Pizzo Calabro is one of the most renowned towns of the Vibo Valentia province, a wonderful village on the coast, on a promontory in the centre of St. Eufemia Gulf.

According to the tradition, Pizzo Calabro was born on the ruins of Napitia, a colony that had been founded by some Focesi. It was destroyed in the fourth century A.D. by a Saracen attack, but the survived inhabitants built it again at the beginning of the tenth century.

In 1363 the development of the village began thanks to some Basilian monks who built a monastery in this zone, while a group of coral pickers from Amalfi built The Graces Church too, which later became the Carmelitan Church.

In this way, the active commercial centre Pizzo began to develop and its beauty is still evident today.

Among its artisan activities we want to point out a shipyard for the building of boats and barges with ancient tecniques and ceramics, which is another still flourishing activity.

Pizzo is also a thriving seaside centre, where the tunny-fish preservation industry has developed quite well. Then this village is particularly celebrated for the production of the rare “Zibibbo” grapes.

Pizzo and its surrounding villages offer the typical Calabrian gastronomy of excellent quality, prepared with simple, traditional and locally produced ingredients.

In the seaside resorts we recommend sampling some of the amazing fresh fish dishes, the fish arrives fresh from the boat each day and delivered directly to the restaurant. While in the inland local towns you can find some dishes based on cultivated mushrooms, red onions, fresh vegetables and exquisite salami.

Everything is seasoned with a lot of paprika (emblem of Calabria). Paprika is known as natural preservative, a form of disinfectant for the digestive system and more commonly known as a aphrodisiac......be warned though, it can be very hot, so make sure you have a large glass of water at hand in case of emergencies. Among many of the first courses you can avail of fileja, homemade pasta, served with various meat sauces and the legane ai ceci, another kind of pasta served with chickpeas.

We tell all our visitors to never leave Pizzo without experiencing the unforgettable local delicacy, n’duja. Which is made with pork meat and bacon fat mixed with a big quantity of paprika and transformed into a soft compound that you can spread over some fresh bread or it also makes an ideal pate.

Pizzo produces beautiful locally made red and white wine; it’s a steal at just €2 per litre bottle.

This Calabrian town is also famous for its tartufo, a special delicious kind of ice cream celebrated with a festival in Pizzo every August. A visit to a renowned ice cream parlour, Enrico's, situated in Marinella, is a must for all ice cream lovers.