Scalea

Scalea
Comune di Scalea
Coat of arms of Scalea
Location of Scalea
Map
Scalea is located in Italy
Scalea
Scalea
Location of Scalea in Italy
Scalea is located in Calabria
Scalea
Scalea
Scalea (Calabria)
Coordinates: 39°48′53″N 15°47′26″E / 39.81472°N 15.79056°E / 39.81472; 15.79056
CountryItaly
RegionCalabria
ProvinceCosenza (CS)
Government
 • MayorGiacomo Perrotta
Area
 • Total
22 km2 (8 sq mi)
Elevation
25 m (82 ft)
Population
 (2007)[2]
 • Total
10,429
 • Density470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
DemonymScaleoti
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
87029
Dialing code0985
Patron saintHoly Virgin of Mount Carmel
Saint dayJuly 16
WebsiteOfficial website

Scalea (Calabrian: Scalìa, lit. "stair" or "ladder") is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.

The town takes its name from its terraced layout on a hillside at the bottom of the Capo Scalea promontory. The old city sits within a preserved set of ancient walls on the heights, while the beach at its base was developed into a modern shopping and leisure center known as the Scalea Marina.

The interior of Scalea is an intricate maze of stairs, alleys, wide streets and plazas, support beams, and arches. One of the defining characteristics of the historic center is "suppuorti": wooden floors built above the alleyways, born out of the need for defensibility and for growth in dense limited space.

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.