Calabria is an Italian region with ordinary statute in southern Italy
of 1 841 300 inhabitants, with capital Catanzaro.
It borders to
the north with Basilicata, to the south-west the Strait of Messina
separates it from Sicily and is washed by the Ionian Sea to the east and
by the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west.
The term Italia originates in
Calabria, with which the ancient Greeks once referred to the isthmus of
Catanzaro. Inhabited since the Paleolithic, thanks to its strategic
position in the center of the Mediterranean it has seen the flourishing
of numerous cultures: Enotria, Bruzia, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Norman.
The Greek one represents the period of maximum splendor for Calabria,
with the foundation starting from the eighth century BC. of numerous
cities that will be for centuries among the richest and most culturally
advanced of their time, constituting the fulcrum of the territory
subsequently renamed Magna Grecia by the Roman conquerors.
In
Roman times it was part of Regio III Lucania et Bruttii, a region of
Augustan Italy. After the Greek-Gothic war it became and remained for
five centuries a Byzantine dominion, fully recovering its Hellenic
character on a linguistic, religious and artistic level. Cenobitism
flourishes, with the rise throughout the territory of countless
churches, hermitages and monasteries in which the Calabrian-Greek
Basilian monks dedicate themselves to transcription. Starting from the
Byzantine period, Calabria became the most important area in Europe for
the production and processing of silk. In the 11th century, the advent
of the Normans kicked off a slow process of Latinisation of the region,
which began to follow the fate of the rest of the South: it would be
part of the Kingdom of Sicily, the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of
the Two Sicilies , before converging into united Italy.
In the
area of Bovesìa there are still Greek-speaking communities, a local
variant of the Greek language. In the central-northern part of the
peninsula there are numerous municipalities speaking the Arbëreshe
language, a local variant of the Albanian language. There is also an
Occitan-speaking minority in Guardia Piemontese.
Costa dei Gelsomini — Marina di Riace, Locri, Roccella Ionica and
Marina di Gioiosa Ionica.
Costa Viola — The southernmost coast of the
previous one, which goes from Palmi to Villa San Giovanni (also includes
Seminara, Bagnara Calabra and Scilla).
Costa degli Dei — stretch of
the Tyrrhenian coast that goes from Pizzo Calabro to Nicotera, passing
through Tropea and Capo Vaticano.
Crotone - Includes the territory of
the city of Crotone and the stretch of Ionian coast around Isola di Capo
Rizzuto, a popular seaside resort.
Costa degli Aranci — The stretch
of coast on the Gulf of Squillace, with Soverato and Badolato Marina;
falls largely in the Catanzaro area.
Costa degli Achei - The major
seaside resort is Sibari near the ruins of the ancient Greek colony. The
massif of Monte Pollino which marks the border with Basilicata
constitutes, like the Sila, a national park.
Riviera of the Cedars
chicken
Cosentino — Cosenza has been on the list of cities of art
since 2003. Riviera dei Cedri is a tourist term to indicate the
Tyrrhenian coast whose major centers are Praia a Mare and Amantea.
Sila - Plateau divided between the provinces of Cosenza, Crotone and
Catanzaro, whose major tourist center is Camigliatello Silano.
Calabrian greenhouses
Aspromonte - mountain massif at the southern
end of the boot set up as a nature reserve; the ski resort of Gambarie
is located there.
Reggino — The territory that includes Reggio
Calabria and Villa San Giovanni.
Catanzaro
Vibonese
Plain of
Gioia Tauro
Reggio di Calabria
Catanzaro
Lamezia Terme
Cosenza
Crotone
Corigliano Calabro
By plane
Lamezia Terme Airport — Flights from other Italian
destinations are operated by Ryanair, EasyJet, Ita Airways, TAP.
Reggio Calabria Airport — The companies Ita Airways (Milan-Linate,
Rome-Fiumicino, Turin, Venice), Blu-express (Milan-Linate,
Rome-Fiumicino), Volotea (Genoa, Venice) operate here.
Crotone
airport — Third most important regional airport, mainly serving the
province of Crotone, as of 2018 it has summer connections with cities in
central-northern Italy.
Airports outside the region that allow
you to arrive in Calabria:
Catania-Fontanarossa Airport — 10 km from
Catania on the A19, national, international and low cost hub flights and
charter flights.
Naples-Capodichino Airport — Allows arrival,
continuing by car, bus or train, even from intercontinental
destinations.
Bari-Palese Airport — Useful for those who want to get
to the Ionian coast, much more inconvenient instead for those who need
to get to the Tyrrhenian Calabria.
By car
The A2 Mediterranean
Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway is the main road artery of the region,
a natural extension of the Autostrada del Sole, connecting Calabria with
the rest of Italy.
For access to the northern Tyrrhenian coast
and as an alternative route to the A3 towards southern Calabria, there
is the SS18 "Tirrena Inferiore" state road, which can be combined with
the A3 via the Noce valley road.
On boat
The port of Reggio
Calabria is connected to Messina by frequent ferries and hydrofoils. It
is also connected with Taormina, the Aeolian Islands and Malta.
