Read with normal speed, please. Don't worry about the names of the places as they are Italian names...just pronounce them as you would normally pronounce them.
Calabria is not just any place. Calabria is a strong land, a land of many contradictions yet it
has a warm and pure heart which never allows those fortunate enough to have visited to leave
without lasting memories. Calabria lingers in one's soul for a lifetime. It is made of sea and
mountains, of grey-green colors that stand out upon the azure of the sea, of lunar landscapes
and full, rich culinary tastes. It is decidedly a place that on must learn to know and respect
before falling hopelessly in love with it. Usually, tourists who spend time in this region can
be divided into two categories: those who love the mountains and those who love the sea. The
first group can discover and explore the Apennine mountain range while the second group can
enjoy more than 700 kilometers of coastline harmoniously alternating between sand beaches and
pebble beaches, boulders and cliffs, bays and long sand bars...but let's visit these places one
by one. Costa dei Cedri: this is the nothern-most part of Calabria's Tyrrhenian coast. Its name
is taken from the citron groves that can be found inland and which act as a frame around the
beaches and the superb rocky cliffs that offer unforgettable diving, especially near Cittadella
del Capo. Following the coastline to the south, there is an interplay of small beaches with
sudden white-sand bays all the way to Capo Vaticano where huge half-submerged boulders stand out
against the turquoise-colored sea and against an expanse of Mediterranean vegetation. Farther
south one encounters the cost Viola - the violet coast. It owes its name to the changing colors
of the sea. Leaving the strait behind, one finds Capo Spartivento, where dolphins play. The sea
changes as we move from the Tyrrhenian into the Ionian. The coast becomes less developed and
more severe, offering the visitor unforgettable views. One mustn't miss the Golfo di Squillace
with its white granite beaches or the beaches with soft sand and rocky cliffs which, in certain
places, resemble the Amalfi Coast. In Capo Rizzuto then, the sand gives way to a rocky landscape
so rich in natural beauty that it has been set aside as a Marine Reserve. We come next to Capo
Spulico which is yet another precious gift of nature to be experienced.