Calabria
Region
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Calabria in Italy
Coordinates: 39°00′N 16°30′E / 39.0°N 16.5°E / 39.0; 16.5
Country	Italy
Capital	Catanzaro
Government
• Type	Presidential system[1]
• President	Roberto Occhiuto (FI)
Area [2]
• Total	15,221.90 km2 (5,877.21 sq mi)
Population  (2026)[3]
• Total	1,827,571
• Density	120.0620/km2 (310.9590/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	English: Calabrian Italian: Calabrese
GDP [4]
• Total	€40.003 billion (2024)
• Per capita	€21,812 (2024)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	IT-78
HDI (2021)	0.848[5] very high · 20th of 21
NUTS Region	ITF
Website	www.regione.calabria.it

Calabria^[a] is a region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. It has a popuation of 1,827,571 across a total area of 15,221.90 km² (5,877.21 sq mi).^[3][2] Catanzaro is the region's capital.

Calabria is the birthplace of the name of Italy,^[9] given to it by the Ancient Greeks who settled in this land starting from the 8th century BCE. They established the first cities, mainly on the coast, as Greek colonies. During this period Calabria was the heart of Magna Graecia, home of key figures in history such as Pythagoras, Herodotus and Milo.

In Roman times, it was part of the Regio III Lucania et Bruttii, a region of Augustan Italy. After the Gothic War, it became and remained for five centuries a Byzantine dominion, fully recovering its Greek character. Cenobitism flourished, with the rise throughout the peninsula of numerous churches, hermitages and monasteries in which Basilian monks were dedicated to transcription. The Byzantines introduced the art of silk in Calabria and made it the main silk production area in Europe. In the 11th century, the Norman conquest started a slow process of Latinization.

Calabria has three historical ethnolinguistic minorities: the Grecanici, speaking Calabrian Greek; the Arbëreshë people, speaking Albanian language; and the Occitans of Guardia Piemontese. This extraordinary linguistic diversity makes the region an object of study for linguists from all over the world.

Calabria is famous for its crystal clear sea waters and is dotted with ancient villages, castles and archaeological parks. Three national parks are found in the region: the Pollino National Park (which is the largest in Italy), the Sila National Park and the Aspromonte National Park.

Starting in the third century BCE, the name Calabria was originally given to the Adriatic coast of the Salento peninsula in modern Apulia.^[10] In the late first century BCE, this name came to extend to the entirety of the Salento, when the Roman emperor Augustus divided Italy into regions. The whole region of Apulia received the name Regio II Apulia et Calabria. By this time modern Calabria was still known as Bruttium, after the Bruttians who inhabited the region. Later in the seventh century AD, the Byzantine Empire created the Duchy of Calabria from the Salento and the Ionian part of Bruttium. Even though the Calabrian part of the duchy was conquered by the Lombards during the eighth and ninth centuries AD, the Byzantines continued to use the name Calabria for their remaining territory in Bruttium.^[11]

Originally the Greeks used Italoi to indicate the native population of modern Calabria, which according to some ancient Greek writers was derived from a legendary king of the Oenotri, Italus.^[12][13]

Over time, the Greeks started to use Italoi for the rest of the southern Italian peninsula as well. After the Roman conquest of the region, the name was used for the entire Italian peninsula and eventually the Alpine region too.^{[14] [15][16][17][18][19]}

Calabria, in southern Italy, forms the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. It is a long, narrow region that stretches about 248 kilometres (154 mi) from north to south and reaches a maximum width of 110 kilometres (68 mi). Much of the region is mountainous or hilly: about 42% of Calabria, or 15,080 square kilometres (5,820 sq mi), is mountainous, while 49% consists of hills. Plains make up only 9% of the region.

Calabria is bordered by the Ionian Sea to the east and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. It is separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina. At its narrowest point, the strait is only 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) wide between Capo Peloro in Sicily and Punta Pezzo in Calabria.

