A holiday to live in colour
WHAT TO SEE IN ITALY
BEACHES ON THE COAST OF THE GODS
The coast of the promontory of Mount Poro embraces some of the most beautiful seaside resorts in Calabria, intensively exploited by the tourist industry with villages, campsites and hotels that in some places follow one another without interruption. From Pizzo to Nicotera, the Costa degli Dei offers fifty-five kilometres of breathtaking beaches:
PIZZO: Piedigrotta Beach, Bellamana Beach.
VIBO MARINA: Timpa Janca, Il Pennello.
BRIATICO: Punta Safò, Sant'Irene.
ZAMBRONE: Diving Paradise.
PARGHELIA: Beach of Michelino.
TROPEA: Beach of Mare Picciulu, Passo Cavaliere.
RICADI: Riaci, Formicoli, Praia i focu, Grotticelle.
JOPPOLO: Marina di Coccorino.
NICOTERA: Beach of Nicotera Marina.
Here are twenty-three of the most beautiful beaches of the Coast of the Gods.
The Formicoli beach in Calabria is located near Tropea, precisely between Santa Domenica di Ricadi and Capo Vaticano. The sea is crystal clear with very light sand.
The Barrio, talking about the village of Santa Domenica says: "On the sea there is Porto Ercole that the inhabitants vulgarly call Formicoli, that is a corruption of Foro di Ercole, mentioned by Plinio and Strabone himself". Gaiuzzo was an old rooster tireless in his crowing and lived in a peasant house between Santa Maria di Rìcadi and Formìcoli.
The small, stony beach is located between Torre Marino and Turiano. It is a charming cove in the vicinity of Santa Domenica that can be reached on foot, walking by sea from Formicoli beach. The small beach is dotted with rocks and cliffs that give it a wild appearance, with crystal clear water and fine white sand. Not to be missed is the Torre Marino, the remains of which can be seen on the far end of the Cape and which, in the past, was a watchtower.
Capo Vaticano is a large promontory, seaside and flat locality in the hamlet of San Nicolò, in the municipality of Ricadi (VV), located between Pizzo Calabro and Nicotera, along the "Costa degli Dei", a well-known stretch of the southern Tyrrhenian coast with a tourist vocation.
The Capo Vaticano area is rich in accommodation facilities with entertainment services. The promontory, which takes its name, reaches a maximum height of 124 metres and is made of a special type of granite, white-grey, which has been studied all over the world for its geological peculiarities. Its panoramic views are renowned, particularly the views of the colours of the sea at sunset. 
The beach known as "del Michelino" is a small beach located near the town of Parghelia, 3 km north of Tropea. 210 steps must be walked to reach the blue waters. Skyscanner rewards Calabria, including the Michelino beach in the ranking of the ten most beautiful beaches of 2018.
. Admire the Sant'Andrea rock and the "Palombaro" stack, also known as "La Pizzuta". The three bays of Grotticelle are the best known and most picturesque seaside resorts in the municipality of Ricadi, located in the hamlet of San Nicolò (VV), culminating in the promontory of Capo Vaticano.
It is one of the most beautiful beaches in Italy, in fact the well-known portal sky sanner in 2015 has put it in first place in its special ranking, for beauty and clean sea.
The beautiful sandy beaches, called u bacinu, because when seen from above they seem to form a basin, but also called della Marinella as opposed to the large Marina di Zambrone.
It is characterised by long white beaches and granite cliffs such as Capo Cozzo - Scoglio del Leone - Paradiso del Sub .
Salamite beach, so called because in the past there were many lizards called salamites in the local dialect, is located just after Grotticelle beach to the north, just after that group of rocks in the sand called 'I Biccheri', because from a distance they look like glasses. It can be reached not only by sea, but also exclusively on foot from Grotticelle.
Salamite has fine sand and equipped lidos
This enchanting bay has a sandy beach about 1 km long and, in some places, a few dozen metres wide. Upstream, a long sandstone cliff acts as a natural barrier. Pedalos, boats, canoes, motorboats, etc. can be rented at the lidos. From here you can also leave for the Aeolian Islands A few dozen metres from the beach is the Islet of Galera. This islet can be easily reached by swimming or by boat from the nearby lidos. It is a large natural rock that has been used since Roman times as a fishpond where aquaculture was practised to have fresh fish always available.
The Praia i Focu beach, or Spiaggia Del Fuoco, is located at the tip of Capo Vaticano, near the lighthouse. It can be defined as a 'four seasons' beach as the climate is mild all year round. It is located at the bottom of a sheer rocky cliff that encloses it completely.
