ABOUT CALABRIA

GET TO KNOW “THE TOE”

Calabria sits at the toe of Italy’s boot, surrounded by the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas and separated from Sicily by the narrow Strait of Messina.

It’s a place of contrasts: rugged mountains and long coastlines, ancient towns and beach culture, deep traditions and food that can feel surprisingly simple and modern.

Once part of Magna Graecia, Calabria carries centuries of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Norman, and Mediterranean influence. But what interests us most is what has endured: a strong sense of place, regional ingredients, family traditions, and a way of eating shaped by what grows nearby.

This is where MOTO starts.

CALABRIAN FOOD: SIMPLE INGREDIENTS, BIG FLAVOR

Calabrian cuisine is bold without being complicated.

Peperoncino, oregano, garlic, olive oil, preserved vegetables, beans, seafood, cured meats, breadcrumbs, citrus, and hard cheeses do a lot of the work. The pantry is practical. The flavors aren't shy.

Calabrian chiles are at the center of it all. Known locally as peperoncino, they bring more than heat: they're fruity, smoky, savory, and slightly sweet. You’ll find them dried, crushed, preserved in oil, folded into ’nduja and salumi, and scattered over everyday dishes.

That balance of heat and flavor is what drew us to Calabria in the first place—and what inspired MOTO Calabrian Chili Hot Sauce.

’NDUJA

One of Calabria’s most famous foods: a soft, spreadable salume made with pork and plenty of Calabrian chile. Rich, savory, smoky, and spicy, it’s spread on bread or worked into pasta, pizza, eggs, and sauces.

CIPOLLA ROSSA DI TROPEA

The celebrated red onion grown around Tropea is unusually sweet and mild. Calabrians eat it raw, grilled, roasted, preserved, and cooked into agrodolce.

CALABRIAN OREGANO

Wild and intensely aromatic, Calabrian oregano is used simply—rubbed between the fingers and scattered over tomatoes, grilled vegetables, meat, seafood, pizza, and salads.

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

Olive oil is foundational to Calabrian cooking, with native varieties such as Carolea producing oils that range from fruity and delicate to robust and peppery.

BERGAMOT

Calabria is the world center of bergamot, the intensely fragrant citrus best known outside Italy for giving Earl Grey tea its distinctive aroma. Most production is concentrated along the Ionian coast around Reggio Calabria.

CALABRIAN SALUMI

Capocollo, soppressata, and salsiccia are deeply rooted in the region’s food culture, often seasoned with peperoncino, fennel, and other local spices.

EGGPLANT

Stuffed, fried, preserved, baked into parmigiana, or turned into polpette—eggplant is everywhere in Calabrian cooking, especially during the summer.

LICORICE FROM ROSSANO

The area around Rossano has been famous for licorice for centuries. The intensely flavored root is made into candies, extracts, liqueurs, and digestivi.

SLOW FOOD, THE CALABRIAN WAY

Long before “local” became a movement, Calabria cooked that way out of necessity.

Seasonality, preservation, small-scale agriculture, and recipes passed from one generation to the next remain part of the region’s food culture. Drying chiles and figs, curing meat, preserving vegetables in oil, making use of wild herbs, and cooking with what is growing nearby aren't trends here. They're simply how people have eaten.

That makes Calabria a natural home for the Slow Food movement and its work protecting traditional foods, biodiversity, and small producers.

Across the region, Slow Food Presidia help preserve ingredients, agricultural traditions, and foods tied to particular landscapes and communities—from heritage livestock and mountain legumes to traditional fruits and vegetables.

The idea is simple and one we like a lot: food should still taste like somewhere.

FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA

Calabria is nearly surrounded by water, but its interior rises quickly into mountains and forests. That geography helps explain why the food changes so much from one part of the region to another—and why Calabria can feel like several places at once.

TROPEA

Perched above the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tropea combines a historic clifftop center, dramatic beaches, lively piazzas, and one of Calabria’s most famous ingredients: the sweet red Tropea onion.

SCILLA & CHIANALEA

At the southern end of the Calabrian coast, Scilla looks across the Strait of Messina toward Sicily. Its old fishing quarter, Chianalea, sits directly on the water, and the sea—especially swordfish—remains central to local life and food.

PIZZO

A seaside town built into the cliffs of the Tyrrhenian coast, Pizzo is best known for Tartufo di Pizzo: gelato traditionally formed around a molten chocolate center. It's reason enough to stop.

REGGIO CALABRIA

Facing Sicily across the Strait of Messina, Reggio Calabria is the region’s largest city and home to the famous Riace Bronzes. The surrounding coast is also the heartland of Calabrian bergamot.

SILA

Head inland and Calabria changes completely. The Sila plateau is a landscape of mountains, forests, lakes, potatoes, mushrooms, cheeses, cured meats, and cold winters—a very different Calabria from the coast.

ASPROMONTE

Rising dramatically behind Reggio Calabria, Aspromonte combines forests, mountain villages, waterfalls, and sweeping views toward Sicily and Mount Etna.

POLLINO

Straddling Calabria and Basilicata, Pollino is Italy’s largest national park. Its mountains are home to ancient forests, small agricultural communities, and Arbëreshë towns where centuries-old Albanian language and traditions survive.

DINO ISLAND & PRAIA A MARE

On Calabria’s northern Tyrrhenian coast, limestone cliffs, sea caves, and clear water surround Dino Island just offshore from Praia a Mare.

SANTA SEVERINA

Known as Calabria’s “Stone Ship,” Santa Severina rises above the Ionian side of the region with a Norman castle, Byzantine history, and a remarkably preserved medieval center.