Gastronomy
The gastronomic tradition of Scalea is based on modest recipes and dishes, handed down from generation to generation; however, they are often revisited in a modern way, even if they use local raw materials. It is a very simple seafaring culture that includes in the gastronomic tradition also the farmer culture; this is coherent with the landscape that is characterized by the mountains that meet the sea within a short walking distance.
The main element of the Scaleota cuisine is the blue fish: from marinated anchovies to stuffed ones, up to rosamarina. “Spaghetti alla scaleota” flavored with anchovies, tomato sauce and crispy stale bread passed in red pepper and enriched with hot pepper is a must in the menus of restaurants and trattorias. Among the first courses based on meat, it is not possible to miss the fusilli with meat sauce, made from mixed pork, veal and with the classic braciola or the more decisive goat meat sauce. Among the second courses a typical dish is the fried codfish stands out accompanied by browned peppers, dried in the summer sun and then fried for a few seconds in boiling oil to give crunchiness.
Another important place is represented by cold meats and sheep and goat cheeses above all. There are many side dishes, from the classic pickled vegetables like aubergines, courgettes and dried tomatoes, to fresh ones like “pip ‘e patan”, peppers and potatoes stewed in a pan with a truly unique taste.
Very interesting are the reinterpretations of typical first courses of Italian cuisine such as carbonara transformed into a “marinara “version and the integration in the local cuisine, the use of the Santa Domenica Talao truffle.
The desserts reflect most of all the simplicity of the local gastronomy: the fichi secchi, the crocette, the Christmas roses, the Easter pizzatole and then all the various cedar preparations expertly proposed by the pastry chefs of the area.
Main sights
In Scalea, in addition to the sights linked to the coastline, it is worth dedicating a few hours to visit monuments and points of historical and artistic interest such as the Palazzo dei Principi, Torre Talao and the frescoed the ruins of the Basilian churches of the IX century.
Scalea’s patron, whose festivities take place every year on 16 July, is the Beata Vergine del Carmelo (Blessed Virgin of Carmel), whose statue is kept in the Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria d’Episcopio, in the heart of the old town centre. Another solemn celebration is reserved in honour of the Madonna del Lauro, patron saint of sailors, whose statue is kept in the chapel of the same name located in the town’s centre. Both processions feature the traditional “cinte votive”, special wooden frames on which candles are placed decorated with ribbons and the typical “infiorata”; floral paintings and sacred images drawn on the road’s surface with colourful sawdust.
Talao Tower
The Tower is the symbol of the city and the rock on which it stands was once a small island whose caves were inhabited in prehistoric times.
It was built in the 16th century, under the reign of Charles V, to defend the territories from raids and it was part of a sighting system along the coast to defend against attacks by Turks.
From the terrace at the top of the tower incredible views can be seen of the entire long beach that goes from the cliff of the Ajnella until the island of Cirella.
According to Homer, Talao Tower saws the passage of Aeneas and Ulysses, and right near the tower Dragon, the companion of Ulysses died.
Princes’ Palace
It was built in the XIII century, probably on a defensive tower to one of the entrance gates to the village. It was the residence of various feudal lords and housed several famous figures of the past such as the writer Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, the poet Pietro Metastasio and the philosopher Caloprese. The precious Baroque frescoes that decorate the ceiling of the main lounge belong to that period.
Currently, the building is owned by the Municipality and one of its halls houses the Municipal Library.
The Norman Castle
The ruins of the ancient Norman Castle can be seen from the highest area of the old town centre but these cannot be visited. Built in the XI century by the Normans as a sign of power and domain on their feudal lands, it was enlarged by Roger I of Sicily toward 1060 and restored during various eras. Within its walls the Patto di Scalea (Covenant of Scalea) was signed, with which Robert Guiscard divided the Calabrian lands conquered with his brother Roger. Over the course of the centuries, the castle was permanently it was definitively abandoned by nobles who moved into the Palazzo dei Principi.
