Stilo

La Cattolica di Stilo is a ninth- or tenth-century church of the Byzantine period, about seven metres square, built of brick on the slope of Monte Consolino above the village, with a Greek cross plan and five small drum domes covered in tile. Four columns inside carry the vaults, and some are set upside down, taken from earlier buildings. Traces of Byzantine fresco survive. The Basilian monastic communities of this part of Calabria used Greek rite and language for centuries, and the building reflects that. Tommaso Campanella, the philosopher who wrote The City of the Sun, was born in Stilo in 1568.

History

The town's origins are tied to the end of the Greek colony of Caulonia, sacked by Dionysius II of Syracuse and again by the Campanians in 277 BC (Wikipedia, Stilo). The Cattolica was built between the 9th and 10th centuries, before the Norman conquest, when Calabria belonged to the Byzantine Empire; its name comes from the Greek katholiki, used for churches with a baptistery. It was converted to the Latin rite in 1577, when a bell was added, and nothing more is recorded of it until the 19th century, when canon Michelangelo Macrì of Siderno mentioned it still in use; the archaeologist Paolo Orsi restored it in 1912-1927. Arabic inscriptions inside have led some scholars to think it was also used for a time as a Muslim oratory (Italian Wikipedia, Cattolica di Stilo; Wikipedia, Cattolica di Stilo).

What's there

• The five domes - small tiled drums on a brick Greek cross plan.
• The reused columns - four supports, some set upside down.
• The frescoes - fragments of Byzantine painting inside.
• The hillside setting - the church above the village on Monte Consolino.

When to go

April to October; the church keeps limited hours and a midday closure, and access is sometimes by arrangement in the village. It is very small, about half an hour.

Practical notes

The building is tiny and the visit short. Opening hours are erratic and may require finding the custodian. The approach is a steep walk or narrow drive.

Nearby

The Ionian coast lies east; Serra San Bruno is inland.