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On the sole of Italy's boot, so to speak, a wild landscape of rugged mountains dotted with tiny stone villages leads to an indented coastline with white, sandy beaches. This is the setting for L'Agrumeto, a very pretty century-old stone farmhouse situated near the Gulf of Squillace on the Ionian Sea. Carefully restored and converted into a charming country retreat, the house is set in complete privacy nestled on a terrace cut into the hillside above a sea of orange trees. It is very tastefully decorated with local antiques and artisans' work in keeping with its terracotta floors and beamed ceilings. A swimming pool and small pool house are set on an adjacent terrace above the orange grove, with wonderful views of the hills. Crotone, north of the gulf, was founded in 710BC as the first settlement of Magna Graecia. Succeeding generations of Romans, Byzantines and Aragons embellished and expanded their villages and towns, both along the coast and in the spectacular hinterland of the Sila Mountains.
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