Calabria · Reggio di Calabria
Scilla
Homer's sea-monster headland on the Costa Viola, the Castello Ruffo on the cliff above Chianalea and the swordfish boats working the Strait below.
Known for
CASTELLO RUFFO
Cliff fortress at the northern entry to the Strait of Messina, identified in local tradition with Homer's Scylla.
SWORDFISH
Centuries-old artisanal hunt for pesce spada in the Strait of Messina, still worked from Scilla and Bagnara May through September.
CHIANALEA
Fishing district whose houses rise directly from the sea, member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: San Rocco, 16 August
Why come
Scilla sits on the Scilleo promontory at the northern end of the Strait of Messina, on the Tyrrhenian Costa Viola in the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria. The town spreads around the Castello Ruffo, the fortress whose origins reach back to the fifth century and which the Ruffo family rebuilt to its present form in the fifteenth. Homer set the episode of Scylla and Charybdis here in the Odyssey; local tradition places the monster on the rock the castle now occupies.
Below the cliff to the north, the fishing district of Chianalea, member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia, runs as a single line of houses with their walls plunging straight into the sea. The swordfish boats with their distinctive tall watchtowers and long bow walkways still work the Strait between May and September, an artisanal hunt that has continued in these waters for centuries. Sicily is visible across the water on most days.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Scilla’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Castello Ruffo
Fifth-century origin cliff fortress reshaped by the Ruffo family in the fifteenth century, standing on the rock Homer identified with Scylla in the Odyssey.
Chianalea
Fishing district north of the castle, a single line of houses whose walls plunge straight into the sea, member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Marina Grande
Curving beach south of the promontory, the principal swimming shore of the town with the castle as backdrop.
Chiesa dello Spirito Santo
Eighteenth-century parish church on the cliff above Chianalea, the religious anchor of the fishing quarter.
Strait of Messina
The narrow water between Calabria and Sicily, the swordfish hunting ground worked from Scilla and Bagnara between May and September.
The slow-trip planner
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Living here
- Population 4,513
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Nearest airport Lamezia / Reggio, 1 h 45 min drive
- Regional capital Catanzaro, 2 h 0 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 91 m
- Population: 4,513
- Surface area: 44.13 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Scilla
Bagnara Calabra
Province: Reggio di Calabria
A swordfish town on the Costa Viola where boats with lookout masts still hunt the Strait, and the IGP torrone has been made by hand since the eighteenth century.
Pizzo
Province: Vibo Valentia
A tuff-cliff town over the Gulf of Sant'Eufemia, where Joachim Murat was shot in 1815 and the tartufo gelato was invented a century later.
Gerace
Province: Reggio di Calabria
A 470-meter conglomerate rock above Locri, founded by Locri Epizefiri refugees, with Calabria's largest cathedral on Roman columns from Magna Graecia temples.
Tropea
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Cliff town on a tufa headland over the Tyrrhenian Coast of the Gods, with a Norman monastery on a sea rock.
Parghelia
Province: Vibo Valentia
A 1,300-person village on the Costa degli Dei at 70 meters, four kilometers from Tropea and quieter than its famous neighbour.
🌲 Parco Nazionale
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Belvedere Marittimo
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Bova
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Province: Cosenza
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