Artist Workspace in a 13th-century cliffside portico overlooking the Coast of the Gods

The space

“The Arches” of Tropea is a historic arts and culture space in a recently opened 13th-century vaulted sandstone portico, composed of seven arches carved into the cliffside, overlooking the Coast of the Gods. They sit at “la Ripa,” or “the Edge,” of the cliffside in the quiet part of Tropea’s celebrated historic center, behind Palazzo Fazzari in Largo Galluppi, and away from the crowds along Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Swifts, swallows, crows, and gulls come and go along the cliff face all day. In the morning, the stone glows golden in the light of the sunrise, and in the evening, the port lights grace its vaulted ceilings. For approximately three centuries, the Arches were something you looked at from afar, not something you walked into. But they were once open. In 1720, in the only written record we have of the Arches, the Tropean abbot Francesco Sergio described them as a covered public overlook, open to the Zephyrian winds, from which you could see the fish in the water (also hinting at the sea being much closer to the cliff back then). Soon after this description was written, the Arches were closed in. They have only recently become possible to visit again. TROPEArte opened them in May 2026, beginning the process of restoring the overlook to Francesco Sergio’s 18th-century description. They are now open for guided tours, artist retreats and workshops, exhibitions, filming and photo shoots, as well as events — the first time in three centuries that anyone has been able to simply stand inside them and look out. We don’t fully know what they are. The covered, vaulted, sandstone portico of seven arches is thought to date to the Angevin period, in the 13th century, with a possible connection to the nearby Angevin-era Chapel of San Margherita. That is the theory, and it is a good one, but the provenance remains genuinely uncertain, and the structure is currently undergoing an in-depth historical and material study led by the historical restoration architect Vincenzo Carone. A Refuge in a Town Founded by Refugees To understand why we think of this space as a refuge, you have to start with the town’s founding. Tropea was founded in late antiquity by North African refugees who were likely fleeing the Vandal invasions. They crossed the sea and made a home on top of this rock — a history examined in detail in Lucia D’Amore’s 2024 study of the origins of the town of Tropea, which explores the town’s Latin inscriptions as a record of emigration and displacement in late antiquity. Later, Tropea was a beachhead for the Byzantine reconquest of Italy from the Goths, and even the seat of an Arab emirate for a time, before being retaken by the Eastern Roman Empire and then absorbed into the Latin world by the itinerant Normans. Tropea gave us Albino Lorenzo, the artist known as “the Last Impressionist,” who painted this coastline and whose spirit is still felt in the streets where he worked. The town also gave the country Lydia Toraldo Serra, one of its very first female mayors, and the actor Raf Vallone. It also attracted artists from elsewhere. M.C. Escher traveled through Calabria in 1930 and 1931 and was caught by the light, the geometry of the architecture, the wild, vertical constructions on the rock, and the sheer drops to the sea. Eduard Bäumer found the same thing and stayed a long while to paint it. Our hope is that Tropea’s history as a refuge will lay the groundwork for it to remain a refuge in the modern world, whether for people fleeing poverty and war or simply escaping the chaos of the times. What we offer at the Arches is the smaller, quieter version of the same instinct: a place to come and be left alone with your work, in a time that is not especially easy to live in. Somewhere to create, or simply to sit and think, when the world is loud. That’s what the space is for. A refuge for painters, writers, poets, photographers, thinkers, or anyone who wants to spend time in a quiet, historic space. Beginners and artists with forty years of exhibitions behind them are welcome. The Arches face the rising sun at dawn, and as the morning progresses, the space fills with a golden light. By noon, the sun has passed overhead and over the adjoining courtyard, and the filtered light is soft and calm. In late afternoon, the hills are alight, while the shade deepens among the stones. As the evening nears, the cliff birds chirp and cry, and the lights of the port shine up into the darkening colonnade. Tropea was founded by people fleeing another place, and it has given shelter to the persecuted repeatedly in the centuries since. The Arches continue this legacy. We are open to artists and visitors of every nationality, background, faith, and identity.