Catanzaro, Palmi, Tropea and Cirò Marina have tourist ports.
On
the train
There are no high-speed railway lines in Calabria. The
Tyrrhenian side is crossed by the double track line that connects Naples
(and beyond) with Sicily. There are 4 daily Intercity between Reggio
Calabria and Rome, some InterCity Notte connecting Calabria with the
North and one Intercity Reggio Calabria - Milan (travel south on
Saturday, travel north on Sunday), 4 daily Frecciargento Reggio Calabria
- Rome and some Frecciarossa and Italo Reggio Calabria - Turin trains;
journey times are, respectively, 7 hours for the IC Reggio Calabria -
Rome and about 5 for the Frecciargento, while journeys to the North
generally take more than ten hours. The connections for Cosenza (from
Paola) and Catanzaro (from Lamezia Terme) are quite comfortable.
The other railway lines in Calabria are slower; work is underway on the
upper part of the Ionian line (the section is being electrified up to
the Catanzaro Lido station), while in the lower part only non-electric
trains circulate with slow journey times (the line is single-track);
there are no non-regional trains on the Lamezia Terme Centrale -
Catanzaro Lido section, which however will be electrified in the coming
years.
By bus
There are numerous bus companies that connect
Calabria not only with other parts of Italy but also with international
locations, both directly and through changes; Trenitalia runs a Reggio
Calabria - Bari journey every night (one journey in each direction),
while other companies are Lirosi Linee, Flixbus and Coiro.
By car
Some roads of scenic interest are:
Strada della Piccola
Sila (SS 109) — It goes from Lamezia Terme on the Tyrrhenian side to
Cutro on the Ionian side.
Silana Crotonese (SS 107) — Connects
Crotone to Paola, passing through Cosenza
Lower Tirrena (SS 18) —
touches the main tourist centers of the Tyrrhenian coast.
Roads
and highways
SS 106 Jonica, connects Reggio with Taranto;
SS 110
of Monte Cucco and Monte Pecoraro, which crossing some municipalities of
the Calabrian greenhouses connects the Ionian coast to the Tyrrhenian
coast from Monasterace to Pizzo where it joins the SS 18;
SS 182 of
Serre Calabre, which connects the Tyrrhenian coast to the Ionian one
from Vibo Marina passing through Vibo Valentia and ends in Soverato,
where it joins the SS 106 (State road 106 Jonica);
SS 280 dei Due
Mari, which joins the SS 18 from Lamezia Terme to Catanzaro;
SS 283
of the Terme Luigiane, which from Guardia Piemontese to Spezzano
Albanese connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Ionian Sea
SS 682
Jonio-Tirreno (Gioiosa-Rosarno), which joins the A3 motorway from
Rosarno to Marina di Gioiosa Ionica connecting the Tyrrhenian Sea to the
Ionian Sea.
On the train
The Calabrian Railways manage some
sections. The most interesting from a tourist point of view are the
"Cosenza-Camigliatello-San Giovanni in Fiore" which winds along the Sila
plateau and the "Cosenza-Catanzaro Lido".
Art
1 National Museum of Reggio Calabria (Museum of the Riace
Bronzes), Via de Nava 26 - Reggio Calabria. The National Museum of Magna
Graecia. It houses unique finds and the famous two statues of the Riace
Bronzes, among the most beautiful statues of the time for their quality
workmanship and state of conservation.
2 Villa of Casignana (Roman
Villa of Casignana). It is a Roman villa dating back to the 3rd / 4th
century AD, one of the most extraordinary sites in southern Italy in
terms of value and state of conservation. The mosaics in the spa area
and those in the actual villa are among the largest in the world.
Ancient Greek art — Ancient Greek art finds its maximum expression
in the famous Riace Bronzes kept in the archaeological museum of Reggio
Calabria.
The civilization of Magna Graecia is attested by the
archaeological sites of Sibari, Capo Colonna (Crotone) with the ruins of
a temple dedicated to Hera. Caulonia in the suggestive coastal stretch
of Punta Stilo on the Ionian Sea, the remains of the ancient Terina in
Lamezia Terme.
Byzantine art — Rossano was the most important
center of Calabria at the time of Byzantine rule. There are the church
of Panagia (Madonna) from the 10th century and the Cathedral of Maria
Santissima Achiropita which houses a thaumaturgical image (acheiropita
means "not made by human hands). Other examples of Byzantine art are in
Stilo (abbey of Giovanni Theristis and the small Cattolica), in Bivongi
and in Pazzano where the church of San Salvatore is located, even older
than the Cattolica di Stilo.A mention still deserves the small
baptistery of Santa Severina, circular in shape and with frescoes dating
back to the 10th century. -XII century.
Art of the Norman and
Swabian period — San Marco Argentano, on the Sila mountains was the
center where Robert Guiscard settled. The ruins of the castle and the
so-called Norman Tower remain. Miletus was the county capital of Ruggero
I d'Altavilla, but today it retains scarce traces of the time. The
Cathedral of S. Maria Assunta of Gerace, with a Romanesque layout, is
considered one of the most important Norman buildings in Calabria.
