"The relationship between Calabria and the vine has its roots in a much more ancient past than is commonly believed.
It did not in fact begin with the arrival of the Greeks, but had already developed in protohistoric times thanks to Italic populations such as the Oenotrians, who cultivated the vine throughout this territory.
It is precisely from these populations that the name “Oenotria” derives, attributed by the Greeks to these lands, bearing witness to an already established agricultural and viticultural vocation, which enabled Calabria to establish itself as one of the principal centres of vine domestication in the ancient Mediterranean.
Within this context, Scilla occupies a leading role. Its geographical position, at the heart of the trade routes of the Strait of Messina, and the characteristics of its territory made it, over the centuries, a place particularly renowned for the production of grapes and wine. The oldest documentary evidence relating to the presence of vineyards in Scilla dates back to the twelfth cen-tury: a diploma written in Greek records the sale, by Niceta son of Peristeri, of a piece of land located in the district of Pacì to the Basilian monks of the Monastery of San Pancrazio, within whose boundaries vineyards were already present, a sign of an agricultural practice that was already rooted and organised.
The spread of the vine in these territories certainly predates the Byzantine age, but it was precisely with the agricultural organisation introduced by the monks that a significant development of cultivation took place. The use of the land was organised functionally: along the coastal belt vineyards, citrus groves and mulberry trees predominated, while the hilly areas were occupied by chestnut woods, essential for the production of timber used for barrels, stakes and tools; in the mountain areas, on the other hand, grazing and the trade in snow prevailed.
Terraced cultivation represents one of the most distinctive landscape features of this part of Calabria. In a territory marked by steep slopes and complex morphology, the inhabitants of Scilla, driven by necessity, pro-gressively shaped the landscape to make it productive, giving rise to the system of terraces.
These constructions, once known locally as “rasole”, are built through an articulated system of dry-stone walls, called in the local dialect “armacìe” (from the Greek “ápμaxia”, heap of stones), and terraces carved into the steep rocky cliffs overlooking the sea. These are works built over the centuries to make cultivable surfaces that would otherwise be unproductive and difficult to access, and which have also played a fundamental role in containing hydrogeological instability.
Since 2018, the art of dry-stone walling has been recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage and to-day remains entrusted to the memory, hands and expertise of a few local craftsmen, custodians of an ancient knowledge.
It is precisely on this rugged territory, shaped by human labour, that the wines of Scilla are born, a direct expression of a landscape built over centuries. Historical sources in fact confirm the quality and fame of the wines produced in Scilla already in the early mo-dern age. One of the oldest testimonies mentioning a “Malvasia” in Southern Italy dates back to 1571, when Barrio wrote “In the countryside of Scilla an excellent wine is produced, called Melvasio, which is the same as that produced in Crete.” A statement that clearly highlights Scilla’s direct connection with the great wine-making traditions of the ea-stern Mediterranean.
A few decades later, in 1596, the prelate Girolamo Marafioti, in his Croniche et antichità di Calabria, also provided valuable information on the viticultural traditions of Scilla, offering a list of the varieties cultivated at the time:

“In Scilla there is an abundance of different grapes, such as moscatella, greco, insolia, vernaccia, malvasia, from which an excellent wine is made, in no way inferior to the malvasia of Candia, and others abundant both for wine and for eating, so that much profit is gained from the sale of grapes in the aforementioned castle.”

This description conveys a vivid image of a community in which viticulture represented an essential component of the local economy, alongside fishing, maritime trade and silk production. As Cherubini, the great scholar of rural history, wrote, “the fisherman in the Middle Ages, almost everywhere, is a man with one foot on the vineyard and one foot on the boat.” Of particular interest is also the testimony of Father Antonio Minasi who, in 1775, in a note accompanying his illustrations dedicated to Scilla, offers a fascinating glimpse into the relationships between this territory, the Aeolian Islands and the circulation of vine varieties:

“When the Greek vines flourished there, from which the ancient people of Scilla obtained great quantities of Malvasia, in no way inferior to that of Candia and Crete, the doves pecked entire bunches of grapes from them and thus, with their crops full of Jupiter’s ambrosia, almost flying, returned to their nests on the high rock of Scilla, where many resident hawks and falcons stood watch, and always carried some of them away, as still happens today. Now, however, neither the timid doves nor Father Jupiter himself can any longer taste such a fine liquor, since the Greek vines were transplanted and given to the people of Lipari after 1557, perhaps because of the imposed jus octini, as constant local tradition maintains.”

Today, the vineyard area of Scilla is considerably reduced compared to the past. Traditional training systems such as the “alberello” and the “pergola” (Lipari-style pergola) have partly been replaced by the “spalliera” system, more suited to modern requirements. Among the varieties still present are: Alicante, Calabrese Nero, Castiglione, Greco Nero, Inzolia, Nerello Mascalese, Nocera, Pedilongo, Prunesta and Zibibbo, the latter traditionally cultivated as a table grape or for small domestic wine productions. The wine historically most representative of the territory is the “Cerasuolo di Scilla”, whose name recalls the colour of the cherry, between red and rosé. It is a wine obtained according to traditional practices that involve a combination of different grape varieties, with a predominance of Pedilongo, a black grape variety locally known as Malvasia Nera. A valuable testimony regarding this wine is reported by Luigi Veronelli, considered the father of modern wine and food criticism, who in his book I vini d’Italia, published in 1961, wrote:

“It is local custom to blend all the different varieties from the vineyard (marcarese, malvasia, moscato, prenestina, alicante, nocera, castiglione, olivarella).
Bright cerasuolo colour, vinous aroma; moderately sweet, very pleasant flavour. A delightful wine that I recommend, served rather cool, with the delicate local ricottas. In Scilla excellent red wines are produced, smooth and robust, which take their names from the localities of the vineyards from which they come: Ieracare, Favagreca and Pacì.
Particularly pleasant is the so-called Malvasia di Scilla, produced from the grape of the same name.”

Since 1995, the wine production of the Scilla area has obtained IGT recognition for the denominations “Scilla” and “Costa Viola”, confirming the value and identity of a heritage that still tells, today, a long story of labour, knowledge and challenge between man and nature.

Giuseppe Ribuffo