Roccelletta: Scolacium, Norman Architecture and Beaches

Roccelletta combines the multi-layered history of Scolacium with a coastal landscape on the Gulf of Squillace. The area is known for its ancient urban history, Roman structures, the Norman Basilica of Santa Maria della Roccella, and beaches with clear water and sandy seabeds. This makes it ideal if you would like to combine cultural sightseeing with time by the sea in a manageable travel area.

Skylletion, Scolacium and Roman Traces

The Archaeological Park of Scolacium preserves the remains of the ancient Greek city of Skylletion, which later became a Roman colony under the name Scolacium. The Greek foundation of Skylletion in Scolacium dates back to the 6th or 5th century BC and is attributed to Greek settlers from Athens or Kroton. The Roman colony of Minervia Scolacium was founded in 123 BC. The park also preserves the remains of a thermal complex.

The most prominent structures include the Roman theatre and amphitheatre of Scolacium. The amphitheatre has an elliptical floor plan, typical of buildings used for gladiatorial contests and animal hunts. The forum stands out for its unique brick paving, which has no equal in the entire Roman world. These different architectural forms make the development of the site from a Greek city into a Roman colony comprehensible through tangible architectural evidence.

Norman Basilica and Rural Museum

The Norman Basilica of Santa Maria della Roccella is also known as the Basilica della Roccelletta. It is dated from the late 11th to the mid-12th century and is described as an 11th-century Norman building. Its imposing red-brick ruins are set amid greenery. The church has the spatial and iconographic design of a Western Romanesque church; its now-lost decoration is attributed to a formal vocabulary influenced by Byzantine and Islamic art.

The adjoining Scolacium Museum is located in the municipality of Borgia, more precisely in the coastal town of Roccelletta. The Archaeological Museum is housed in a rural building dating from 1800. It displays finds from prehistory as well as from the Greek, Roman and medieval periods. Monumental statues and portraits discovered during excavations add to this wide-ranging insight across the ages. The Museo “del Frantoio” is also part of the visitor area of Scolacium Park; the frantoio in the park was built by the Mazza family in 1934.

Sea, Getting Around and Other Sights

The archaeological area of Roccelletta di Borgia lies in the southeast of the Catanzaro plain, west of the SS 106 Ionica. The beaches of Roccelletta are located on the Gulf of Squillace. A free shuttle takes visitors from the streets of Borgia to these beaches. Tours of Scolacium Park can be led by regional tour guides. The fortified church of Monisciano is another monument worth visiting in the Scolacium area.

For additional destinations, you can include Soveria Simeri, Borgia, Falerna Marina, Sorbo San Basile, Petrizzi, Simeri Mare, San Pietro a Maida and Zagarise.

For the higher-level travel overview: Catanzaro.