Calabria has a strong flavour of both Greek and Roman cultures but uniquely blended with traces from the many other occupancies over the years.
Following the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century AD, Calabria fell to the Visigoths, then Ostrogoths, then the Swabians under Frederick the II, then Byzantines and Arabs.
The Normans invaded in around 1060 A.D., and created the Kingdom of the South. After the Normans came the Swabians. The Angioini were followed by the Aragonese, Spanish, Austrians and Bourbons, and during these periods the population withdrew to the mountains and highlands, provoked by numerous pirate raids along the coast, first by Saracens and then Turks.
This constant upheaval created both internal and external isolation, with the population centers of the highlands and the valleys unable to communicate with impassable roads during the winter season.
When Italy was unified in 1861, Calabria had only a single road that crossed it from the north to Reggio in the south; the railway was nonexistent and the majority of the towns had no internal or external roads. A huge number of the population left for America.
We have had a number of Americans with American Calabrian roots staying in the apartment. They have traveled to Italy to trace their ancestors.
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