Scylletium: From Seaside Town to Roman Colony

Scylletium, later known as Minervium or Colonia Minervia, was an ancient seaside city in present-day Calabria, Italy. Its remnants can be found at the frazione (borough) of Roccelletta in Borgia, near Catanzaro, facing the Gulf of Squillace. Throughout its history, Greek, Roman, and Roman colonies contested for its control.

Scientists believe Scylletium may have been founded in the 7th century BC on the Punta di Staletti promontory. It was strategically located, on the east coast of Calabria (ancient Bruttium), along an extensive bay that it named Scylleticus Sinus.

According to an ancient tradition, Scylletium was established by an Athenian colony. However, another tradition was extant which ascribed its foundation to Ulysses. The town was initially small and unimportant, but it gathered significance after the Romans, led by C. Gracchus, sent a colony to Scylletium in 124 BC, assigning it the name Minervium or Colonia Minervia.

Scylletium grew to become a considerable town during the Roman Empire, and its birthplace is renowned for the Roman statesman Cassiodorus, who, around 530 AD, penned a detailed, yet ornate description of its beauty and fertile terrain. His villa was located at Punta di Staletti.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons