The Ipomea Club - a unique setting for exclusive holidays!

Ipomea Club rises directly on the sea, between Vaticano cape and small rocky shores in St. Mary’ bay. The Resort, composed of 45 rooms and 10 suites, develops in five structures among green spaces and relaxing corners which give the impression to be the in a small, typical village. The special care for refined details and a warming welcome make Ipomea Club the ideal place for work-meetings and relaxing holidays. Inside the hotel you will find a private parking, swimming pool, equipped beach, restaurant and bar.

The plane and exclusive furniture supported by “ferro battuto” decoration of the room, and chromatic effects like the sea-blue of pavements or hand-made ceramics of bathrooms, create a fresh and comfortable atmosphere in strict contact with nature.

Breakfast, everywhere you enjoy it, is a special moment in the clean air of the morning. The sunset, when the sun enters the Vulcano of Stromboli in Aeolian islands, is another magic moment to enjoy.

Address

Loc. Fortino - Santa Maria di Ricadi - Capo Vaticano

Rooms

The 45 rooms have two, three or four beds, and are air conditioned with a particularly silent clima-system. The terraces and comfortable balconies are ideal places to have breakfast, to the fresh breeze of the morning. All that contributes to make the Ipomea Club one of more elegant hotel of the entire Calabrian coast. The ten elegant suites, composed of hall, bedroom, sitting-room, service with anti bath and sea-view terrace, are still more comfortable and refined in distributions of spaces, chromatic effects, crystal and iron decoration, Vietri made ceramics and exclusive furniture. All the rooms and the suites are equipped with air conditioning, frigo bar, telephone, hair dryer, TV satellite. Rooms for Handicap people are also available

Facilities

The Bar with its large window faces on the terrace which overlooks the swimming pool and represents the ideal place where to spend pleasant moments listening to good music and enjoying the sublime view of the Bay.

The Restaurant, furnished in an original way, is comfortable and precise it proposes not only a continental cooking but also the most genuine and traditional food from the Calabrian Gastronomy.

The wide swimming pool, decorated with a fine ceramic mosaic, has Jacuzzi system, geyser and wide solarium equipped for a good relax.

From the swimming pool solarium it is possible to go directly on the private beach with its white sand and equipped of sun umbrellas, deck chairs and bar service. Animation day and night, mini-club and baby-sitting, baby swimming pool, canoe and pedalò, wide garages and parking place inside the hotel.

Places to Visit

TROPEA
Ringed by cliffs and wonderful sandy beaches, the Tropea promontory is still undiscovered by the big tour operators. The main town, Tropea, easily wins the contest for prettiest town on the Calabria Tyrrhenian coast, its old palazzi built in simple golden stone on an elevation above the sea.

On a clear day, the seaward views from the waterfront promenade extend to embrace Stromboli's cone and at least four of the other Eolians - the islands can be visited by motorboats that depart daily from Tropea in the summer.

Accomodations are good, and beach addicts will not be disappointed by the choice of magnificent sandy bays within easy reach of here. Some of the best are located a little further south at Capo Vaticano and north at Briatico.
In Tropea's harmonious warren of lanes, seek out the old Norman Cattedrale, whose interior displays a couple of unexploded US bombs from World War II, with grateful prayer to the Madonna attached to each.
From belvedere at the bottom of the main square, Piazza Ercole, the church and Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria della Isola glistens on a rocky pormontory above an aquamarine sea. Stroll out to visit the church on a path lined wiht fishermen's caves. Of Basilian origin, the church was remodeled in Gothic style, then given another face-lift after an earthquake in 1905. The interior has an 18th-century nativity and some fragments of medieval tombs.

VIBO VALENTIA
Until 1928 Vibo Valentia was known as Monteleone di Calabria. Although it sits a little inland and at some height from the Gulf of Sant'Eufemia on the Tyrrhenian Sea, in pre-modern times, it was a strategic location, and thus the city had to pay the usual bloody price in wars and conflicts that date back thousands of years. If that were not enough, the city has also suffered frequent devastation by earthquakes, especially those of 1783 and 1905.

Below the old city, on a bay that has seen the coming and going of bristling warships for centuries, is the modern, resort town of Vibo Marina, used by local fisherman, but also by yachtsmen and other boaters who sail and motor on the blue, blue waters of the Mediterranean. Summer holiday-makers from "up north" now arrive in their thousands and crowd the beaches, restaurants, cafes and hotels that have sprung-up along the shores of the bay, especially during the last 20 years or so. It is a bit scruffy, but lively during the high season.

Like many of the towns in the extreme south of Calabria, old Vibo - or Hipponion as it was known - was colonized by Greeks. The first settlers were sent from nearby Locri, as early as 700 BC. Later conflict erupted between this "mother" city and Hipponion, embroiling both in long-lasting and ultimately catastrophic struggles.

Vibo was also much-contested by "foreign powers" after its founding: by Syracuse, by local Italic tribes like the Brutti and the Lucans and others. At some point, in its struggle with Locri, it came under the protection of Carthage, but after the Carthaginians were defeated by the Romans, in the second of the two Punic Wars, the city fell firmly within the embrace of the Roman Empire (about 192 BC), where it remained, mostly at peace, for a few hundred years.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the city endured the continuous ravages of wars between competing empires, including those of the Aragonese, Normans and Saracens.

During the reign of the Norman, or Swabian, Emperor, Frederick II, who rolled Calabria into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the city, which had been destroyed during the 9th century by the Saracen raiders, was rebuilt. It was he who built the castle, on the site of the original Greek Acropolis, above the town, and it was he who gave the city a new name, Monteleone, Mount of the Lion.

