Stilo (Calabria): what to see


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What to see in Stilo, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Norman Castle, the Duomo, the Catholic Church, with an excursion to the Certosa di Serra San Bruno.


Tourist information

Located in the province of Reggio Calabria, from which it is 150 km away, Stilo stands on the southeastern side of the Serre on the slopes of Monte Consolino and about 17 km from the coast.

Probably of Greek origin, it was the seat of Basilian hermitages under Byzantine rule, becoming a very important center in the region.


After the devastation suffered in 982, it retained privileges and discreet independence even under Angevin and Aragonese rule.

In the inhabited center dominated by the remains of a Norman castle, there is the Church of San Francesco which is an interesting example of the late Baroque style typical of Calabria, with a single nave interior where a sixteenth century table is preserved.

The Cathedral, dating back to the thirteenth century and profoundly remodeled in later periods, shows in the facade a remarkable ogival portal and some bas-reliefs of the original church, while the splendid Madonna of All Saints is kept inside.


The Catholic Church, located in an elevated position compared to the town and dating back to the tenth century, is one of the best preserved Byzantine churches among those present in Calabria.

It is an elegant square-plan construction, with three semicircular apses with particular terracotta decorations, interspersed with single and double lancet windows.

In the interior with three naves it is possible to admire interesting remains of Byzantine frescoes.


What see

The recommended excursions to do in the surrounding area include the one in Serra San Bruno, a town located 39 km away and located in the center of a basin surrounded by the woods on the Ionian side of the Serre.

The origin of the inhabited center, which was built around the Cistercian abbey, dates back to the period between the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Recommended readings
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The Certosa di Serra San Bruno was founded by San Brunone at the end of the thousand and rebuilt twice, in 1595 and at the end of the eighteenth century.

The abbey complex, surrounded by ancient walls with cylindrical towers placed at the corners, is formed by the modern chapel of San Bruno, the ruins of the old Charterhouse and the new Charterhouse, built in Gothic style.

In the church there is the bust of San Brunone, made in silver and dating back to the sixteenth century.

Among the ruins of the ancient abbey there are the lower part of the facade of the late sixteenth-century church, including the portal and the first order of the seventeenth-century cloister.

Noteworthy are the eighteenth-century Church of San Biagio, containing various works of art, and the church of the Addolorata, richly decorated in Baroque style.

Cattolica di Stilo, Stilo, Calabria, Italy, Europe (March 2024)


Tags: Calabria
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