Legendary Tropea

Amazing sea, bright and surprising colors, clean air, full of dried salt. And a fine sand that sticks to you, warming you under the scorching sun. We are talking about Tropea, in Calabria, a village overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, popular tourist destination thanks to its amazing landscapes. And on the top of a rock, stands out the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola, perhaps inhabited by hermits since the 7th century, rebuilt several times due to the seismic events that have struck it over the centuries. Declared the most beautiful village in Italy this year, Tropea is full of legends, traditions handed down through generations, full of citrus groves, vineyards and olive groves. In July is held the Sagra del pesce azzurro e della cipolla rossa di Tropea (Festival of the blue fish and of Tropea red onion), local delicacies. On the occasion of the proclamation of Tropea as ‘Borgo dei Borghi 2021’, architect Fabio Rotella designed a logo that expresses all the beauties of Tropea. “A thought for my land. From the Greek culture, the mythological ‘tropis’ which means ‘hull of a ship’, created by Hercules son of Jupiter, a pearl placed on a rock overlooking the emerald-green sea. A logotype including some of the symbols that represent Tropea, “The most beautiful village”, the icons of its culture, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria of the island, the Cathedral, the Sedile Dei Nobili, its sea – all this defines its Mediterranean uniqueness. The love for my land, perhaps even the distance from it, makes me feel the need to give it back something, as a sign of gratitude for its expressions of beauty and for the emotions I feel. Tropea, Pearl of the Gods”. With these words, brilliant architect Fabio Rotella gives the city of Tropea the logo that, from now on, will identify it as a tourist destination. This work has engaged the staff of architect Rotella for several months and that today was physically delivered to the mayor Giovanni Macrì as a declaration of love for the Pearl of the Gods. The work is owned by the city, but can also be used by anyone who is interested in it, in compliance with the related disciplinary. The logo will soon be designed in other colors and shades to better suit to different contexts.

TIMELESS DELICACIES

On the streets of Tropea you can taste dishes based on red onion and blue fish. Tropea onion, rich in sugars in the form of polymers, fructose and glucose, during cooking breaks the polymer chains releasing sugars that can be classified into pure sugars, obtained thanks to caramelization and those that interact with protein structures. In the past, anchovies and sardines were fished with ‘minaita’ and this gave them a very particular flavor. By the end of September the scrap merchants prepared the preserves by putting them ‘sutta Sali’ (salted, ed). They would sell them in winter or use them to feed their families. The Osteria della Cipolla Rossa, a simple restaurant in Tropea, offers delicacies based on local products or fish such as sea bass, anchovies, prawns, coming every day from qualified suppliers. Architect Fabio Rotella rolls back the years: “My generation is, perhaps, the last to remember the old port with the fishermen and merchants who have made the history of the Tropean navy. They used to fish with a type of net that is no longer used: the minaita. With very tight meshes, it was used to fish anchovies and sardines in particular. These got stranded with the opercula, bleeding to death. That’s why their meat tasted differently. The effort and work of the fishermen was huge. They moved the boat with the oars and immediately afterwards they had to release the fish from the net one by one; it was almost impossible to extract them with the head intact”.

GOURMET DE’ MINIMI RESTAURANT

Last June, in the Franciscan convent of the Minimi friars dating back to the sixteenth century, at the five-star luxury hotel Villa Paola in Tropea, the new De Minimi gourmet restaurant opened, managed by Dario Marco Bettoni, executive chef from Bergamo, whose philosophy starts from raw material to develop in a research of ancient organic materials and express the territory. This work was made possible thanks to the chef’s meeting with local farmers, breeders, Slow Food items such as the Spiliga ‘Nduja or the Pecorino from Monte Poro, which contributed to making the restaurant’s cuisine a real sensory experience. Next to the villa there are vegetable gardens and citrus groves that constantly supply the kitchen of chef Bettoni. The room, overlooking on one side the restored cloister and, on the other, the garden of Mediterranean plants, welcomes guests in a refined and pleasant atmosphere. From the terraces you can enjoy an amazing and evocative seascape, that of the Costa degli Dei. www.villapaolatropea.it