Crossroads of peoples and cultures, the Calabria hides beauties of immense value. One of these is certainly the small fraction of Le Castella, located inside theMarine Protected Natural Area of Capo Rizzuto, in the Crotone area. As the name suggests, the small town is characterized by the presence of a castle on the sea and its history begins from far, far away.
The passage of Ulysses
The origins of Le Castella, like many other towns in Calabria, are very remote. The area stands on one of the three Japigi, or rather the promontories of Isola di Capo Rizzuto, Capo Cimiti and, precisely, Le Castella. The name Japigio derives from the people who colonized those coasts, or the Japigi. Not much is known about these and their origins are still debated today.
Subsequently i Greek they conquered it, building a first fortress on the coast and on the other small islands not far away that are now submerged. In one of these, according to a legend, he lived Calypso, the Nymph who fell in love with Ulysses. And it is precisely here that the goddess kept the Achaean hero for a full seven years on his return journey.
Going back to royal history, the whole area became part of theRoman Empire. The small fortress, however, hosted in the Second Punic War Hannibal in the final stages of the conflict. After its defeat, for strategic reasons, the Romans disembarked three thousand colonists and founded the small town of Castrate.
In the following centuries, various civilizations followed one another such as the Arabs and Byzantines. With the Kingdom of Naples then, Le Castella followed the fate of the kingdom until the unification of Italy.
Le Castella: the fortress on the sea
The fortress on the small peninsula is certainly of great interest. Built during the Greek period, it has undergone various changes over the years. We owe today's appearance to Aragon who modified the structure transforming it into a real castle. Over the centuries it has shown great resistance to both sieges and violent storm surges. Precisely for this reason it was proposed to be demolished in the XNUMXth century. The reason? Prevent it from falling into the hands of Ottoman pirates who in those years plundered the whole Mediterranean. Fortunately, local protests prevented its destruction, and today we are able to admire it in all its glory.
