To give you some idea, of what you can do or find in our surroundings we have added a small Alphabet with hopefully some useful information.

A Archaeology: For those who want to lift the secrets of this beautiful region by following its archaeological traces, will find an infinity of places which are of great interest. From the Paleolithic era with it’s caves (f. ex. grotta del Re Nilio in Tiriolo) by all the Magna Grecia sites (f. ex. Skylletion in today’s Rocelletta di Borgia) to the museums of Vibo Valentia and Tiriolo where you can see relicts of the era of the Bruttii or all the other places, where you can find examples from the Byzantine and Norman era. We have enough information-material to help you to organize your researches in an exciting and pleasant way.

Arte: As far as I know, these three are the most outstanding artists from Calabria :

1. Mattia Preti born in Taverna in 1613 near Catanzaro, the birthplace which he never forgot during his life, and where you can visit a big part of his oeuvre, which shows an elaboration of the style of Caravaggio and Guercino.

2. Umberto Boccioni born in Reggio Calabria in 1882 was, together with Marinetti, maybe the most important artist of the Italian Futurists and he was signing all Manifests of this movement. His important book is “Pittura Scultura futuriste” from 1914.

3. Mimmo Rotella born in 1918 in Catanzaro (died in the beginning of 2006), became famous for his “Decollages” which he created between 1959 and 1963 by tearing and scratching many layers of cinema and publicity-posters (pop-art). They are talking about opening a museum of his work in his house in Catanzaro.

B Bruttii or (gr. Brettii): They were an Italic people who came to the northern parts of Calabria after the fifth century B.C. and began to invade parts of the Greek civilization. They were mainly uncultured people and a kind of nomadic shepherds, but had learned to be able warriors (a bit similar to the Spartans). They mainly settled in the Sila region and their capital became Cosenza. But from 275 B.C. the Romans began to conquer them and they treated them with less respect than they had for the Greeks.

C CLETARTE: From 10 to 20 August 2005, thanks to a receptive Mayor, for the first time in Cleto an artistic event took place. 10 artists from south Italy created during one week installations on diverse places and in the churches of Cleto. Interesting films were shown and music was presented to an enthusiastic public. Since that time CletArte has become a fixed date in the cultural calender of the province of Cosenza.

D Disco: For passionate visitors of Disco’s this part of Calabria perhaps isn’t able to offer the maximum of delight, but I have to confess that I am not an expert in this question. I just know that ten min. from here there is a nice Latino-bar where you can have good food, drinks and move to beautiful salsa-rhythms.

Diving: 20 min from here in Belmonte Calabro there is the “Oasi Blu Isca “a protected marine area where the WWF gives permission to look at the beautiful seabed through glass-keeled boats or by diving with aqualungs.

F Festivals: Each summer a big number of Festivals take place in Calabria. Some of them are quite near to Cleto. For example:

July in Cosenza “Festival delle invasioni” cinema, music, theatre, cultural meetings;

July in Morano “Festival Blues”;

August in Altomonte ”Festival mediterraneo dei due mari” theatre, music, dance and folk; September in Cerisano “Festival delle serre” theatre, music, dance and cinema.

G Gelati: They make an excellent Gelato just a few km away from here, near the coast. Also famous are the Tartuffo ice-cream of Pizzo Calabro and the Gelati of Reggio di Calabria.

H Horse riding: In the “Sila grande” one and a half hours from here, where in winter you can ski on quite decent slops, in summer you can hire horses and gallop along the shores of the lakes or ride cross wide pasture-land covered with flowers and enter in the deep forests.... Pure freedom.

I Islands: On a clear day from Cleto you can see the island of Stromboli with its permanent hat of volcano smoke, and sometimes also the islands of Lipari, Salina and Vulcano. During the summer you can make daily-trips with an excursion-boat to the islands of Lipari, Vulcano and Stromboli from the port of Amantea, 10 min. away.

J Jazz: The Jazz festival of Rocella-Jonica, which takes place at the end of August, has become in the last years an institution of international level. Less than one and a half hours from here you can hear the best of the best of today jazz. But also in Scalea in August, in Rende in September and in Catanzaro in October you can hear Jazz of high quality.

K Kitchen: A recipe from our locality are the “Alici alla maniera di San Lucido”

(“Anchovies in the manner of San Lucido”). First remove the fishbone with the head from the fresh fishes. Prepare a mixture of lard with garlic, oregano and salt and put it on the fishes. Distribute the fish in a pan and sprinkle a lot of fresh rosemary over it. Finally sprinkle with olive oil and cook on medium heat.

L Lamezia airport: Just 35 min from Cleto and in the center of Calabria. It was just recently modernized and now has all the services which any European town should be able to offer to its guests. Certainly, “Rent a Car” service, which can be useful for discovering our beautiful Region.

