6 km inland from Locri, 100 km east of Reggio. The green, yellow and white marble for the largest and most appalling cathedral in Calabria (circa 1100) was pillaged from Greek temples on the shore below. Once a ‘perfectly delicious’ township according to 19thC artist and versifier Edward Lear, it is now depopulated, sunbathing the years away, overflowing with gardens of unkempt palms, bamboos and hybrid fruits.

Down on the shore is Locri, with Locri Epizefiri (‘Locri-in-the-West’) 3 km south, oldest of Magna Graecian cities in Italy. The stub of a fluted column stands amid the rubble of considerable temples – not evocative, handy if you are looking for somewhere to sit.