The town may be famous for its red onions, but Tropea is a beach resort on a par with anything the south of Italy has to offer. Tropea is located on the westernmost tip of the Italian peninsular not far from Capo Vaticano which itself overlooks the Messina Straits between Calabria and Sicily. Old Tropea sits on a chalk cliff overlooking the sea and the nearby beaches. It really is a fabulous spot to take the whole area in. Looking from the edge of the cliff you can admire the turquoise sea as it stretches out along the 'Costa Tirrenica' towards the island of S.Maria, while behind you the medieval town contains everything you might expect; nobles' palaces, churches and numerous alleyways, most leading to a balcony and another spectacular view. According to legend, the town was founded by Hercules from whom it took its first name 'Portoercole'. Following Saracen and Byzantine rule, Tropea was conquered by Roger the Norman in 1090. Jolly Roger is worth a mention as it was he who transformed the diocese from the Greek to Latin rite. Subsequently, the Angevins established self government or 'università' for the town, bolstered by a growing bourgiois merchant class and in 1445 Alfonso the Magnaminous granted Tropea the privilege of trading with both Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples. Times were good until the town was remodelled by the finely named Ermenegildo Sintes in the late 1700's following regional earthquake damage, only for the French to strip Tropea of all its previous privileges in 1806.
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