Scalea

Scalea
Greek: Skála
Comune di Scalea
Scalea
Location of Scalea in Italy
Scalea
Scalea (Calabria)
Coordinates: 39°48′53″N 15°47′26″E / 39.81472°N 15.79056°E / 39.81472; 15.79056
CountryItaly
RegionCalabria
ProvinceCosenza (CS)
Government
 • MayorGiacomo Perrotta
Area
 • Total
22 km2 (8.5 sq mi)
Elevation
25 m (82 ft)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total
10,429
 • Density470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
DemonymScaleoti
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
87029
Dialing code0985
Patron saintHoly Virgin of Mount Carmel
Saint dayJuly 16
WebsiteOfficial website

Scalea is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.

The old city sits within a preserved set of ancient walls on the heights. The interior of the old city is an intricate maze of stairs, alleys, wide streets and plazas, support beams, and arches. One of the defining characteristics of the historic center is "suppuorti": wooden floors built above the alleyways, born out of the need for defensibility and for growth in dense limited space.

Since the 1960s, the beach at the base of the town was developed into a modern shopping and leisure center known as the Scalea Marina.