Antiquarium di Torre Cimalonga

The Antiquarium di Torre Cimalonga is housed in a sixteenth-century defensive tower in Scalea’s historic centre. Its archaeological displays follow the area’s history from the Palaeolithic to late antiquity, including Middle Palaeolithic finds from the Torre Talao rock and material from nearby settlements.

Why it matters

The collection brings together finds from Scalea and neighbouring parts of the northern Calabrian coast. Among them are stone tools and faunal remains from Torre Talao, archaeological material from Colle Petrosa, and later Lucan and Roman finds. Together they show the long human history of a coast often associated chiefly with its maritime landscape.

What to notice

The displays occupy cases set into the tower’s former gun embrasures, joining the archaeological collection with the defensive structure that houses it. The sequence includes Middle Palaeolithic material from Torre Talao, finds from the indigenous settlement at Colle Petrosa, Lucan-period objects from Foresta and San Angelo, and Roman-era material from Ponticello.

Context and history

Torre Cimalonga formed part of Scalea’s coastal defences. The archaeological service established a local office in the tower in the late 1980s, with the Antiquarium associated with it. The regional cultural tourism authority dates the museum’s foundation to 1987 and records a reinstallation in 2004. Its collection also documents the territory around Santa Maria del Cedro and the ancient city of Laos.