Scala is a town and ''
comune ''in the
province of Salerno in the
Campania region of south-western
Italy. It is located on a rocky hill c. 400 m over the sea level and is part of the
Amalfi Coast.
History
According to an ancient and unproven tradition, it was founded by Roman shipwrecks travelling to
Constantinople. In the
Middle Ages Scala was, together with
Ravello
Ravello (Campanian: ) is a town and ''comune'' situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, Southern Italy, with approximately 2,500 inhabitants. Its scenic location makes it a popular tourist destination, and earned it a ...
, the most important fortification of the
Duchy of Amalfi
The Duchy of Amalfi () or the Republic of Amalfi was a ''de facto'' independent state centered on the Southern Italian city of Amalfi during the 10th and 11th centuries. The city and its territory were originally part of the larger ''ducatus Nea ...
. Its two castles (mentioned in a document of c. 1000 AD) were sacked by
Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...
in 1073 and destroyed by the
Pisane sixty years later. In 1210 the fate repeated with the troops of
Otto IV and, in the late century, during the
Sicilian Vespers.
The
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly known as the Redemptorists, were founded in Scala by Saint
Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori
Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosop ...
.
Main sights
Scala is divided into six different hamlets with precise identities: from north to south, Santa Caterina, Campoleone, Campidoglio, Scala, Minuta and Pontone. Attractions include:
*Santa Caterina: ''Porta Urbana'', church of Santa Caterina, chapels of St. Paul and Santa Maria della Porta
*Campoleone: church of ''San Pietro'', in
Angevine-
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
style.
*Campidoglio: church of ''San Giovanni Battista'', with a Moresque bell tower.
*The ''
Duomo'' of Scala, modified in Baroque times. It has maintained the medieval crypt, the Angevine sepulchre of Marinella Rufolo, and an episcopal mitre and a Crucifix from the 13th century. Also notable is the Bishops' Palace.
*Minuta:
Romanesque church of ''Annunziata''
*Pontone: church of ''San Giovanni Battista'' and the remains of the basilica of ''Sant'Eustachio''.
*Hotel Zi'Ntonio: a hotel with balconies in every room overlooking the Amalfi coast and Ravello.
Chestnuts
The town is known for its cultivation of chestnuts. Every year, at the end of November, for two consecutive weekends, a Sagra delle Castagne (a chestnut festival) is held in the main square.
See also
*
Amalfi Coast
*
Sorrentine Peninsula
References
External links
Official website
Cities and towns in Campania
Amalfi Coast
Duchy of Amalfi
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la:Scala