Crotone (Italy)

Crotone is an Ionian Sea port and town in Italy's Calabria region (eastern coast, southern Italy) with population around 65,000. Crotone Cruise Port has a dedicated passenger terminal (on Riva Quay) where are offered a wide range of cruise tourism-related services.

Port Crotone (locode ITCRV) is also the gateway to the hilltop town Santa Severina (Norman castle) and Capo Colonna (Greek ruins site). As cruise port, Crotone is visited mainly by smaller- to mid-sized ships and superyachts. The port is often included in the schedules of luxury travel brand companies like Viking OCEAN, Seabourn, Oceania, RSSC-Regent.

In April 2022 was announced that Global Ports Holding (2004-founded, UK-based company and the world's largest cruise port operator) signed a 4-year concession agreement with the Italian Port Authority company that manages the seaports of Crotone, Gioia Tauro (Reggio Calabria), Palmi (Reggio Calabria), Corigliano Calabro (Cosenza), and Vibo Valentia. The concession for Global Ports is renewable and includes the management of Port Crotone's cruise shipping services as well as making investments in equipment, systems and technologies to improve the port's performance and ensure environmental safety and facilities' security.

Crotone-Sant'Anna Airport serves only domestic flights (by the airline Ryanair) that link to Bergamo (near Milano/Lombardy) and Bologna (Emilia-Romagna), and, during the summer season, also to Venice.

The town (under the name Kroton) was founded as one of Ancient Greece's largest colonies, and until the 20th-century (1928) was named Cotrone. Its location (between Messina Sicily and Taranto) favored its industrial development in the 1930s. An economic crisis started after the main employers, Montedison (now Edison SpA) and Pertusola Sud SpA (fka Pertusola Mining Ltd) collapsed by the late-1980s.

Best-known landmarks include Crotone Cathedral (11th-century), Castle of Charles V (16th-century, now housing the Town Museum with artifacts excavated in Kroton), National Archaeological Museum (having the Treasure of Hera found in Cape Colonna), municipal museum and art gallery, provincial (contemporary art) museum, Torre di Nao (fortification tower in Capo Colonna).