Scilla sits on the Calabrian shore of the Strait of Messina at the spot where Homer’s Odyssey places the monster Scylla, a many-headed creature that devoured sailors passing near the whirlpool Charybdis.
The identification is legend rather than archaeology, but it has stuck for centuries. The Ruffo Castle, rebuilt and expanded across the medieval and early modern periods, stands on the rocky promontory above the fishing quarter of Chianalea. Chianalea’s houses have their foundations in the water, with doors opening onto tiny landings just above the waves, which earned it the nickname Little Venice of the South. Local swordfish boats called passerelle still fish the strait with a tall mast-top lookout and a long bow plank for the harpooner.
