Scala, Italy

Infobox CityIT
img_coa = scala-Stemma.gif
official_name = Comune di Scala| name=Scala|mapx=40.63|mapy=14.61
region = Campania
province = Salerno (SA)
elevation_m =
area_total_km2 = 13
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 1498
population_density_km2 = 115
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|40|39|N|14|36|E
frazioni =San Pietro, Santa Caterina, Campidoglio, Minuta, Pontone
telephone = 089
postalcode = 84010
gentilic =Scalesi
saint = St. Lawrence
day = august 10
mayor =
website = [http://www.comune.scala.sa.it www.comune.scala.sa.it]

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.

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, the most important fortification of the Duchy of Amalfi. Its two castles (mentioned in a document of c. 1000 AD) were sacked by Robert Guiscard 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.

Scala is the founding place of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

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 style.
*Campidoglio: church of "San Giovanni Battista", with a Moresque bell tower.
*The "Duomo" of Scalea, 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".

Chestnuts

The town is famous for its cultivation of chestnuts. Every year, at the end of October, for two consecutive weekends, a Sagra delle Castagne (a chestnut festival) is held in the main square.