Italy is an extraordinary country because wherever you go, even in the less touristy areas, you will find spectacular places and villages rich in tradition. In Calabria there are many hidden places that express the most authentic soul of this enchanting region of southern Italy and one of these is Cardeto. This small village is located about 17 km from Reggio Calabria and lies in the heart of the lush Aspromonte National Park. This is the context in which 'Il Tipico Calabrese' is located, apparently just an inn, but inside it reveals a small world waiting to be discovered.
Discovering "Il Tipico Calabrese
Cardeto is a small village built on the banks of the Sant'Agata river and appears perched on a promontory, like an ancient nativity scene: it is one of the main centres of the Grecanica area, where the Grecanica language is still spoken, the result of colonisation that took place centuries ago.
At the foot of the picturesque old town, in the historic 'Da Cruci' district, is Il Tipico Calabrese, a small family business founded in 2004 with the aim of promoting the cultural, craft and food and wine heritage linked to the Greeks of Aspromonte.
It allows you to taste the typical cuisine of Cardeto in a warm environment, on the walls of which there are plenty of antiques linked to rural life in the past: there is also an outdoor area where you can have lunch in the shade of fragrant citrus trees. The dishes prepared in "Il Tipico Calabrese" are all linked to the territory and prepared with products at Km0 or taken from the Orto del Tipico, which is even maintained with an archaic irrigation system.
The Museosteria has in the past been awarded the "Tradizioni reggine" quality mark and the coveted Slow Food "Chiocciola".
"Il Tipico Calabrese": more than an osteria
"Il Tipico Calabrese" is also a place created with the aim of enhancing and preserving Cardeto's rural civilisation, and for this reason it also includes the MEGA, an "Ethnographic Museum of the Greeks of Aspromonte". This small space houses numerous tools and rural implements, as well as a library full of volumes dedicated to the Calabria region and its popular music.
There is also a workshop dedicated to woodcarvers and a workshop dedicated to handicrafts and typical local products. Excursions to discover the Sant'Agata Valley, where the village of Cardeto is located, are organised at "Il Tipico Calabrese".
The village itself is full of places to discover, from the Church of San Sebastiano to the Sanctuary of Santa Maria Assunta di Mallemace, built on the remains of a Basilian monastery and home to a beautiful 18th-century statue of the Virgin.