Where is Tropea located?
Tropea is a small town and the administrative center of the homonymous municipality in the Vibo Valentia province of the Calabria region, on the gentle Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. The town is located west of the regional capital, Catanzaro, on the shore of the Sant'Eufemia Gulf.
Tropea has a population of only 6,368 people in an area of 3.6 square kilometers, with a population density of 1.9 people per square kilometer. If these numbers don't mean much to you, let's put it in simpler terms: the town is small, and it can easily be explored on foot in about an hour or so. It is situated on a steep cliff overlooking the sea, providing magnificent views created by nature itself.
History of Tropea
The Italian coast is invariably associated with the myths of Ancient Greece and the pantheon of gods. The history of Tropea is contradictory, and according to some accounts, it dates back to the time of the Roman Republic. The famous battle between Pompey and Octavian took place here, and as a result, Octavian, impressed by the convenient harbor, built a trading port and named it Tropea, which translates to "trophy" or "spoils." Another myth claims that Tropea was founded by Hercules himself, who stopped on the coast of the Gods during his return from Spain and established one of his ports there.
Another version of the resort's origin is its existence during the Punic Wars as a counterbalance to the Greek strategic city of Vibonum, the Roman stronghold of Tropea.
These theories mentioned above are based only on folk beliefs, but historically confirmed facts indicate that Tropea's history begins around the 5th-6th century AD.
Subsequently, the center of Hellenic culture flourished thanks to immigrants from the Balkan Peninsula, remaining under the rule of the Patriarch of Constantinople until the 9th century. The inhabitants named the city Vibonum, and this name has survived in the names of local settlements, such as Vibo Valentia.
For a long time, Tropea was considered a strategically important center due to its advantageous location. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, Tropea was part of the territories belonging to the Papal See.
