white beach, shops and evening life. In the cathedral, Antonello Gagini's Pietà of 1521.
The Carafa castle perched above the sea, eight kilometres of sand and the Porto delle Grazie marina: one of the Locride's long-standing Blue Flags.
The highest waterfall in Calabria: a 114 metre drop on the Stilaro river. Reach it with a two hour walk from Bivongi or by off-road shuttle.
The mountain town of the Charterhouse founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne. The monastery cannot be visited, but its museum tells Carthusian life across twenty-two rooms.
Centuries-old beech woods in the Serre park and the Bourbon hunting lodge that once anchored the kingdom's ironworks, now heart of an industrial-heritage ecomuseum.
The ceramics village: artisan workshops beneath the Norman castle of 1044, whose museum keeps the two embracing skeletons known as the lovers.
The national archaeological park of the great Greek colony: walls, sanctuaries, the 4th century BC theatre and the museum.
One of Italy's most beautiful villages, founded by refugees from Locri. Its Norman cathedral is the largest church in Calabria. Pairs well with Locri, ten minutes away.
An hour and three quarters away is Reggio Calabria with the Riace Bronzes at the National Archaeological Museum: the two Greek warriors were found in 1972 in the sea off Riace, along this very coast. Catanzaro, the regional capital of the province, is just under an hour away.
Indicative driving times from the Marina in normal traffic: in summer the SS106 can be slower. Check opening days and hours of parks and museums on official channels.
Casa Morello is our seafront B&B: apartments of 80 or 160 square metres, made for families and groups.
The B&B