Three mountain ranges are present: Pollino, La Sila, and Aspromonte, each with its own flora and fauna. The Pollino Mountains in the north of the region are rugged and form a natural barrier separating Calabria from the rest of Italy. Parts of the area are heavily wooded, while others are vast, wind-swept plateaus with little vegetation. These mountains are home to a rare Bosnian Pine variety and are included in the Pollino National Park, which is the largest national park in Italy, covering 1,925.65 square kilometres (743.50 sq mi)

La Sila, which has been referred to as the "Great Wood of Italy",^[23][24][25] is a vast mountainous plateau about 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level and stretches for nearly 2,000 km² (770 sq mi) along the central part of Calabria. The highest point is Botte Donato, which reaches 1,928 m (6,325 ft). The area boasts numerous lakes and dense coniferous forests. La Sila also has some of the tallest trees in Italy which are called the "Giants of the Sila" and can reach up to 40 m (130 ft) in height.^[26][27][28] The Sila National Park is also known to have the purest air in Europe.^[29]

The Aspromonte massif forms the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula bordered by the sea on three sides. This unique mountainous structure reaches its highest point at Montalto, at 1,995 m (6,545 ft), and is full of wide, man-made terraces that slope down toward the sea.

Most of the lower terrain in Calabria has been agricultural for centuries, and exhibits indigenous scrubland as well as introduced plants such as the prickly pear cactus. The lowest slopes are rich in vineyards and orchards of citrus fruit, including the Diamante citron. Further up, olives and chestnut trees appear while in the higher regions there are often dense forests of oak, pine, beech and fir trees.

Geology

[edit]

Calabria is commonly considered part of the "Calabrian Arc", an arc-shaped geographic domain extending from the southern part of the Basilicata Region to the northeast of Sicily, and including the Peloritano Mountains (although some authors extend this domain from Naples in the north to Palermo in the southwest). The Calabrian area shows basement (crystalline and metamorphic rocks) of Paleozoic and younger ages, covered by (mostly Upper) Neogene sediments. Studies have revealed that these rocks comprise the upper part of a pile of thrust sheets which dominate the Apennines and the Sicilian Maghrebides.^[35]

The Neogene evolution of the Central Mediterranean system is dominated by the migration of the Calabrian Arc to the southeast, overriding the African Plate and its promontories.^[36][37]) The main tectonic elements of the Calabrian Arc are the southern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt, the "Calabria-Peloritani", or simply Calabrian block and the Sicilian Maghrebides fold-and-thrust belt. The foreland area is formed by the Apulia Platform, which is part of the Adriatic Plate, and the Ragusa or Iblean Platform, which is an extension of the African Plate. These platforms are separated by the Ionian Basin. The Tyrrhenian oceanized basin is regarded as the back-arc basin. This subduction system therefore shows the southern plates of African affinity subducting below the northern plates of European affinity.^[35]

The geology of Calabria has been studied for more than a century.^[38][39][40] The earlier works were mainly dedicated to the evolution of the basement rocks of the area. The Neogene sedimentary successions were merely regarded as "post-orogenic" infill of "neo-tectonic" tensional features. In the course of time, however, a shift can be observed in the temporal significance of these terms, from post-Eocene to post-Early Miocene to post-middle Pleistocene.^[35]

The region is seismically active and is generally ascribed to the re-establishment of an equilibrium after the latest (mid-Pleistocene) deformation phase. Some authors believe that the subduction process is still ongoing, which is a matter of debate.^[41]

As of 2026, the population is 1,827,571, of which 49.2% are male, and 50.8% are female. Minors make up 15.1% of the population, and seniors make up 25.0%.

