CALABRIA TOURS was born out of the recognition that the most beautiful area of Italy is rarely seen by tourists. There are over 25,000,000 people worldwide that can trace their ancestry to an area that forms the toe of the boot-like landmass that is Italy. This area is now known as Calabria.

While dining in Calabria, A gentleman by the name of  Rick Coroniti, an American travel agency owner, was introduced to the restaurant’s owner, Peppe Piroso, who was born and raised in Calabria. They discussed the history and culture of Calabria, and also the fact that even though it was such a beautiful area, it was always by-passed by the commercial tour operators. A year after that meeting, Piroso relocated his family to Philadelphia, where the two men met once again. Their second meeting ultimately led to the concept of a tour program which was named “Back To Our Roots”. Since America was experiencing a heightened interest in genealogy, the focus of “Back To Our Roots” was to have first and second generation Calabrians return to their ancestral villages and towns, where they could then gather authentic genealogy information and perhaps even meet unknown relatives.

Originally, the intent was to have a single “Back To Our Roots” tour per year, with no two itineraries being the same. The first tour was so successful that more than 30% of the travelers on the first tour also took the second tour, this time bringing along their parents and relatives. Since then, we have had numerous requests to plan more tours and to visit other areas. In response, later tours began in Calabria but also included Sicily, along with Sorrento, Rome and the northern areas of Assisi and Perugia.

All of our tour itineraries are designed to bring tourists into areas that they would not usually get to see with other tour companies. If you are the type of traveler who seeks  not only the usual tourist attractions, but also wants to experience the diversity in the food, music and culture of the “local” Italians , we think that you will enjoy touring with CALABRIA TOURS.