Cirella, formerly Cerillae, was an important port in the times of Magna Graecia and Rome and for this reason the territory is rich in archaeological evidence. Known and frequented by the Greeks and then by the Romans, Cirella preserves the remains of the medieval town, whose ancient village was destroyed by the Napoleonic fleet in 1806.
The seabed around Cirella, mindful of the ancient history of places, return from time to time, important archaeological finds. The ruins of the medieval village stand out on the top of a promontory overlooking the sea and the opposite island of Cirella, in the middle of which is preserved a watchtower placed to guard against Saracen raids.abandoned to the neglect of time, entire columns of Greek and Roman temples have been completely plundered and many frescoes erased by the weather. One of the surviving fragments depicts "The Madonna of the Angels", painted by an anonymous artist in the late sixteenth century and detached in the late seventies from the now crumbling wall to be patiently restored by the Superintendence and now exhibited in the parish church.
