LA DOLCE VITA.. PIZZO
The Complete Visitor Guide
everything you need to know about Pizzo
Pizzo
Between History, Culture & Legend
The siren song of Pizzo has entranced travellers through the ages, and still calls to us today. Pizzo is indeed a place blessed by the gods.
Legend has it that there has been a settlement at Pizzo since 1500 years before Christ. A tribe of ancient Greeks called Phocaeans led by Napitium are believed
to have settled here attracted by its beauty. Through the centuries Pizzo has been colonised by the Romans and Byzantines, destroyed by Saracen pirates, conquered by the Normans in the Crusades and fought over by the French and Spanish for 500 years until the Unification of Italy in 1861.
Bronze Greek statues from 450BC found in the Ionian sea at Riace not far from Pizzo. They can be seen at Reggio Calabria Museum.
Italy itself is called Italia after the ancient name for the country and people of Southern
Italy. Today the warm and friendly people of Pizzo are proud to welcome visitors to their beautiful town, and with exceptional hospitality generously share their history, culture and traditions.
About Pizzo
Pizzo Today
Pizzo is a coastal village in Calabria, Southern Italy with 9,000 inhabitants. It is built on the hillside at the top of a steep cliff, overlooking the Gulf of St Eufemia opposite the island of Stromboli in the Tyrrhenian Sea. In fact the town is named for its high position, as sailors used to call it 'il pizzo' (or u pizzu in local dialect) which means headland peak.
This part of Calabria is known as Costa degli Dei, Coast of the Gods, and it’s easy to see why. Surrounded by crystal clear blue sea, white sandy beaches and lush green vegetation, Pizzo has been a settlement since Greek and Roman times. It was known in ancient times as Napitia, and today you can still hear the local people referred to as napitini, although they are usually called pizzitani. Legend has it that Cicero came to Pizzo, and also St Peter on his way to Rome.
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Pizzo Town
Coast of the Gods
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