This itinerary is a time travel starting in the Greek age and ending in a more recent Modern age. Capo Colonna is one of the symbols of the ancient Magna Graecia: one of the most famous archaeological sites in Calabria. The temple of Hera Lacinia in Capo Colonna, which was during the antiquity a part of Croton, was one of the most important temples of the Magna Graecia, its geographic position was strategic: it was, in fact, in the middle of the course that connected Taranto to the strait of Messina, upon a foreland called Lacinion or “Capo Nao” which means temple in Greek. The Goddess was name after this toponym too, whether its modern name remembers the temple ruins with its last standing column. The complex was made of many buildings: the temple facing the sea, a “Via Sacra”, and other three buildings belonging to the temple complex. In the archaeological area we can also find a museum collecting the most recent finds of Capo Colonna.

The province of Crotone offers unique culinary traditions and many special dishes going from pasta to desserts, from spicy to sweet flavors, including delicious wines and fish. This wide range of food and drink can be enjoyed during the lunch break in a local farmhouse restaurant. After lunch we will go to Le Castella, one of the most picturesque places in the Capo Rizzuto marine protected area. Le Castella hosts one of the most charming castles of Italy, built on a small island and connected to the coast by a narrow strip of land. The XV century fortress, had a military function, it served as a shelter for the soldiers who defended the region against all the threats coming from the sea. The castle stands upon Greek foundations, and we can still observe, from the stratification, the different construction phases realized by the Normans, Hohenstaufen, Byzantines, Angevines and Aragonese who used the imposing Greek walls as a base for other defensive walls. The Aragonese fortress can count only a few rooms in the interior, an old hamlet with the ruins of a church and a chapel; the bulwarks and a XIII century tower, which is its highest observation point. On the coast there are other different defensive towers too, used to safeguard the area against Turkish and barbarian incursions. We will finish the tour by visiting the XVIII century church of Visitazione della Beata Vergine Maria.

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