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.
34 km / 21 mi
Nearest hub (Reggio Calabria)
4,513
Population
May–Sep
Best time to visit
Recognised as
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.
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Gallery
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Known for
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.
When to visit
Best months · May–Sep
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
May through September is the season. The swordfish boats work the Strait, the Marina Grande fills, and Chianalea's tight lane of houses turns into one continuous fish-restaurant evening. July and August are busy; the Costa Viola is one of southern Calabria's best-known stretches and rooms book months ahead. June and September are the easier months, sea still warm and the castle path quiet enough for the climb in the late afternoon. October keeps swimming weather in good years. Winter is mild but wet, the Strait churned by southerly winds and the seasonal businesses shuttered until spring.
How to get there
From Reggio Calabria, Scilla is roughly 34 km by road. Allow about 29–41 minutes depending on traffic and route choice (autostrada vs scenic).
Drive time to the nearest gateway airports
- Lamezia / Reggio1h 45m
- Sicily2h 54m
- Naples / Salerno5h 43m
Elevation 91 m
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Close by
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