Catanzaro, also known as the city of the two seas, is an Italian city of 96,000 inhabitants and the capital of the Calabria region and of its province. The archbishop seat was the capital of the province of Calabria Ultra for over 200 years. It currently houses the University "Magna Græcia", the second largest University of Calabria.
Catanzaro is an urban center, with intense activity, including some coastal towns, such as Marina Sellia Soverato, and the municipalities of Silas, with a total of 156,196 inhabitants. Catanzaro is currently being consolidated to form a greater metropolitan area, by the Region of Calabria, and in connection with the town of Lamezia Terme, comprising 10 municipalities. This will lead to the creation of an integrated area which will extend from the coast to the Ionian Sea, involving over 200,000 inhabitants.
During the summer months, the Ionian coast from Catanzaro to Soverato is an important tourist attraction, especially for the youth, and is in the presence of several important structures located in the coastal districts of the city and the town of Copanello Soverato.
Catanzaro is also known as city of the three V's, referring to the three distinct features of the city, namely San Vitaliano, the patron saint; velvet, as an important silk center since the time of the Byzantines; and wind (vento in Italian) as constantly experienced by the strong breezes from the Ionian Sea and Silas.
"VVV" was the symbol by which Catanzaro's silk industry was known by, identified for both its domestic and foreign markets, and iconic for the finest fabrication of silks, velvets, damasks and brocades from the city.

Main sights

• Catanzaro Bridge, a well-known, one-arch bridge (Viaduct Morandi-Bisantis)- one of the tallest in Europe.
• Duomo (Cathedral). Built over a Norman cathedral built in 1121, in the 16th century it received a Renaissance façade which was however destroyed in 1638. The church was almost entirely destroyed by the bombings of 1943, and was later rebuilt.
• Basilica dell'Immacolata.
• Church of the Santissimo Rosario (15th or 16th century), with a Renaissance façade and a single nave interior.
• Church of Sant'Omobono (11th or 12th century).
• Byzantine small church of Sant'Omobono (11th century).
• Chiesa dell'Osservanza, or Santa Teresa. In the interior is the 16th century Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and a statue of "Madonna delle Grazie" by Antonello Gagini.
• Remains of the Norman Castle.
• Porta di S. Agostino and Porta di Stratò, two gates which are the last remains of the medieval walls, demolished in 1805.
• Palazzo de' Nobili (15th century), now Town Hall.
• Piazza Grimaldi, a town square named in honor of the House of Grimaldi, who had branches that traded heavily within Catanzaro.