For those who go by car before Joppolo, we recommend that after a brief stop at the pleasant hamlets of Coccorino and Coccorinello, they stop at one of the many rest areas on the road that runs along the southern side of the pore, which offers a very suggestive view.
In Coccorino, for those who love beaches, a visit to the Baia del Corsaro is a must, where there is also the very famous da Mercurio restaurant. The beaches are wild and uncontaminated, partly sandy and partly rocky, and there is a small, reserved cove that is a little corner of paradise.
This beach of Capo Vaticano opens in the form of an amphitheatre enclosed by a semicircle of small hills, some slightly sloping, others more or less steep and craggy, to the north at the beginning with the petrario cliffs. In the area to the south of the bay there is a group of semi-outcropping rocks called "della galea", a partly free beach about a kilometre long with fine sand.
Vardanello can only be reached from the sea and is located between Michelino beach to the north and Guardano beach to the south, where it is possible to walk along the rocks south of the vardano. It is a small but beautiful beach, surrounded by rocks with very fine white sand, very velvety and with a very lush surrounding vegetation.
This beautiful and large sandy beach, very popular in summer, is the largest in the municipality of Parghelia. It can be easily reached from Tropea, because it is located north of the port, after Lido del Nonno, and from Parghelia itself. It is so called because it is located at the mouth of the La Grazia stream that administratively separates the two municipalities.
The picturesque Calispera beach is located in the Capo Vaticano district in the municipality of Santa Maria, on the Costa degli Dèi. It is a stretch of coastline that goes from Baia delle Grotticelle to the beach of Santa Maria. The beach is mainly made up of rocks and large boulders, but there is still a sandy area where you can stretch out and enjoy a bit of relaxation.
The seabed is immediately deep, so it is not recommended for inexperienced swimmers.
A flight of steps leads from the tourist village of the same name to the sandy area of Calispera beach.
Located to the south of Santa Maria beach, this is a mixed beach of sand and pebbles, with rocks scattered throughout. Near this beach there are the "Grutta du Stefanu", because it seems it was frequented by a young man named Stefano, and "A Vasca du Lupinaru", because in the past there was a natural basin where lupins were left to soak in salt.
Located between Formicoli and Scalea beaches, the beach "Passu du Gabbaturcu" owes its name to an ancient legend. In fact, it is said that, at the time of the Saracen raids, a group of local fishermen laid a trap for a Turkish ship, which was chasing them, making it silt up and then "gabbandola" (cheating it). It can be reached on foot from Formicoli or Riaci beaches.
This beach takes its name from an ancient watchtower now used for housing, located on a panoramic belvedere from where you can admire the beach below. Very beautiful and sandy, the characteristic of this beach is the possibility, during low tide, to walk in the water touching the bottom with your feet, even if it is offshore.
The beach can be reached from the Stromboli village along the SP 22 road, where a steep descent must be undertaken to reach the beach.
After the Palombaro cave, we find a stretch of coastline called Petraia, very narrow and full of stones, located between the Capo and Salamite beach. It is very suggestive and suitable for those who love scuba diving.
These are two adjoining beaches. The first takes its name from the stream that flows into the sea, while the second - located further south - owes its name to the ancient watchtower. Difficult to access due to the presence of accommodation facilities, only a small part of the beach is free..
It is one of the largest beaches, in the central part it is called Tono while, towards the north, it is called Tonicello. Tono beach is located not far from the famous Grotticelle beach. It has white sand, crystal clear sea, a very wide beach and there is room for a beach umbrella even in the busiest periods.
Nicotera is perched on a ridge between Mount Poro and the blue Tyrrhenian Sea. Thanks to its privileged position in the Gulf of Gioia Tauro, the town offers visitors a wonderful view of the coast of Sicily and the volcanic island of Stromboli. The town has a wide beach of sand mixed with fine gravel and a crystal clear sea with a beautiful seabed.
The beach of Piedigrotta, in the locality of "La Madonnella", is famous for its small church dug out of the tufa rock and has a wide sandy shore.
The tufa terrace on which the historic centre of Pizzo is perched forms the Prangi cliffs, a rocky stretch of coastline interspersed with many small sand and pebble beaches.
Coming from Tropea and continuing towards Capo Vaticano, the first beach in Santa Domenica is Riaci, with a large car park. The coast can be reached by taking the road on the right just before the level crossing. The inlet consists of fine white sands, enclosed between sandstone slopes rich in flora. Behind the shoreline, an imposing rock rises, crossed by a tunnel through which the sea circulates freely and which anyone, with due caution, can enter or climb. In Riaci, in the various establishments, there is the possibility of renting pedalos, rubber dinghies and canoes for a sea excursion of the neighbouring coastline, full of enchanting coloured coves.
BACK TO THE COAST OF THE GODS
