At the time when southern Italy was an isolated and underdeveloped region, Douglas wrote this 1915 travel guide to bring the beauty that he found in Calabria to the reading public. Inspired by the landscape, unique cultural traditions, and proximity to history, he found even traveling on long mule trails to be an enjoyable part of the journey rather than an inconvenience. Written in a chatty, conversational tone, Old Calabria will be of interest to armchair travelers and to anyone who enjoys stories of everyday adventure.