Of Roberto De Santo
«Your sea is love even when, cruel and bitter, it has torn your soul apart, your sea is love. Look up Cilla, may your motherly arms never bend, may your face stare at the sun always and for all of us.” There is love and pain in these words. The passion for the sea and for the family. But also the desperation of what has been lost.
The legend of Cilla in San Lucido is celebrated with this inscription placed at the base of the statue which portrays her in one of the most beautiful views of the Tyrrhenian town of Cosenza. A legend that has been handed down for generations in this corner of the Calabrian territory which has always been linked to seafaring and which tells of the dramatic relationship with the sea.
The legend
A tale of love and death that characterizes Cilla’s story. A splendid girl who lived in San Lucido. In an unspecified time, Cilla, daughter of a fisherman from the coastal town, fell in love with Tuturo, also a local fisherman. Although she knew well the dangers that came from going to sea, as a young girl she decided to marry her beloved and with him she also had a son.
A love story with a happy ending and crowned in the best possible way, if it weren’t for the fact that fate decided a different ending. Tragic like the life of those who face the sea to support their family. It is said that one night, although the sea was not in the best conditions, Tuturo went out with the boat to fish. There was a need since there were more than one mouth to feed. On the other hand, it had happened other times since he was an expert fisherman. But that time the choice proved fatal.
Cilla spent the whole night waiting for him in vain. Not seeing him arrive, she decided to throw herself off the cliff to look for him in the sea, but she drowned. There are also those who remember that in reality the woman chose that fate after the death of her son who was also lost at sea. According to those stories, it is claimed that on stormy days in San Lucido you can still hear Cilla’s desperate screams invoking her lost love.
A heartbreaking story that recalls the hard life of Calabrian fishermen of the past and their daily challenge with the sea to be able to feed their families. A legend that thus becomes the story of collective pain celebrated in San Lucido with that statue created by the sculptor Salvatore Plastina and placed ten years ago in the Miramare square at the foot of the splendid Ruffo fortress in San Lucido.
