This magnificent borgo, jutting out into the crystal sea, is a remarkable alternation of patrician palaces with sumptuous portals, churches with a medieval face, Renaissance, Baroque and neoclassical features, together with convents that perpetuate the memory of a past religious fervour. According to legend, the borgo was founded by Hercules, who rested here after completing his twelve labours. Here he found a city called Tropheia (“nurse” in Greek) in honour of Juno, his nurse. There are echoes of the Magna Graecia, Roman and early Christian eras, Arab, Byzantine, Norman, Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese rule can be seen wandering through the streets throbbing with history, legends and mysteries. The visitor can see them too in the fine architecture, monuments, archaeological and artistic treasures on display at the Diocesan Museum, and in the variety of festivals and cultural events reliving Tropea’s millennial history. Through the narrow alleys of the historic centre, the curtains flutter in the warm wind that brings fragrances of basil and rosemary. Purple bougainvillea frame the fiery red sunsets that seem to erupt from the mouth of Stromboli, in the distance. The Byzantines built the city walls and the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola, an ancient hermitage built by Orthodox monks (6th-7th century) on a cliff overlooking the blue sea: with its Mediterranean maquis garden and terrace, it is the symbol of Tropea and Calabria across the world. At the highest point of the medieval city stands the Cathedral in Baroque style.