Ultimately, Calabria was absorbed by the Kingdom of Naples, during which time it lost some of its lustre as a main center. Vibo regained some of its former prestige when, during the Napoleonic conquest, it became the capital city of the administrative area the French referred to as Calabria ultra. After Napoleon's defeat, the again found itself within the Kingdom of Naples, where it remained until the unification of Italy in 1860. Vibo Valentia got its current name in January 1928 by decree of the newly installed Fascist government in Rome.

There are many things to do and see in the old city. We recommend starting with a climb to the top to the Belvedere Grande, were you will find staggering views ranging from the Sila Mountains in the Calabrian hinterlands behind, to Mount Aetna on the Island of Sicily.

Close by is a small 300 meter long remnant of the original Greek walls, built of monolithic stone blocks, that some say stretched for 7 kilometers around the city. There is also the ruin of a Doric temple worth investigating. The Norman castle, interesting in its own right, houses the Archaeological Museum, containing a variety of artifacts from all eras and epochs from Greek to Napoleonic times.

In the old city that spreads down the hill from this "acropolis" you will discover the ruins of Roman houses and thermal baths, containing an interesting fragment of a mosaic wall (on via XXV Aprile), the usual coterie of public buildings and churches from the times of antiquity. The Duomo, for example, which is dedicated to Santa Leoluca, is a beautiful example of Baroque architecture. Inside you will find wonderful statues carved by Antonello Gagini.

Look also for Chiesa Sant Michele built in the Renaissance style in 1519. The campanile - bell tower - was added in 1671. The Chiesa Santa Ruba, said to be haunted by the ghost, has a dome that looks like an open umbrella.
One museum/gallery, the Scalabrini National Emigration Museum, housed in the Dominican convent next to the cathedral, has a very compelling display that memorializes the great Calabrian emigrations to the United States, Canada and other parts of the "new world".

The Casa Capialbi is a museum located on via Cesare Lombardi that is the home of a valuable Greek bronzes, some Roman glass¬ware, ancient parchments, and a collection of 16th century books.

Lastly, you might want to visit the Museum of Sacred Art on Piazza San Leoluca by the Cathedral. Included in the collection there is a variety of sacred objects from Vibo Valentia, but also the surrounding area.

NICOTERA
The origins of Nicotera date back to the decadence of an ancient Greek city called Medama, when the inhabitants left this place in order to escape from Saracen raids and chose a higher and healthier site, on a hill.

Although the city has been damaged by continual earthquakes and its inhabitants have been victim to numerous natural catastrophe, the old city, situated startegically on a large mountain overlooking the entire coast is well-preserved, elegant and architecturally beautiful. With numerous architectural influences combining throughout the town's centre, those with an eye for both history and craftsmanship, will not be disappointed.

The beach in front of the town consists of white sand, numerous lidos and numerous cafès and bars.
In the old part of the town built higher up, the archeological museum and museum of contemporary art are well-worth the time, even if many of the descriptions are written exclusively in Italian.

PIZZO
One of the most beautiful and famous towns in the Vibo Valentia district of Calabria, and one of the most picturesque areas on the southern coast, is Pizzo . The town, whose name in dialect means "cliff", is situated on a high promontory overlooking the Gulf of Sant'Eufemia on the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Pizzo, a fishing town whose fish find their way to the menus of many famous restaurants throughout Italy, was built on the ruins of Napitia, a colony of an ancient tribal group, the Focesis. It has a long, illustrious history. According to local lore, Cicerone visited and St. Peter stopped on his journey to Rome.

Pizzo is notorious for having been the place of the capture and shooting of the former king of Naples, Napoleon's brother in-law, Giachino Murat. His body was said to have been thrown into a common pit under the floor of St. George Church, and has never been recovered.

The historical centre of Pizzo is characterized by narrow lanes and streets with many interconnecting stairways. At the intersection of many of these lanes and streets, one finds several squares, some with fountains. There are numerous palazzi (mansions) once owned by rich merchants and other members of the higher classes, with interesting architectural detail.

Of course, you will encounter a number of churches as you make your way around the town including the Little Church of the Piedigrotta (see side bar). Look for the airy piazza, the Spuntone, where you can admire the imposing Aragonese castle in the distance, as well as take in a wide view of the sea from Lamezia to Capo Vaticano.

Pizzo is becoming an ever popular tourist resort town thanks to its mild, sunny climate and to the stunning coastline, where there are many attractions and activities for locals and travellers alike. Many of these can be better appreciated as you lick the Tartufo gelato for which the town is justifiably famous. At lunch or dinner try a glass (or two!) of the local wine, know as "Zibibbo".

A must see in Pizzo: the Little Church of the Piedigrotta.
Legend has it that in about 1600 the sailors of a shipwrecked boat attributed their survival to a picture of the Madonna that was on board their ship and which also survived the storm. At first, the picture was secured close to shore, but another storm took it and deposited where the sailors first washed up. A small statue of the Madonna was made and put in a grotto where it quickly became a shrine. Two centuries later, a local sculptor began a life-long work sculpting figures out of the tufa rock inside the grotto. His son and other sculptors have carried on the work. The carved figures, singly and in groups, with light filtering in from the sea and sky and reflecting from pools of water in the cave, are deeply affecting.

Rates

Comfort Double room per day including buffet breakfast
from 110,00 € to 280,00 €

Superior Double room per day including buffet breakfast
from 150,00 € to 320,00 €

Suite per day including buffet breakfast
from 190,00 € to 360,00 €

SUPPLEMENT
Single room reduction 25%
Dinner 20,00 € beverage not included
Lunch + Dinner 40,00 € beverage not included