Stilo is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Reggio Calabria

Province of Reggio Calabria

The Province of Reggio Calabria is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Reggio., it has an area of 3,183 km², and a total population of 565,866. There are 97 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Reggio Calabria.- Economy :The region is...

, in the Calabria

Calabria

Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....

 region of southern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is located 151 km from Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calabria

Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...

.

The economy of the commune is mainly based on agriculture, with production of cereal

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

s, oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

, wine and cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

. There are mines of iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 and lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

.

At 10 km from the city is the promontory of Cape Stilo, where in 1940 the Battle of Punta Stilo was fought by the Italian

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

 and British Navies

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

History

The origins of Stilo are connected to the destruction of the ancient Greek colony of Kaulon by Dionysius II of Syracuse

Dionysius II of Syracuse

Dionysius the Younger or Dionysius II ruled Syracuse, Sicily from 367 BC to 357 BC and again from 346 BC to 344 BC....

, followed by another by the Campanians (allied of the Romans) in 277 BC.

Main sights

• The Cattolica di Stilo
  Cattolica di Stilo
  The Cattolica di Stilo is a Byzantine church in the comune of Stilo, Calabria, southern Italy. It is a national monument.-History:The Cattolica was built in the 9th century, when Calabria was part of the Byzantine Empire. The name derives from the Greek word katholiki, which referred to the...
  
  , a 10th century church in the Byzantine style
  Byzantine architecture
  Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
  
  
• The Cathedral
• Church of San Domenico
• Church of San Nicola da Tolentino
• The Norman Castle of Roger II
• The Fountain of the Dolphins

Not far from the town is the monastery of San Giovanni Theristis.

People from Stilo

• Tommaso Campanella
  Tommaso Campanella
  Tommaso Campanella OP , baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.-Biography:...
  
  - Philosopher
• Francesco Cozza, painter

See also

• Vallata dello Stilaro Allaro
  Vallata dello Stilaro Allaro
  The Vallata dello Stilaro Allaro is a valley in the Province of Reggio Calabria, southern Italy. It takes its name from the two rivers that flow in the area, the Stilaro and the Allaro....
  
  
• Ecomuseo delle ferriere e fonderie di Calabria
  Ecomuseo delle ferriere e fonderie di Calabria
  The Ecomuseo delle ferriere e fonderie di Calabria is an ecomuseum in Bivongi, Calabria, southern Italy....