Gerace, the Locride's Best-Kept Secret That Almost Nobody Knows

If Tropea is Calabria's postcard, Gerace is its best-kept secret. This borgo of the Locride, perched on a sandstone plateau roughly five kilometres from the ancient Locri Epizefiri, possesses a historical layering that few places in Italy can match: Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Normans, Swabians and Angevins have all left traces that overlap like pages of a book open to the history of the Mediterranean.

To get there, take the SS106 Jonica to Locri, then climb a scenic road that in ten minutes brings you to the borgo. The car park sits at the base of the walls; from there you enter on foot through the Porta del Sole into the monumental area. The first thing that strikes you is the silence. Mass tourism has never reached Gerace, and this lends the place an atmosphere of almost monastic stillness.

The Cattedrale dell'Assunta is the beating heart of the borgo. Consecrated in 1045 under the Normans of Robert the Guiscard, it is the largest in Calabria and one of the oldest in southern Italy. The interior has three naves, marked by spoliated columns from ancient Locri and the temple of Persephone. The Byzantine crypt, with its low arches and traces of frescoes faded by time, emanates a sacredness that gives you chills. Do not miss the bishop's sarcophagus or the twisted colonettes that seem to dance in the half-light. Entrance is free and a volunteer is almost always on hand to recount the building's history.

From the Cathedral, climbing along via Nazionale, you reach the medieval core with its noble palazzi, minor churches and craft workshops. The Chiesa di San Francesco, with its Gothic portal and altar inlaid with polychrome marbles, merits a prolonged stay. Just beyond, a panoramic terrace offers a view embracing the Ionian coast to the horizon, the sea glittering on clear days like a blade of silver. On summer evenings, when the sun drops behind the Aspromonte and the light turns orange, this belvedere becomes one of Calabria's most romantic spots.

At the summit of the borgo, the remains of the Norman-Swabian Castle occupy the top of the cliff. Not much survives of the original walls, but the position is extraordinary: the entire valley lies below and you understand why this place was considered impregnable. The people of Gerace sheltered here during Saracen raids, and tradition holds that the borgo's very name derives from "ierax", sparrowhawk in Greek, for its commanding position.

The lower part of the historic centre, known as the Borghetto, is a labyrinth of narrow alleys and staircases where time has truly stopped. A few families still live here, cats sleep on the steps, and the scent of bread baked in wood-fired ovens mingles with that of wild rosemary. In spring, wisteria and bougainvillea erupt in colour on every balcony and windowsill.

At the table, Gerace is a land of bold flavours. The dish not to miss is pasta with geracese-style goat sauce, a slow ragù that cooks for hours with tomato, chilli and local pecorino. Also worth trying are the aubergine polpette, the frittole (pork offal fried according to ancient tradition) and the mostaccioli, hard honey-and-flour sweets that soften only when dipped in wine. The Taverna del Duca, housed in a sixteenth-century noble palazzo, serves local cuisine with zero-kilometre ingredients and a house wine from the nearby Cirò DOC area. For a quick but memorable lunch, the Osteria Antico Borgo on the main street offers boards of local cheeses, capocollo and 'nduja with durum wheat bread.

For accommodation, the Casa della Musica is a b&b in an eighteenth-century palazzo with period furnishings and a breakfast that includes the owner's home-made citrus jams. The alternative is the Agriturismo La Locride in the countryside below, perfect for those who want to combine a visit to the borgo with excursions to nearby Locri Epizefiri, where the remains of the temple of Marasà and the Greek theatre can still be seen.

Gerace deserves at least a full day, ideally two. The morning for the borgo, the afternoon for the Locride sea — Siderno and Roccella Jonica are just a few kilometres away — and the evening for a leisurely dinner with a glass of Greco di Bianco, Italy's oldest passito wine, produced a few kilometres from here. Those seeking an authentic alternative to picture-postcard Calabria will find in Gerace the answer they didn't know they were looking for.