M Museums: There are 29 Museums in the whole of Calabria (from Amendolara to Vibo Valentia), each of them reachable within 2 hours from here, or if you take the boat from the port of Amantea to the Islands you can visit the museum of Lipari (also very interesting because of the beautiful collection of Greek theatre statues).

N National parks of Calabria: A bit more than one hours drive from here and you can be in the National park of the “Sila Grande” and “Sila Piccola”, immersed 100% in total nature fascinating because of its enormously rich flora and fauna. There, between rivers, lakes, waterfalls and thousand year old forests you will understand that Calabria is the green heart of the Mediterranean.

O Oil: The Olive oil of the valley of Cleto is considered to be one of the best in the whole of Italy. It is mainly produced with olives of the Carolea type, which have a very mild taste and which have the characteristic to maintain their inalterable quality and fragrance for a long time. Cleto has got the label “De.Co.” which guarantees its Excellency. On the last Sunday of October Cleto celebrates it’s “Olio in Festa” where you can taste specialities made with our olive-oil and enjoy a nice day with feasting, drinking and music.

P Pythagoras: He is the Einstein of the ancient Greeks and maybe the most important man who ever operated in Calabria. His immeasurable influence is on Music, Mathematics and Philosophy. For example, wisdom which is the result of a culture which does not accept frontiers made by ideologies and religions. Destiny brought him from Samos to Crotone in 530 B.C. where he was contributing for a short period to a kind of “Golden Age”. Later the members of his “School” were persecuted and could only continue their activities in secret communities. For 5 years disciples had to listen before they were allowed to speak.

Q Qualità di vita: If you agree that quality of life means not only having a lot of money and material goods, but also the enjoyment of life at a basic level, which includes being happy and healthy, then you know that your choice to come to visit Calabria and our B&B was exactly the right one.

R Religious events: One of the most interesting religious events takes place each Easter-Saturday in Nocera Terinese (only 20 min from here). The inhabitants carry the statue of the “Madonna Addolorata” accompanied by music and songs along the streets of the town. Thousands of people follow the procession, because the main attraction is the so called “Vattienti” in which some of the citizens who are repeating an old, maybe medieval rite of self-flagellation. Wearing black shorts and a thorn-crown they beat their own legs with a cork-disc which is mounted with glass-splinters until the blood is flowing in abundance. This spectacle cannot but create a deep impression on the spectator.

S Sanctuaries: Half an hour from here you will find the sanctuary of Saint Francis of Paola. I think that it is really worth while taking the time to visit this interesting place. Francis was born there in 1416 and at the age of 15 he went to the monastery of the Friars Minor. From this time on he was maturing the idea of an ecclesiastic life-style based on poverty. Francis became a religious and social guide in Paola and quickly conquered the hearts of the people, also by the working of many wonders. Therefore he was ordered by Pope Sixtus IV to go to France to try to heal King Louis XI. Francis spent the rest of his life there deeply influencing the spiritual life of this country.He died in Tours in 1507.

T Thermal baths: In Calabria we have a few Thermal-baths and one of them is the Terme Luigiane, about 50 min from Cleto. It’s worth making an excursion to this place, which is near the sea and where it is possible to take some nice walks besides the waterfalls in the beautiful valley. The sulfurous waters are considered to be one of the best in Italy; only the service is not yet on highest level. Another Thermal bath is the “Terme Caronte” in Lamezia Terme 40 min from Cleto, but without outside swimming-pool.

U Umbrellas: On the beaches of North Italy the hiring of umbrellas and deckchairs has become so expensive, that some tourists have stopped frequenting these places. B&B Cleto offers you to carry its own equipment to the beach.

V Vade-mecum: We do not pretend to have given you the alternative to your pocket guide for Calabria but we can certainly add some interesting information for you!

W Wine: The wine of the valley of Cleto (Savuto Valley) has a very high appreciation amongst connoisseurs. In our own wine-yard we are producing between 400 and 500 lit of this special liquid, without using any chemical treatment.

Workshops: And if you desire to pass your holidays by combining sun, sea, relaxation, culture and creativity, by special request we can hold workshops where we are working on the possibility to express yourself in an artistic language by using Painting, Sculpture, Printing or other techniques.

X Xenophobia: It’s a pity that this negative human quality has a big diffusion in today's world. But in Calabria it does not exist yet and this is another positive fact of this region.

Y Yachting: 10-15 min. from Cleto there is the “Porto di Amantea”. It is quite a new harbor and offers all the essential services which the tourist who arrives by boat will need. From there you can also book short trips to visit the islands of Vulcano, Lipari, Panarea and Stromboli.

Z Zeta: Catherine Zeta-Jones was not here yet, but she would enjoy it … we are sure! In any case you can probably see her in the open air cinema in Amantea during summer (but only on the screen).