Atlas Trail
Ten Italian Cities from Sanremo to Crotone
This path runs through ten Italian cities in rough order from the Ligurian coast to the toe of the peninsula, taking in a riviera resort, a violin-making town, a court city, a late Roman capital, a maritime republic, an Adriatic port, a mountain capital, a medieval medical centre, a strait harbour and a Greek colony. Each is a different kind of place, and each stop note rests on a fact the atlas already records for the city.
Stop 1 of 10.
Cities
Sanremo sits on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria and has about 53,000 people. The atlas records a Roman-era founding and a reputation as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera, home to the Sanremo Music Festival and the Milan-San Remo cycling classic.
Stop 2 of 10.
Cities
Cremona lies on the left bank of the Po in Lombardy and is noted for its musical history, including the luthiers Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri and members of the Amati family. The atlas records about 71,000 people and a founding around 400 BC.
Stop 3 of 10.
Cities
Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna stands on a branch channel of the Po, 44 kilometers northeast of Bologna. Its broad streets and Renaissance palaces date from the court of the House of Este, and the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Stop 4 of 10.
Cities
Ravenna was capital of the Western Roman Empire during the fifth century until 476, then of the Ostrogothic Kingdom and the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. With 653.82 square kilometers it is the second largest Italian city by area.
Stop 5 of 10.
Cities
Pisa straddles the Arno just before it reaches the Ligurian Sea. Beyond the Leaning Tower it holds more than twenty other historic churches and medieval and Renaissance palaces, much of it paid for in its time as one of the Italian maritime republics.
Stop 6 of 10.
Cities
Ancona is a seaport on the Adriatic, 280 kilometers northeast of Rome, and the capital of both its province and the Marche region. It sits between Monte Astagno and Monte Guasco on the promontory of Monte Conero, and the atlas records a founding around 387 BC.
Stop 7 of 10.
Cities
Potenza overlooks the Basento valley in the Apennines at 819 meters, making it the highest regional capital in Italy. It is the capital of Basilicata and its largest city, with about 63,000 people.
Stop 8 of 10.
Cities
Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea was home to the Schola Medica Salernitana, active by the 11th century and regarded as a forerunner of the modern university. From February to August 1944 it was the seat of the Italian government.
Stop 9 of 10.
Cities
Messina is a harbour city at the Strait of Messina on the northeast corner of Sicily, the third largest city on the island. Founded by the Sicels as Zancle in 757 BC, it was later repopulated by Greek colonists and renamed Messana.
Stop 10 of 10.
Cities
Crotone in Calabria was founded around 710 BC as the Achaean colony of Croton and became a great Greek city, home to Pythagoras. Called Cotrone from the Middle Ages until 1928, it became a provincial capital in 1992.
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