Day 12 – Scilla
Scilla is an historic fishing town, linked to Homer’s very long poem , The Odyssey. The town is named after Scylla who was a sea monster that killed and ate sailors. Nice.
It’s a perfect place to wander around. Winding, little lanes with tiny restaurants and cafes scattered about it’s a bit like an Italian St Ives.
There’s a lovely harbour with views out to cliffs and Sicily. It’s yet another Calabrian seaside resort with clear aquamarine sea and beautiful surroundings.
We stopped for a coffee in one of the streets and an older hippy -type gentleman came pootling down the road in his ancient old car and dropped some stuff off into his house opposite the cafe.
He had a shop which was full of mannequins and grubby looking clothes from the ‘70’s. A broom across the door indicated he wasn’t open for business and even the three cats lurking around the doorstep seemed to know this. I could see all this in great detail as his shop was literally about a metre away from my chair.
Time to go and visit the Castello Ruffo di Scilla. Built to deter pirates in the 5th century it has excellent views and even a lighthouse. Some of its exhibits were a little eclectic. A diorama of Jesus’s birth and a display of some funky chairs didn’t quite match their surroundings. I’d have had pirate mannequins (there’s a thought for you Mr Hippy man) and screens playing “Pirates of the Caribbean/Calabria”.
We ate our arancini on a bench in the castle which were very tasty (rice, Gorgonzola and mozzarella) but I could only manage half. Steve Dustybin ate the rest. Obviously.
Next, the Piazza San Rocco where there is a statue of Syclla the monster. She looks terrifying apart from her boobs which are amazing and I can see why the sailors may have sailed a little too close.
By about 2pm we had “done” Scilla and we were ready to move on. There was a bit of a hiccup with paying for parking as we thought we paid on return but actually should have paid on arrival. Oops. We managed to pay for a full day and hopefully that will keep the authorities happy.
Next, back to Reggio Calabria to see the bronzes we should have seen on Sunday but were too lazy. It’s an early bird that catches the worm and we were 2 days too late to get in for free so had to pay 20 Euros entrance fee. That’s quite a few gelatos.
The bronze figures are mind blowing. They look like they were made yesterday , not 430BC. Absolutely breathtaking. The warriors’ bodies are perfection, actually too perfect. Greek airbrushing. I also have to question why the detail of their genitalia was quite so avidly attended to. Anyway, moving on…
We pottered around the museum but there’s only so many broken pots and figurines you can look at, so it was time to leave and get a gelato.
This time we managed to get to Gelateria Cesare, apparently the best in RC. It was very, very good. Still not quite as good as Soverato though.
Quick stop at Lidl for dinner (sausage and chips, yes really) then home.
No watching the sunset tonight, the clouds are gathering and the weather is on the turn.
Tomorrow it’s our last stop before returning to Blighty – Tropea, Calabria’s jewel in the crown. Have we saved the best til last?
Sculpture A
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