Up to a few years ago in Calabria the processing of the broom was very popular. It was done in almost all counties, given the need to create an economic yarn and the great abundance of broom that colored and perfumed the hills of the region. The broom belongs to the Leguminose family, it is also called with dialectal names, depending on its geographical location in Calabria. The broom is a shrub from 50 to 105 cm tall which has very resistant and erect cylindrical green stems with a few leaves.

The art of weaving in Calabria has ancient origins. It belongs to the history of each family as the loom has been a symbol of female patience and industriousness. There was no house that did not own one and even today, in many counties it is possible to see old looms, often worm-eaten, which have taken on the color of the hearth where they stayed for years and years. The Calabrian poet Vincenzo Padula exalted this industrious instrument, comparing its sound to a musical instrument, such is the feeling of sweetness that emanates from it.

Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is the dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento (province of Lecce) and (sometimes spelled Grecanic) in Calabria. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it Katoitaliótika (Greek: Κατωιταλιώτικα, “Southern Italian”) or Grekanika (Γρεκάνικα), whereas its own speakers call it Greko (Γκραίκο or Calabrian Greek, in Calabria) or Griko (Γκρίκο, in Salento). Griko is spoken in Salento while Greko is spoken in Calabria. Griko and Standard Modern Greek are partially mutually intelligible, meaning speakers can understand each other without having to know each others’ language.

In Calabria, the Tyrrhenian coasts, and those of Pizzo have always been theater of the slaughter and have experienced moments of triumph of the tuna hunt. This type of fishing took place in a characteristic way: the tuna, in fact, were sighted and signaled from the mainland by towers specially built in strategic positions. In a document of 1577 the tonnarari are referred to stay away from home from mid-March to mid-October because of tuna fishing.

Swordfish is a typical dish of Calabrian cuisine in the province of Reggio Calabria. It is the most requested fish and the protagonist of the city’s gastronomy, not only for the delicacy of its meat, but also for the folkloric ritual that characterizes its fishing. In fact, one of the most attractive shows consists in attending the fishing trips of the “passarelle” or “spatare”, the characteristic and rapid boats specialized in hunting swordfish in the blue waters of the Costa Viola.