Yes, we really believe we are a rather special country, a country where it is worth spending a holiday or at least a weekend. Follow us and we hope to be able to convince you.

So: we are a seaside town, with over 8 km of beach and a marina of almost 500 berths plus a dock for fishing boats. But we have a territory that climbs towards the Apennines up to 1100 meters of altitude. If you love the mountains, a half hour drive from Roccella you will find wonderful woods, rich in undergrowth and mushrooms and we  host  the oldest and most important Calabrian mycological circle.

We have a long history behind our backs, which dates back to the early Middle Ages and which made ours, until late 1800, the only inhabited center along the 250 kilometers of coastline between Crotone and Reggio Calabria. Roccella, in fact, placed on a fortified cliff, a few hundred meters from the sea, was impregnable for Saraceni and Barbareschi, whose raids in Calabria ended only with the beginning of the nineteenth century. There was therefore no need for its inhabitants to move to the heights of the interior.

You can, therefore, coming to Roccella, visit the imposing Castle, home for over three centuries of local feudal lords, the Carafa princes, and now being restored. Or you can enter the streets and alleys of the historic center, full of churches and palaces. But we are also a modern town, which lives in the present. Perhaps you know that here we have been organizing for 30 years one of the most important musical events in Italy, the Jazz Festival "Mediterranean Noises". Perhaps you do not know, however, that next to it there are many other concerts, theatrical performances, exhibitions and conferences that make this town a cultural center of sure respect. Surely you do not know that some productions, conceived and born in Roccella, have then toured Italy, like the famous exhibition on Boccioni pre-tourist of 1983, hosted at the National Museum of Palazzo Venezia in Rome, or the theatrical performances invited to the Venice Biennale.

By the way, which town of not even 7000 inhabitants has many entertainment facilities: a large 3000-seat outdoor theater, a very modern Auditorium of 700, a small theater of 80 and a splendid room of 200, not to mention the cinema? Do we want to continue?

So you know that we are, it is true, in the South more and more sunny, but it is also true that we never lack water, even when in summer the population is tripled and everyone makes showers to gogò. And know that we have a sewerage and purification system that does not fear comparisons with anyone else in Italy and allows us to have a crystal clear sea and to receive 8 year in a row prestigious awards such as the Blue Flag of the European Federation for Environmental Education and the 4 sails of Legambiente and Touring Club of Italy. And what about the Lungomare? From the south end of the inhabited center, after 3 kilometers and 700 meters, and without meeting that very few houses, up to the port, accompanied by a bike path of the same length, destined to continue for another three kilometers towards the Caulonia promenade. Finally, do you know that we are ranked among the best places in Italy in terms of value for money?

Are not you still convinced that we are a bit special? Then add that if you come to visit us you can choose from dozens of restaurants, trattorias, pizzerias, pubs, with menus for all tastes (from local dishes to international cuisine, from freshly caught fish to stockfish and cod cooked in a thousand ways) and prices for all budgets. In the summer, not a day passes without there being any manifestation in which to participate with gratification of the eye, ear or mouth (or all three). You can also go to a diving or sailing school or visit the archaeological sites in the area or take an excursion to the Aspromonte National Park.

Are not you convinced yet? Come to Roccella and touch everything with your hand, even our proverbial hospitality!

We are waiting for you.

​

​

Note: for the description of the town I could only choose this few lines of a brochure a few years ago on Roccella written by the senator Zito, a very special person and politician to whom we owe a lot and with whom I had the honor of collaborating for three legislatures in the administration of this country.

In the meantime, for the moment, the Roccella Jazz Festival celebrates 40 years, the cinema has ceased in Roccella. On the other hand, the castle has been restored, the awards mentioned above are kept up to date, the Legambiente sails have become 5 and for some years Roccella has also been awarded the Green Flag, awarded by paediatricians, to identify the coasts whose characteristics correspond better to the needs of a child at the beach and better they get married with his safety.

​

Antonio Ursino.