Calabria is the most southern region in Italy – the very toe of the Italian “boot”.

Once home to wise kings such as the legendary King Italus, who developed one of the earliest forms of democracy, and famous Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras, today Calabria is a magical land, full of a kind of beauty that is less polished and obvious than the more famous areas in Italy, but is nonetheless just as inspiring.

By a strange series of events – which eventually revealed themselves as being serendipitous – I ended up in Calabria for the first time in the summer of 1982. I was teaching in Milan, in the north, and the schools closed for the summers, so I began spending summers there, enjoying the beaches and the blossoming friendships while playing music in the clubs along the Ionian coast of the Gulf of Squillace, near Catanzaro.

In 1986 I moved there to live permanently, and I made it my home for the next 20 years. I married, had children, developed a teaching and music career, and eventually went back to school to become a counseling psychologist and Existential Personalistic Anthropologist.

During my time there I had the great fortune to connect with a variety of people who, over time, became some of my most treasured friends and colleagues, and remain so to this day. I eventually gained citizenship, and although I never quite lost my accent despite the many years I lived there when speaking Italian, it became my second homeland.

I was – and still am – fascinated by the incredible complexity of this region’s culture, and its vast history, traces of which remain scattered throughout the variegated natural landscape and within the towns perched defensively on the tops of the hillsides. It is all so profoundly different from my own Northern European heritage and my upbringing in the Great Lakes region in the United States, and yet, I have always felt deeply at home there. I sense a profound spiritual resonance that is difficult to understand, or to describe in words, even after all these years.

I am constantly drawn to spend time there, and this fascination has fueled countless hours of study (which culminated, in 2020, in a Bachelor’s degree in Italian Studies), as well as many wonderful days spent exploring the towns and hamlets and natural wonders that abound. To say nothing, of course, of the delicious food and the gorgeous beaches, both of which are also abundant and varied, all throughout the region.

I have always enjoyed sharing my deep love for and intimate knowledge of this beautiful place with friends and family. It may not be as well known as the more northern areas of Italy but, but for precisely that reason it holds, in my view, an even more special kind of beauty. It is not as tamed as the wealthier, more industrialized northern regions of Italy, which means it is also not as organized and polished. But although the areas inhabited by humans can often be scruffy and unkempt, there is an authenticity one senses that is often lost in areas more heavily developed by industrial society and by tourism. 

Although I no longer live there on a full time basis, I do try to spend several weeks there each year, either in June or September (sometimes both). 

If you are interested in coming to Calabria and having a unique, highly personalized intercultural experience, while exploring the territory and the many wonders it offers, I can help you organize a vacation in this special place, tailored to your specific needs. 

Contact me at martha@centerperson.org for more information regarding the 2024 season, and come back here to check for details as they develop.