The Statue of Cilla
Magnificent statue which commemorates a local girl who either starved or fell to her death whilst waiting for her lost love or her lost child, depending on which legend you believe.
San Lucido, in the province of Cosenza in southern Italy was once a fishing village but nowadays it mainly gets its income from tourism. Actually it is unusual in the region for a coastal town in that the old town goes right to the sea front. In most cases the town is slightly inland with a newer marina and lido area on the coast. One of the most notable features of the town is Castle Ruffo and just outside of it, stretching out over the sea and placed in an amazingly panoramic view, there is an unusual and very striking statue of a woman called Cilla which was created to represent a popular series of local legends. The artist was Salvatore Plastina and the statue, built in concrete over a metal frame, was installed in 2014. The white face, hands and dramatically stylised hair contrast markedly against the dark coloured clothing.
In fact the Cilla legend, in its entirety, is very complex but various local variations of it exists. The simplest version of the local legend is that Cilla was a young girl, in love with a fisherman called Tuturo. One day her betrothed failed to return from a fishing trip, after a storm and desperate Cilla died of starvation waiting in vain for the return of her love. The statue depicts the heartbreaking moment in which Cilla calls Tuturo in desperation.
Another version of the legend is that Cilla actually married Tuturo and One night he went out as usual with the boat, but unfortunately he never returned. Cilla waited in vain for her husband on the cliff below the castle, but beleiving he was still out in the bay, she threw herself off the cliff in an attempt to reach the sea to save him.
In yet another version, when she lost her husband, Cilla already had a son who, growing up, followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a fisherman. Unfortunately, the young man followed his father’s tragic fate, going out to sea one day and never returning. It was on this occasion that Cilla, devastated by the grief of losing her son, fell off the cliff. Whatever version is believed, there are those who say that, on windy nights, you can hear Cilla’s desperate screams, searching for her missing son.
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