Tower of Judah
Today, only a few ruins remain of the Tower that stands at the top of the hill overlooking the old town centre, guarding the Castle. The Tower of Judah, which overlooked the entire coast, allowed easy communications with the castle and vice versa.
The origin of the name is linked to a legend relating to an episode of the many Saracen raids: due to a deception perpetrated to his detriment by a young and beautiful woman, accomplice of pirates, the guardian of the tower did not warn the Castle of the imminent Saracen landing which attacked Scalea, looting it violently. The traitor was tortured and hanged near the tower.
Antiquarium – Torre Cimalonga
Located in one of the squares of the old town centre with panoramic views, the Antiquarium is housed in the Torre Cimalonga (Cimalonga Tower), built during the period of Aragonese rule to defend one of the four entrance gates to the village. The small museum houses a permanent exhibition of archaeological finds arranged in glass display stands making use of the ancient slits through which cannons were fired, which explain the area’s historical-archaeological development, from the Palaeolithic to the late Roman period, and the populating of the area of Scalea and the ancient city of Laos. On display are pottery and the rim of the flush goblet from the end of the VII-VI century B.C.; tableware painted black; terracotta discs with the depiction of a cupid in blocks; a beautiful decorative element in the shape of the head of Silenus and casts of some of bronze coins of the mint of Laos related to the Hellenic period.
Church of Santa Maria d’Episcopio
Known as the Chiesa di sopra (Church above), its bell tower stands on the top of the old town centre. Inside, it boasts various wooden statues of southern art, such as the painting of the Annunciation attributed to the school of Solimena and the seventeenth century canvas of the Circumcision by Paolo de Matteis. On the right side there is a marble chapel which features the statue of the Beata Vergine del Carmelo (Blessed Virgin of Carmel), the town’s patron saint; while the Madonna del Carmine, dressed in the Carmelite style, with a golden crown on her head and a blanket of stars, reigns in the niche above the steps of the altar in polychrome inlay of eighteenth century Neapolitan art.
St Nicholas’ Church in Plateis
Also known as the Chiesa di sotto (Church below), it was probably built over a Byzantine chapel, extended and opened for worship during the XIV century. Behind the high altar there is an impressive oil painting from the XVII century depicting the Madonna del Carmine between St Nicola and St Charles Borromeo. A staircase to the right of the entrance leads down into the Cripta dell’Addolorata (Crypt of Our Lady of Sorrows), whose hall has a plaque that commemorates the burial of Scalea’s philosopher, Gregorio Caloprese.
Typical of Byzantine architecture is the cross vault with three naves divided by eight low columns, with the walls embellished by frescoes. An altarpiece depicting St Anthony of Padua, perhaps of the Flemish school, can also be found here as well as various frescoes of the 1700s.
The shrine of the Madonna del Lauro
The shrine was built in the XVIII century by local seamen and the inhabitants of Sorrento, to dissolve a vow made to the Madonna during a storm in which the crew from Campania promised to build a church in the point where the sea had washed them ashore safely.
Today the Virgin is celebrated with an impressive procession at sea and the local sailors symbolically re-live the arrival of the statue of the Madonna by sea. In its interior, the shrine boasts a statue in plaster, which depicts the Madonna with the child in her arms, to which was added a crown in silver, in sign of devotion.
Ajnella cliff
The cliff is a succession of majestic rocky walls, sharp rocks of an anthracite colour, solitary beaches and natural sea caves.
Rocks that deserve a mention are those that the old fishermen called Carusiello, that reminds us of a child’s little pottery piggy bank, and Lastrachiello , that due to its flattened shape resembled the floor of the entrance to a house. Close to the shore during low tide, a rock emerges from the water known as Scoglio della Giumenta (Rock of the Giumenta), whose profile reminds us of the back of a horse
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The Grotta du Trasi e jesci (Enter and leave) is a natural tunnel that comes out on a beach in the shape of a thimble, called “A Jiditala”. The Grotta della Pecora owes its name to the great stalactite in the form of a sheep’s head that dominates the entrance and inside the crystal-clear water fades in colours that constantly alternate.
