Gerace was one of our favourite places in Calabria, a lovely medieval city with an enormous cathedral which reused columns from the ancient Greek site of Locri Epizephyrii.
Locri Epizephyrii, north along the coast from the Villa Romana di Casignana, is a vast ancient Greek site, but curiously uninspiring. Though occupying a very large area, very little remains beyond foundations of buildings. The site needs smaller information boards at points of interest. There are large, very detailed information boards at each large section of the site are unhelpful as you can't refer to them as you walk around.
The museum has a lot of interesting artefacts though.
Locri Epizephyrii was originally a Greek colony founded in the 7th century BC.2 Settlers arrived from Locris in central Greece and disembarked at Cape Zephyrium, which explains the origin of the name Locri Epizephyrii. The society had an unusually strong matriarchal element.
In the second half of the 6th century BC Locri became the dominant force in the region, after a number of battles with other colonies. Wars continued in the 5th century BC, especially at the tome of the Peloponnesian War when Athens aimed to gain control of colonies in Italy and Sicily. During this time Locri forged a strong alliance with Syracuse. Locri reached its peak of prosperity in the fourth century BC but during the third century BC the Romans began to take over in the region, taking control of what had once been Magna Graecia.
During the Second Punic War, when Hannibal crossed the Alps and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Romans at Cannae, southern Italy fell under Carthaginian control. This situation endured for only about ten years, however, and Rome recaptured Locri in 205 BC.
The Centomare district, close to the harbour, was occupied with closely-packed houses and workshops, mostly active between the fourth and third century BC.
Gerace is a lovely medieval city. We parked outside one of the entrance gates and went directly to lunch a Il Brillo Parlante, a restaurant we really liked.
It was very much a traditional place which is the kind we like best.
We had pasta - mine a Gerace pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, anchovies and peperonchino while Andrew had Tre Sapori with veal, pork and sausage. They were both very good, though the local thick pasta is not my favourite. We had the local red wine too which was quite unusual but fine. Excellent coffee.
Then we explored the village which seems to have been a favourite of Edward Lear, an artist but more famous for his nonsense poems and particularly the limerick form.
The small 10th century Church of St Theodore has an alternative name, Chiesa della Nunziatella, which comes from its links with the Convent of the Most Holy Lady of the Annunciation. The convent was destroyed and the church badly damaged in the earthquake of 1783. Inside there is still a great deal of damage but there are still traces of Byzantine frescoes.
The cathedral is enormous with beautiful columns taken from Locri. It dates back to the 11th/12th century and probably stands on the site of the 8th century Byzantine church of the Haghia Kyriake.
The Bishop's Arch, or Meridian Arch, adjoining the cathedral, is one of the twelve original gates of the city. It must date back to the late 16th century. The gate was not really a means of defence, rather a way to close off the Piazza Tribuna and the cathedral complex which included the cathedral, Bishop's palace and seminary.
Inside Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi, which stands on Piazza delle Tre Chiese, there is some beautiful pietra dura, inlaid highly polished marble creating patterns and scenes.
Gerace is a lovely place, one of my favourites in Calabria, I was so glad we visited, especially as it was out of season and there we were the only ones visiting.