Tropea, Hercules was here

Tropea is on a section of the Calabrian coast called La Costa degli Dei…the Coast of the Gods. According to legend, Hercules, upon returning from Spain, stood on the coast and named Tropea as one of his ports.

Tropea stands proudly on a rocky headland overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The colourful streets are lined with interesting shops and restaurants. It was here that we sampled our first granita, and became instant fans.

The coastline and the beaches are lovely. They have white sand and clear, blue sea.

From the edge of town is an excellent view of the Santa Maria dell’Isola which sits on a rock outcrop jutting into the sea.

Of course we had to go there. It is a long way down to the bottom of the town and a long way to the top and the church, but the view from there is worth the effort…then we had to walk down all these stairs and up all the stairs to the town.

We saw a wedding party winding its way up to the church. I think some of the guests must have been cursing the bride and groom. It was a very warm day. Even the bride didn’t look all that happy.

We spotted a well dressed wedding guest.

The little church is very pretty, especially decorated for the wedding.

Tropea is a great place to visit, it is lively, has some lovely old buildings and a great beach…what more could you want?  Tropea also has its very own onion…I will tell you about that later.