Cattolica di Stilo, Stilo, Italy

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 churches provided with a baptistery. It is one of the most important examples of Byzantine architecture, together with the church of San Marco in Rossano Calabro.

The Cattolica follow a plan with 'inscribed cross', typical of the middle Byzantine age. The interior is divided by four columns into five similar spaces. The square central space and the angled ones are covered by domes. The angled ones have tambours with the same diameter, while the central dome is slightly taller and larger.

The western sides lies on free rocks, while the southern area, ending with three apses, stands on three stone bases. The construction is in bricks.

The interior was once entirely covered with frescoes. The left apse has a bell built in 1577, when the church was converted to the Latin rite. The interior has also several inscriptions in Arabic, which have led scholars to suspect it could have been also used as a Muslim oratory.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Italy

User Reviews

Nelson Perez (3 years ago)
Beautiful normando church! Not a lot of information. There is a fee to enter and you have to pay it online but the gate staff was kind, he did all the job!

Wietse Dol (3 years ago)
Italian history. You can not skip it.

M Dick (4 years ago)
Wow I enjoyed my visit to this enchanting little place in Stilo. The church sits within the most amazing scenery and is well worth a visit. There is an entry fee but it wasn't much (can't remember the exact price). I managed to take some amazing photo's. You have to drive into Stilo to get to the church up the hill. But it is well signposted and easy to find also with satellite navigation. There is a cafe and gift shop in the grounds that sell the most amazing little keepsakes to take home and not expensive. There is free car parking in the grounds too. I found the staff very helpful and polite and even helped to take some photos for me. I would recommend a visit to this beautiful little hidden gem in Italy you will not be disappointed.

Francesca Berlen (4 years ago)
The view from here is nice. Unless you can get here easily, I wouldn't rate it. The church is tiny and inside there are a couple of mosaics to see.

Andrea Guatteri (5 years ago)
The village is wonderful, but the cattolica church was already closed at 18. Please stay open longer than this. I'll be back for sure.

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The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.

Cattolica di Stilo

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