The Stairs of Scilla: the Garibaldi Ascent

Where Is the Giuseppe Garibaldi Staircase

So many staircases in Scilla! Today, under the bright June sun, we take the elevator from Piazza San Rocco down to Marina Grande. A tunnel-like art gallery with a very metropolitan feel leads us from the cool half-light into the blazing sunlight. This is exactly where the Garibaldi Staircase begins.

Why it’s special: an urban regeneration project

There’s an association in Scilla that’s dedicated (with equal enthusiasm) to ancient grape varieties and protecting the local landscape. It’s called Calabria Wild Wine. In 2022, volunteers from Calabria Wild Wine “adopted” the Garibaldi Staircase and, with a great deal of patience and hard work , transformed it into a biodiversity garden, returning it to the community.

The plants of the Garibaldi Staircase: Mediterranean scrub

The volunteers clear away an impressive amount of brambles and brush, trash, and rubble; they had a young local craftsman rebuild a dry-stone wall, saved the only survivors— an oleander and a caper bush —and then set about planting new species typical of Calabria and the Mediterranean scrub: two olive trees, an agave, a vibrantly colored bougainvillea, a dwarf palm, and plants such as lavender, lantana, prickly pears, and rosemary. And, not to forget the Wild Wine aspect, two zibibbo vines as well!

The lesson we’ve learned

On the Garibaldi steps, the views of the sea and Marina Grande are now framed by plants and flowers. Our friends at Calabria Wild Wine quote Victor Hugo: “Nature comes to the rescue of every desolation, and where everything is lacking, it blooms anew and turns green over all the ruins.”