A day in Stilo, among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy

Did you know that "The City of the Sun" really exists and is located in Calabria?

It is the village of Stilo, among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy, in the province of Reggio Calabria.

Let's discover together what to see in Stilo and what to do on a trip out of town, among the places of the philosopher Tommaso Campanella, the famous Cattolica of Stilo, the Castle of Stilo and its wonderful surroundings.

Travelling along the road up the Stilaro Valley, we reach the village of Stilo, a town of medieval origins set in the rock, in a panoramic position.

From the historic centre, and even more so from the cliff on which stand the remains of Stilo Castle, we admire the valley that opens up at our feet, where the Stilaro river flows between the stones towards the Ionian Sea, lapping ancient hermit caves, glimpses of Mediterranean scrub and pastures.

Behind us, the summit of Mount Consolino is in turn dotted with small ravines: these are the so-called eremitic "degrees", the ancient caves where Greek-Byzantine monks, accused of iconoclasm (image worship), found shelter in the early centuries of the Middle Ages.

It was these monks who built the Byzantine building par excellence, just outside the town centre, one of the most famous monuments in Calabria and a candidate for UNESCO recognition: the Cattolica of Stilo.

A small 10th-century jewel set into the rock, with its characteristic small domes and Greek cross plan, the Cattolica of Stilo is the landmark building of eastern architecture in Calabria.

The exterior, characterised by its unmistakable cubic shape, is made of a weave of large bricks joined by mortar and rests partly on the bare rock, partly on a stone and brick base.

The interior, subdivided by four reused columns (each one different from the other, including the one bearing the Arabic inscription to Allah, from which it is assumed that the building was used as a mosque), is embellished by the remains of the frescoes that originally entirely covered the walls.

Of the three apses, the left one dates back to 1577 and bears a relief depiction of a Madonna and Child.

From Cattolica of Stilo, we reach the historic centre, the village of Stilo, entirely carved in granite by local stonemasons and craftsmen.

Welcoming us in the centre of the main square is the statue of the philosopher Tommaso Campanella (16th century), an illustrious son of Stilo. Among the places most associated with the figure of Campanella as a monk is the Convent of San Domenico, where it is possible to visit his personal cell.

The village of Stilo is rich in splendid Baroque churches. There are about twenty of them, starting from the 14th-century gem of the Mother Church (Cathedral of Stilo), with its extraordinary portal, to the Church of San Giovanni Therestys with the adjoining Convent of the Liguorini (current seat of the Town Hall), whose cloister preserves a granite well.

Again, granite is the raw material for another important work that one encounters while strolling through the village of Stilo: the Dolphin Fountain (or Gebbia), also in a clearly arabesque style.

Behind the historical centre, climbing the slopes of Mount Consolino, in a panoramic position stood the ancient Castle of Stilo, of which today only the circular entrance towers can be admired.

The first record of the Castle of Stilo dates back to 1093 and refers to a concession by Count Roger the Norman. The building had triangular towers, except for the circular ones surrounding the fort, and incorporated a church-chapel in the central part.

The Castle of Stilo is connected to the Cattolica of Stilo by a path marked by the 14 Stations of the Cross. 

If you are wondering what to see in Stilo and the surrounding area, but above all what to do, know that the walls of Mount Consolino are among the most beautiful naturalistic locations for climbing in Calabria.

In fact, the Mount Consolino Cave is a long, bolted wall that, apart from the summit of the mountain, stretches over an overhanging cliff of reeds and drops, considered by experts to be one of the most beautiful in all of southern Italy. Because of its sheltered characteristics, it is possible to climb in all seasons, even in the rain.

The event not to be missed in the village of Stilo? The annual Ribusa Palio, the medieval re-enactment held every August.

The Palio di Ribusa, formerly linked to the "Fera de Rebusa", one of the most important fairs in the Kingdom of Naples, consists of a chivalric tournament in which the delegates of the five hamlets that made up the ancient village (now separate municipalities) compete in medieval costume: Pazzano, Carini, Riace, Stignano and Guardavalle.

What to see around Stilo? Right in the municipality of Pazzano (RC) stands one of the most evocative Marian shrines in Calabria: the Shrine of Monte Stella.

The hermitage dedicated to Santa Maria della Stella is totally excavated in a cave, in the belly of the mountain of the same name. A place suspended in time, where nature and spirit dialogue and reunite on the summit of a breathtaking peak.