I’m in Tropea right now enjoying my holidays. I first came here 27 years ago, our family’s first vacation in the South of Italy. When I saw Tropea, called the pearl of Calabria, I fell desperately in love with the town. This place entered in my blood and I’m still not able to spend one year without coming here. It’s almost a physical pain if I don’t see it, it’s difficult to explain. Calabria is an untraveled region compared to Campania and Sicily, discovered by tourists not so long ago.  In this arid land everything has to fight to grow, but when it does it is marvelous. Palms, banana trees, figs, prickly pears, red onions famous world wide and red hot peppers, a lot of them. It’s a land with strong colors and big contrasts luxuriant and arid, imposing mountains descending to the seashore. Thanks to this diversity the cuisine is a combination of ingredients from the sea and mountains. Continue reading →