The 8 villages of historical and archaeological interest on the Costa Viola
From the Strait of Messina to the slopes of Aspromonte, the Costa Viola and its Piana guard one of the densest historical stratifications in the Mediterranean: colonies of Magna Graecia, Roman towns, Norman abbeys, castles and villages rebuilt after the earthquake of 1783. Between the myth of Scylla and the terracottas of Medma, here are eight towns where every stone tells three thousand years of Calabrian history.
Scilla – Homer's myth and the Castello Ruffo on the Strait
Overlooking the Strait of Messina, Scilla is perhaps the most legendary village on the Costa Viola. Here the ancients placed the sea monster Scylla, set against Charybdis in the verses of the Odyssey, and the promontory of the Scyllaeum was already known to Greek and Roman geographers such as Strabo. Dominating the town is the Castello Ruffo, a fortress built on an ancient lookout site and reworked many times over the centuries, today a lighthouse and museum facing the sea. At its foot huddles Chianalea, the fishermen's quarter whose houses seem to rise straight from the water, nicknamed the little Venice of the South. Among alleys, staircases and boats hauled ashore, Scilla weaves together myth, history and seafaring life like few other places in the Mediterranean.
Palmi and Taureana – the Roman town and the crypt of San Fantino
On the promontory that closes the Piana to the south, Palmi preserves at Taureana the remains of ancient Tauriana, a Roman town overlooking the Costa Viola. In the archaeological area you can explore traces of buildings, roads and the famous crypt of San Fantino, one of the oldest Christian places of worship in Calabria, linked to the figure of Saint Fantinus the Elder. In town, the Casa della Cultura Leonida Repaci houses the Calabrian Ethnographic Museum and important art collections, while every few years the Varia di Palmi – recognised as UNESCO intangible heritage – brings a gigantic shoulder-borne festival float into the streets. Finally, from the belvedere of Monte Sant'Elia, the gaze embraces the entire Costa Viola all the way to the Strait.
Seminara – Barlaam, the battles and the ceramic tradition
Nestled among the olive groves of the inland hills, Seminara boasts ancient origins and a leading role in European history. Around 1290 it was the birthplace of Barlaam of Calabria (Barlaam Calabro), a learned Greek monk who taught Greek to Petrarch and Boccaccio and was a protagonist of the great theological disputes of the fourteenth century. Its countryside was the stage of the celebrated battles of Seminara of 1495 and 1503, between the French and the Spanish of Gonzalo of Córdoba, at the dawn of the Italian Wars. Rebuilt after the 1783 earthquake, Seminara is today famous above all for its centuries-old ceramic tradition: the imaginative apotropaic masks and grotesque faces made by its potters are among the symbols of Calabrian craftsmanship.
Bagnara Calabra – the Norman abbey and the swordfish culture
Wedged between the sea and the mountains, Bagnara Calabra owes its character to Norman rule: in 1085 the Great Count Roger founded here the abbey of Santa Maria and the Twelve Apostles, around which the village grew. Having become a duchy of the Ruffo family, Bagnara has for centuries been the capital of swordfish hunting, practised with the typical boats fitted with tall masts, and the homeland of the bagnarote, the women who carried loads on their heads along the coast. The seafront, the watchtowers and the confectionery tradition of torrone (nougat) complete the portrait of a town that has made its bond with the sea its own historical identity.
Sant'Eufemia d'Aspromonte – Risorgimento history among the mountains
On the slopes of Aspromonte, Sant'Eufemia d'Aspromonte is a town rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of 1783, which erased its ancient layout. Its name is inextricably linked to the Risorgimento: in the woods above, on 29 August 1862, Giuseppe Garibaldi was wounded and halted during his march on Rome, in the episode that went down in history as the 'fatto d'Aspromonte' (the Aspromonte affair). A gateway to the Aspromonte National Park, the village preserves the memory of that day and offers an ideal starting point for hikes among beech woods, trails and the ancient hermitage sites of the Calabrian mountains.
Rosarno – Magna Graecia and the terracottas of Medma
In the heart of the Piana, Rosarno rises on ancient Medma, a colony founded at the end of the seventh century BC by the Epizephyrian Locrians. A flourishing city of Magna Graecia, Medma has bequeathed us an extraordinary heritage of votive terracottas and pinakes, today among the treasures of the Museum and Archaeological Park dedicated to the site. Walking through the archaeological area you can make out the remains of the walls, sanctuaries and necropolises that bear witness to centuries of Greek life. For archaeology enthusiasts, Rosarno is an essential stop for grasping just how deep the Hellenic roots of the Costa Viola and Tyrrhenian Calabria run.
Gioia Tauro – ancient Metauros at the mouth of the Petrace
Overlooking the gulf, Gioia Tauro stands near ancient Metauros, a Greek settlement founded by the Chalcidians of Zancle and later linked to Locri, situated by the mouth of the river Petrace, the Metauros of the ancients. Archaeological investigations have brought to light an important necropolis and numerous finds, now kept in the town's antiquarium, that tell of the trade and life of this Tyrrhenian trading post of Magna Graecia. Alongside what is today the largest port in Italy, Gioia Tauro thus preserves a very ancient memory, where the maritime commerce of today mirrors that of twenty-five centuries ago.
Oppido Mamertina – the Mamertion and the town erased by the earthquake
Among the hills rising towards Aspromonte, Oppido Mamertina combines Italic archaeology with the memory of a cataclysm. On the plateau of Mella stood an important fortified centre of the Bruttii, the so-called Mamertion, of which traces of walls and structures remain. A short distance away, the ruins of Oppido Vecchia recall the town destroyed by the 1783 earthquake and later rebuilt further downhill. A bishop's seat, the town keeps precious archaeological and sacred artefacts in its Diocesan Museum, and it is a gateway to Aspromonte, to its great monoliths and to the ancient rock-cut places of worship of the mountain.