Although the official national language of Calabria has been Standard Italian since before unification in 1861, Calabria has dialects that have been spoken in the region for centuries. The Calabrian language is a direct derivative of Latin. Most linguists divide the various dialects into two different language groups. In the northern area of the region,^[98] the Calabrian dialects are considered part of the Neapolitan language and are grouped as Northern Calabrian. In the rest of the region, the Calabrian dialects are often grouped as Central and Southern Calabrian, and are considered part of the Sicilian language. However, in Guardia Piemontese, as well as some quarters of Reggio Calabria, a variety of Occitan called Gardiol can also be found. In addition, since Calabria was once ruled by the French and Spanish, some Calabrian dialects exhibit Spanish and French influences. Another important linguistic minority, in the nine towns of Bovesìa in the province of Reggio Calabria, speaks a derivative of ancient Greek called Grecanico, a remnant of Byzantine rule and ancient Magna Graecia.^[99]

The cuisine is a typical southern Italian Mediterranean cuisine with a balance between meat-based dishes (pork, lamb, goat), vegetables (especially eggplant), and fish. Pasta (as in central Italy and the rest of southern Italy) is also very important in Calabria. In contrast to most other Italian regions, Calabrians have traditionally placed an emphasis on the preservation of their food and packing vegetables and meats in olive oil, and on making sausages and cold cuts (soppressata, 'nduja, capocollo). Along the coast fish is cured, especially swordfish, sardines (sardelle rosamarina) and cod (baccalà). Local desserts are typically fried, honey-sweetened pastries such as cudduraci, nacatole, scalille or scalidde, or baked biscotti-type treats such as nzudda.

Some local specialties include caciocavallo cheese, cipolla rossa di Tropea (red onion), frìttuli and curcùci (fried pork), liquorice (liquirizia), lagane e cicciari (a pasta dish with chickpeas), pecorino crotonese (sheep cheese), morzello (bowels of veal), and pignolata.

In ancient times Calabria was referred to as Enotria (from Ancient Greek Οἰνωτρία, Oenotria, 'land of wine'). According to ancient Greek tradition, Οἴνωτρος (Oenotrus), the youngest of the sons of Lycaon, was the eponym of Oenotria.^[106] Some vineyards have origins dating back to the ancient Greek colonists. The best known DOC wines are Cirò (province of Crotone) and Donnici from the Donnici region (province of Cosenza). 3% of the total annual production qualifies as DOC. Important grape varieties are the red Gaglioppo and white Greco. Many producers are resurrecting local, ancient grape varieties which have been around for as long as 3000 years.^[107]

The most popular sport in Calabria is football. Calabria hosts a team in Serie B (Catanzaro and 2 in Serie C (Cosenza Calcio & FC Crotone). Other big teams of the region are Reggina and Vibonese who are in Serie D.

Viola Reggio Calabria is an Italian professional basketball club based in Reggio Calabria, Calabria.

There are 3 public universities in the region of Calabria

• University of Calabria (Cosenza)
• Magna Graecia University (Catanzaro)
• Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria

There is also the private University for Foreigners "Dante Alighieri" in Reggio Calabria.

The health service in Calabria is organized into four main public hospitals and thirty secondary ones, and there are numerous private hospital facilities. Because of their debts, since 2009 they were administered by an extraordinary commissioner. It has been seen as an unavoidable step to return to an ordinary and cost-effective administration at a regional level, as it is provided by the Italian Constitution.

The four main public hospitals are

• Azienda Ospedaliera "Pugliese-Ciaccio", Catanzaro
• Azienda Ospedaliera "Mater Domini", Catanzaro
• Azienda Ospedaliera di Cosenza, Cosenza
• Ospedali Riuniti di Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria

• 1783 Calabrian earthquakes
• 1905 Calabria earthquake
• 1908 Messina earthquake
• Arbëreshë people
• Duke of Calabria
• Bruttians
• Grecanici
• Magna Graecia
• Oenotrians
• Strait of Messina Bridge
• Theme of Sicily
• 'Ndrangheta

• Dal Lago, Enrico, and Rick Halpern, eds. The American South and the Italian Mezzogiorno: Essays in Comparative History (2002) ISBN 0-333-73971-X
• Dunston, Lara, and Terry Carter. Travellers Calabria (Travellers – Thomas Cook) (2009), guidebook
• Moe, Nelson. The View from Vesuvius: Italian Culture and the Southern Question (2002)
• Schneider, Jane. Italy's 'Southern Question': Orientalism in One Country (1998)

• Calabria Region
• "Calabria" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.