The Diamante Diamond
Jutting out on a promontory in the Mediterranean is the town of Diamante, a small town with a mountain of initiative as it strives to make its presence felt alongside those famous names in the south of Italy ; - you know them all - Palermo, Tropea, Marsala .... Diamante calls on all its skills to make its mark amongst its illustrious neighbours as it promotes its festivals and its points of distinction. Yet this is a town with character and charm in its own right, with its kilometres of relaxed beaches and its warmly coloured buildings steeped in history. It is a town whose charms are often overlooked.
In Diamante you will find yourself in a town which is all about the art. The exterior walls of the houses that line the cobbled streets are punctuated with frescoes and murals, some small, some large, all a celebration of colour with the warm plaster walls as a canvas. There are they say, around seventy of these examples of wall art, and Diamante is quite unique amongst its south Italian neighbours in this respect. It is a visual extravaganza as you stroll the narrow streets.
However it is not just art which draws your eye as you walk through the streets of Diamante. It is the deep red clusters of colour hanging from balconies and verandas decorating the doorways, the walls, the shops. It is the bunches of drying chillies hanging vibrant and fiery in the sun ready for use.
In September each year Diamante holds a festival in celebration of the peperoncino - the hot chilli pepper. The festival attracts tens of thousands each year and is a big event in the Diamante calendar.
Market stalls offer food spiced with the mighty chilli pepper. There are decorations of chilli peppers; garlands of chilli peppers; and of course there is the chilli eating contest. But in the end it is as a flavour enhancer rather than for intense heat that the chilli is chiefly used in Calabrian cuisine and it is this that the celebration is truly about.
Diamante is a relaxed town where the streets are quiet without the hubbub of the major tourist trade. The small harbour has its own fleet of fishing boats so the supply of good seafood can always be relied on at the local restaurants and cafes. The older parts of Diamante steadfastly resist the encroachments of ribbon built beach fronts - as seen in some nearby towns. As you stroll along the quiet beach at sunset you will realise there is much to savour and enjoy about the jewel that is Diamante.
Also Pip McCurdy's New Zealand posts:
On Blogspot, Pip McCurdy on the Road
Website: http://www.unusualstays.com/
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