HISTORY
Praia a Mare is a place where time runs deep — inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic era, with traces of life dating back over 35,000 years.
From prehistoric settlements to the Roman age, this land has always welcomed those who chose to call it home.
In 1326, devotion to the Virgin Mary took root in the nearby village of Ajeta, where her image was worshipped in a hidden cave carved into the mountain.
At the foot of that sacred place, a first community began to form — one destined to grow.
Even earlier, around the year 1000, Dalmatian peoples arrived along the Calabrian coast. Their legacy lived on in the ancient name of this area: “Plaga Sclavorum”, the land of the Slavs.
Whether a crossroads of travelers or the birthplace of stories lost in time, Praia a Mare carries in its name and landscape the memory of all who passed through.
For centuries, the coastline was under threat from Saracen raids. These incursions, often brutal, reached deep into the region in search of livestock, women, and slaves.
During those turbulent times, Praia a Mare became a strategic frontier outpost for the Normans, who arrived around the year 1060.
From the 15th century onward, the area passed through the hands of various feudal lords: the de Loria, de Montibus, Caraffa, and Martirano families, before being acquired by the Cosentino marquises.
Shortly before the abolition of feudalism, they sold the land to the Princes Spinelli of Scalea.
The 1600s brought new threats from the sea — this time from the Turks.
In August 1639, the Island of Dino was attacked by six Turkish warships led by Amurat Rays. A local leader named Vitigno rose to defend it and died a heroic death during the battle.
According to legend, the wounded Vitigno found refuge in one of the sea caves that emerge from the water around the island. There, with a rosary in hand, he drew his final breath — a Christian hero turned martyr, whose story still echoes among the rocks and waves.
In the early 19th century, the coastline of Praia and the Island of Dino became a refuge for Bourbon loyalist bands who resisted the French advance into southern Italy.
During the Spanish rule, the coastal area was known as Plaja degli Schiavoni — the Beach of the Slavs or of the Slaves — a name echoing ancient presences and shifting powers.
Later, in the early 20th century, farmers and fishermen from the nearby inland village began settling along the shore. The area was then known as Praja d’Ajeta, or the beach of Ajeta.
Finally, in 1928, with the foundation of an independent municipality, the town gained the name it proudly bears today: Praia a Mare.
