Day Trip from Catanzaro: Scalea

Named for the Italian word “scale,” meaning stairs, Scalea sits on top of a mountain cliff overlooking the azure waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea and is accessible only by, you guessed it, climbing stairs. As with much of southern Italy, this Calabrese town has been controlled by Normans, Arabs, and Greeks, but possibly the most lasting impression was left by the Byzantines.

Buried in the heart of ancient Scalea is a once-forgotten token from the Byzantine past. A non-assuming façade of a nearly decimated building hides mosaic wonders that date back to the 3rd Century BC. A small sign indicates the importance of the find, but visitors will likely discover a locked and gated door. Patient tourists can stand outside the door and wait, while more adventurous groups can venture up the next set of stairs to where the family who guards the mosaics lives and ask for a tour.

Once the creaky gate opens and all eyes have adjusted to the darkness, visitors will find a small room with a large oval cleft in the center, once used as a burial ground and still containing bones from ancient times. The once brilliant colors of the mosaics, now chipping away with time, are still evident as pieces of the luminous artwork remain. There are no ropes to protect the walls and no chains to restrict visitors.

There are no barriers between this rich past and modern day Scalea. Visitors can literally reach out and touch the mosaics, while the blond-haired girl who unlocked the door sits and smiles. There are only a few of these unspoiled riches left in the world, but there is one … and it is in Scalea.

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