Clifftop Tropea was our base for exploring Calabria, with the lovely coastal town Pizzo, and its justly famous Tartufo, not far away on the coast to the north.
We stayed at the beautiful Villa Paola in Tropea on the south west coast of Italy. It stands just outside the town high above its own productive gardens and the coast, with a lovely view of the clifftop town.
We ate a couple of times at Villa Paola. Black pig in the bistrot was good but not hot, excellent olives to start and creme brulée to finish. Lamezia Riserva is also very good. But the tasting menu we had in the restaurant was disappointing. We've had quite a few tasting menus, often they feature dishes that we would never choose but they have always been interesting.
The menu at Villa Paola also included things I'd be reluctant to order: sweetbreads, gnocchi, for instance which I don't like. Ameuses bouches were fine, the best being a meringue base with crushed olives, capers and lemon salt, surprising flavours that combined well. From there, apart from a couple of dishes, it was pretty much downhill.
A cold fennel "soup" was far too much, served as a "mouth refresher" a mouthful would be enough. Excellent hot bread and local butter and olive oil, crunchy fennel bread sticks. Then stockfish - disgusting, strong-smelling lumps of tough, cold fish, not nice.
Sweetbreads with citrus bearnaise, chicory and black olives - again, not nice, slimy unpleasant texture.
Carob gnocchi enclosing strong blue cheese with egg foam and bay leaf - chef recommended eating a whole one for the burst of flavour. Andrew didn't mind them but I thought it was horrible; I don't like gnocchi anyway and this was thick and stodgy. The blue cheese was good, I would have preferred it just on crusty bread! By this time it was getting embarrassing how much we didn't like.
The Calabria black piglet was a relief, tender and tasty. Dry chocolate cake then chocolate soufflé with hay ice cream which was good but far too large.
If we could have had just the ameuses bouches, bread, Calabrian piglet and chocolate soufflé we would have been much happier!
The Tropea region is famous for its red onions and they are everywhere. I even tried red onion ice cream - it was awful!
The Villa Paola devotes a large area to their cultivation. Early one morning we saw them being harvested at lightning speed - the crop was cleared in no time!
The town itself is rather nice. We walked in from the hotel a couple of times. The coastal route, going down through the hotel gardens and alongside the marina, is much nicer than following the road.
Along the coast we skirted the headland, exploring caves and walking along the beaches below the town.
We went into the cathedral, a 12th century edifice dedicated to Mary of Romania - there is a Byzantine icon of the saint above the altar. Flanking the entrance are two unexploded WW2 bombs, the fact that they didn't exploded is said to be due to the protection of the saint.
Away from the main street the alleyways and small squares are are quiet and peaceful.
Tropea's best known view is of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Isola, perched on a rocky outcrop on the coast.
It's a steep climb to the entrance of the Sanctuary where, through the church, there is a garden.
The rock is now joined to the mainland but the sea used to surround it, hence the name of the Sanctuary.
On a clear day the smoking volcano Stromboli can be seen out to sea.
We had a very good meal at Sublime, a lovely small restaurant off the beaten track in Tropea.
We were a bit dismayed to learn that it was a tasting menu after our experience at Villa Paola but apart from a salt cod that was too salty for our taste this was much better, more a set menu than a tasting menu; the scallops and pasta dishes were particularly good.
Pizzo was my favourite of the towns we visited while staying in Tropea. Also on the coast, a little north of Tropea, it has a lively central square near the castle with plenty of restaurants and cafés.
The 15th century Murat Castle is well worth a visit. It was here that Napoleon's brother-in-law and King of Naples was shot by firing squad on the 13th October, 1815. He had been defeated in the Battle of Tolentino in May 1815 but returned in October to try and regain the throne. When a storm pushed his ship to Pizzo he was arrested and imprisoned.
The castle has lots of tableaux of soldiers and guards in the original prison cells.
Murat was kept in a separate cell well away from the cells of the soldiers captured with him (who were all later reprieved by Ferdinand IV, King of Naples).
After he had been condemned to death Murat made his confession, wrote a letter to his wife and children, pronounced that he was ready, and was led outside to the place of execution, close to his cell. he himself commanded the firing squad, asking them to spare his face and aim for his heart.
We had a good lunch La Lampara. I had excellent tuna with the local red onions and andrew had very good swordfish. The waiter recommended a local white, Anfisya, which went well with the fish. Shared a green salad and very good, unusual chips.
But the dish that Pizzo is famous for is Tartufo, an amazing ice cream bombe. The receptionist at the castle had suggested Bar Dante or Ercole in the town square. We went to Dante and it was so good we came back twice.
We had the traditional Tartufo Nero the first time. This is hazelnut and chocolate ice cream with a filling of melting chocolate all dusted in cocoa. It is absolutely fabulous and the best ice cream dessert I've had anywhere.
We also tried a Perla Nera with dark chocolate ice cream, a heart of sour cherry cream covered with toasted almond grains, and a Tartufo Limone with lemon-flavoured ice cream and limoncello ice cream. They were both very good, but the traditional is outstanding.
We also had truly excellent pizzas at Il Cappero Rosso after which we crossed the square to Bar Dante for the Tartufo Nero!