Villa San Giovanni is a town of 13,098 inhabitants in the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria.
The city overlooks the Strait of Messina and its port is the main ferry terminal for Sicily. Punta Pezzo, in fact, located in the municipality of Villa, represents the point of closest proximity between the Calabrian and Sicilian shores: this has made the city the ideal location for crossing the strait.
The area on which the current town of Villa San Giovanni stands (in ancient times identified as Cenidéo, from Capo Cenide) covered a strategic role from an economic and military point of view for the populations who alternated in the dominion of the Mediterranean as early as the Magna Graecia era . In fact, the Trajectum Siciliæ (Passage to Sicily) was located here, at the site of the ancient Colonna Reggina, from where the Strait was crossed to reach the island.
Source: Villa San Giovanni. (January 27, 2021). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Taken on February 22, 2021, 1:15 pm from //it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Villa_San_Giovanni&oldid=118275751 .
The Reggina Column (Columna Rhegina in Latin) is the name of the site north of Reggio Calabria where in the Greco-Roman era the point of the continental coast closest to Sicily was indicated, as well as an important stopover station on the Via Popilia (Capua -Rhegium).
The exact location of the column that marked the ferry site has long been debated, however historians seem to agree in indicating a column-shaped turret, known as the Columna Rhegina, as the site's symbol.
From the calculations provided by Pliny the Elder and by Strabone it emerges that the shortest stretch of the Strait was once between Santa Trada and Cannitello and not between Punta Pezzo and Cannitello as today, therefore coming from the North it was necessary to reach the beach of Cannitello through Santa Trada, entering the Porticello area, and everything suggests that the site was located right in Cannitello, a hamlet of Villa San Giovanni.
Source: Reggina column. (January 26, 2021). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Taken on February 22, 2021, 1:19 pm from //it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colonna_Reggina&oldid=118238468 .
Everything is tinged with different shades of purple, giving life every evening, with its spectacular reflections, to an ever new vision.
Plato, 4th century BC
The Costa Viola is a geographical area north of Reggio Calabria overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Strait of Messina.
The Costa Viola extends for about 35 km. between the Strait of Messina (southern border) and the lower Tyrrhenian Sea (northern border) and includes four municipalities (Villa San Giovanni, Scilla, Bagnara Calabra and Palmi) whose territories overlook the sea with a vast hinterland behind. The coast line, squeezed between the sea and the mountains, is dominated by high and jagged coastlines as well as graceful and suggestive ravines. From Monte Sant'Elia it is possible to enjoy a superb panorama with the archipelago of the Aeolian Islands and the two active volcanoes Etna and Stromboli in the background. The coastal road crosses the slopes covered by the Mediterranean maquis. The whole area is also characterized by terraced vineyards overlooking the sea. The beaches and the various coasts are sometimes rocky, sometimes sandy and sometimes gravelly, dominated by the ridges of Aspromonte and Monte Poro, which fall directly into the sea. The seabed is similar to the tropical ones and has an ecosystem that is still intact. Recently, near the coasts of Scilla, rare colonies of black coral have been discovered, while in those of Palmi, near Capo Barbi, as many colonies of white coral. In particular, the beach of Seminara Cala Janculla was included in 2003 among the 11 most beautiful beaches in Italy by Legambiente. Furthermore, a part of the territory is included in the list of Special Protection Areas and Sites of Community Interest of the Calabria Region. Recently, near the coasts of Scilla, rare colonies of black coral have been discovered, while in those of Palmi, near Capo Barbi, as many colonies of white coral. In particular, the beach of Seminara Cala Janculla was included in 2003 among the 11 most beautiful beaches in Italy by Legambiente. Furthermore, a part of the territory is included in the list of Special Protection Areas and Sites of Community Interest of the Calabria Region. Recently, near the coasts of Scilla, rare colonies of black coral have been discovered, while in those of Palmi, near Capo Barbi, as many colonies of white coral. In particular, the beach of Seminara Cala Janculla was included in 2003 among the 11 most beautiful beaches in Italy by Legambiente. Furthermore, a part of the territory is included in the list of Special Protection Areas and Sites of Community Interest of the Calabria Region.
The area owes its name to the description of the philosopher Plato who, sailing along this stretch of sea, according to reports, was struck by the various shades that the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Aspromonte mountain and all the surrounding landscape take on at sunset. As evening falls, the color is due to a play of light and refractions and the melange of the green of the mountains looming over the sea and the various shades of the sea itself; the purplish color is strengthened by the gaseous sulfur particles emitted by the always active and nearby Stromboli volcano.
Source: Costa Viola. (February 14, 2021). Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia. Taken on February 21, 2021, 13:46 from //it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Costa_Viola&oldid=118667336 .
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