Europe has many tourist destinations but one well kept secret is Calabria, this beautiful are is in the south of Italy, it a mountainous region with magnificent white beaches and unspoilt coastlines and there are great opportunities for those seeking Calabria property.

Calabria was once part of the spreading Greek Empire and was then colonised by the Romans, Byzantines, French and the Spanish. It finally becoming part of the Italian Republic in the year 1861. Each of the invading populations has strongly influenced the Calabrese culture and that is precisely what makes the region so special and so different.

Warm days all year round, Calabria has the highest number of sunshine hours in Italy and the least number of rainy days.

The Calabrese people are warm and friendly and will welcome you to the region. They are traditionally very hospitable and proud of the region in which they live but are quite willingly to show you and share with you the beauty of the area.

On the coastline there are secluded white sandy beaches where the cliffs meet the shore offering rocky grottoes and turquoise waters.

If you prefer family beaches there are also plenty of those too, there are also the unique Italian 'Lido' beaches where you can find sun beds, parasols, a bar as well as beach games.

Partly because of its geographic proximity to Northern Africa, and it's relative distance from the more populous regions of Northern Italy, Calabrian cuisine has a distinctive flavour all of its own.

Chilis, uniquely sweet and smokey and indigenous to this region alone, are used to flavour a wide variety of dishes - especially pork. Pork is the staple meat of the region, and the economic hardships faced in the past have led to a strong tradition of using the whole pig in a variety of forms. From cured and spiced sausages to village-style hog roasts, in which the whole pig is cooked over an open fire. Other local favourites include Home Style lasagna, which differs from the normal, Northern variant by using noodles instead of flat sheets of pasta, and interweaving them with small pork meatballs in white sauce.

The region also basks in an abundance of sea food. Hundreds of varieties of fish and shellfish are available from the rocky bays around the coastline and form the basis of many local dishes. One particular favourite is saltimbocca - cod preserved in heavy salt. So heavy is the salt in fact, that many recipes being with soaking the fish in water for 24 hours beforehand to draw the salt out!