Everyone talks about Amalfi, Cinque Terre, and Positano but my favorite coastal towns in Italy are the quiet little gems where parking is still easy, coffee is still €1, and a respectful balance exists between locals going about their daily lives and travelers quietly taking it all in.
We wanted to break up our drive from Salento to Sicily, and since we were catching the ferry in Reggio, we decided to check out Scilla, a romantic seaside village attached to a famous ancient myth.
In Greek mythology, Scylla is a beautiful nymph who gets turned into a legendary ferocious sea monster who dwells in the straight of Messina between Calabria & Sicily. Odysseus is told by Circe to sail closer to Scylla, because on the other side of the straight is Charybdis, another sea monster who could drown his entire ship
“Hug Scylla’s crag – sail on past her – top
speed. Better by far to lose six men & keep your ship than lose your entire crew.”
The town of Scilla is named after this myth, as Odysseus & his men sailed between this straight, and this rock (top right of this photo) is said to be her home.
The end of March was moody and quiet and it was a perfect time of year to walk around Scilla’s quiet streets, sit outside for lunch, and nestle into a bar for an afternoon coffee.