Day 21, April 22th: On the move again, with fantastic weather, we visited Zungri, Tropea, and Messina.
We visited the rock settlement of the “Sbariati” or “Sbandati”; which is located in Zungri, a town not far from Tropea, in Calabria Italy. They still aren’t sure who lived here, but many believe the “Basiliani” monks used the caves as granges, hermitages and monasteries.
There are well-worn steps as an indicator of the age of this rock city built overlooking the sea. Frequented until the 14th century, it has been dated by scholars between the 12th and 14th centuries, but more recent speleological studies suggest that it was born between the 9th and 10th centuries.
One shot shows the oven in a home and the indentations to the left of it show were supports were for the 2nd floor.
The rooms often held people and animals in the same cave. See: https://www.finestresullarte.info/…/once-upon-a-time…
Calabria is very green with lots of fields and cliffs. The roads near the coast are very zig-zag with hairpin turns. Peter became proficient on the roads as Mary closed her eyes a lot!
We found a herd of sheep with their shepherd and sheepdog as we wandered the roads between towns. They were chewing in unison.
At the overlook to Tropea, we couldn’t resist a kiss.
Santa Maria dell’Isola sits in gardens love the sea. It is a Benedictine sanctuary that has become the symbol for Tropea and the Calabria coast. The climb up is exhilarating and the views priceless. We are so glad we did this trip while we have good knees. There are lots of stairs in Italy.
Tropea is a seaside resort with impressive scenery in Calabria, southern Italy. The beaches were already starting to fill at 1 pm.
The city of Tropea can be seen from the top of Santa Maria dell’Isola.
We had some gelato for lunch in Tropea before heading back to Sicily on the ferry.
The famous astronomical clock, next to the Messina Duomo. We were there at 6 PM, and were able to see some of the famous movement after which we checked out historic Messina.
Saturday night traffic in Messina is “interesting”. Definitely worse than NYC. There are a lot of cars in Italy and not enough parking spaces.