Scalea | |
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Comune di Scalea | |
Coordinates: 39°48′53″N 15°47′26″E / 39.81472°N 15.79056°E | |
Country | Italy |
Region | Calabria |
Province | Cosenza (CS) |
Government | |
• Mayor | Giacomo Perrotta |
Area | |
• Total | 22 km2 (8 sq mi) |
Elevation | 25 m (82 ft) |
Population (2007)[2] | |
• Total | 10,429 |
• Density | 470/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
Demonym | Scaleoti |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 87029 |
Dialing code | 0985 |
Patron saint | Holy Virgin of Mount Carmel |
Saint day | July 16 |
Website | Official 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.