Numerous abbeys were founded by religious orders invited by Count
Ruggero to supplant the Eastern Orthodox rite in agreement with the
pope. Among these, the Florense abbey of San Giovanni in Fiore dating
back to the end of the 12th century is among the largest religious
buildings in Calabria, the Certosa di Serra San Bruno, which was
completely destroyed in the 1783 earthquake and rebuilt in the 19th
century. Of the Norman castles, the most well-preserved is in Saracena.
The castle of Nicotera was completely rebuilt in the 18th century and
transformed into the summer residence of the Ruffo counts. Another
castle to visit is the Norman-Swabian Castle of Lamezia Terme which was
also used as a residence during his travels by Frederick II.
Art
of the Angevin and Aragonese period — The cathedral of Cosenza, although
restructured in the Baroque period, still retains its Gothic structure
inside. The church of Santa Maria della Consolazione in Altomonte is the
best example of Gothic architecture of the Angevin period. The castle of
Rocca Imperiale was enlarged in 1487 by Alfonso of Aragon. The castle of
Corigliano was the residence of Count Roberto Sanseverino.l
Mannerism and Baroque — Castello della Valle in Fiumefreddo Bruzio in
late Renaissance style was erected in 1536. The Castle of Charles V in
Crotone is of the same period, one of the most powerful military
fortresses in Italy. The church of San Domenico in Taverna preserves
works by Mattia Preti, one of the greatest painters of Calabria
Art of the 20th century — The main example of Art Nouveau on Calabrian
soil is the facade of the cathedral of Reggio Calabria, rebuilt after
the ruinous earthquake of 1908.
Sambucina Abbey of Cosenza
Abbey of Santa Maria Corazzo in
Catanzaro
Bastion of Malta in Lamezia Terme
Aragonese Castle of
Reggio Calabria
Aragonese castle of Belvedere Marittimo
Castle of
Caccuri
Castle of Charles V in Crotone
Castle of Cleto
Castle
of Fiume Freddo Bruzio
Oriole Castle
Castle of Santa Severina
Tyrol Castle
Catholic of Stilo
Norman Castle of Cosenza
Norman
Castle of Lamezia Terme
Church of Sant'Antonio Abate of San Fili
Church of San Bernardino in Amantea
Church of San Leoluca of Vibo
Valentia
Church of San Pancrazio bishop and martyr of Lamezia Terme
Cathedral of Cosenza
Cathedral of Gerace
Cathedral of Reggio
Calabria
Cathedral of Tropea
Cariati tectonic window
Le
Castella
Sanctuary of Maria Santissima del Carmelo of Palmi
Sanctuary of San Francesco di Paola
Squillace site
Site of the
Monastery of San Domenico of Soriano Calabro
Temple of Hera Lacinia
Crotone
Municipal park Giuseppe Mazzini of Palmi
(of national or international significance)
Village Saturday.
Great Culture, Great Emotions, Lamezia Terme - January - June
Reggio
Calabria Film Festival, retrospective on Italian cinema - Reggio
Calabria - spring
Feast of San Francesco - 2 April / 4 May (Paola)
Trame, Mafia Books Festival, Lamezia Terme - June
Magna Graecia Film
Festival The festival of first works of Italian cinema - Soverato - July
Continent-Island GPS Race, windward strait crossing - international,
Reggio Calabria - early August
Strait Festival - Reggio Calabria -
August
Paleariza international ethno-cultural-musical traveling
festival - Bovesìa - August
Roccella Jazz international jazz festival
- Roccella Jonica (RC) - second half of August
Feast of San Rocco -
Palmi - 16th August
Varia di Palmi - Palmi - last Sunday of August
(not annual)
CletoFestival - Cleto - August
Jazz loci - Lamezia
Terme - August/September
Peperoncino Festival - September (Diamond)
City of Palmi International Literary Award - Palmi - September/October
Euro-Mediterranean festival - Altomonte - August
La Guarimba
International Film Festival, Amantea, info@laguarimba.com. edit
Color
Fest - Lamezia Terme - July/August
The region is home to both the sea and the mountains, so it can be
visited in both summer (beach tourism) and winter (ski tourism), with
cities such as Reggio Calabria that can be visited all year round
(although there are numerous bathing establishments that invite you to
visit it more in the summer months); summer tourism is, however, the one
that moves the largest number of people, also due to the high number of
Calabrians who emigrated to other parts of Italy and abroad who return
to the region for the holidays (which also leads to a greater number of
events in the summer months, especially in August).
In 2020 the
Ciclovia dei Parco della Calabria was inaugurated, a 545 km route
between the four parks of Calabria to be covered by bicycle.
The 'nduja is a typical salami from Calabria with a particularly
spicy taste. It was originally produced in the area of Spilinga, a
locality in the province of Vibo Valentia, but imitations of the
product, even of comparable quality, are now produced or in any case
available throughout the region, to the point of making 'nduja a food
typically associated with all Calabria. It is prepared with the fatty
parts of the pig, adding Calabrian hot pepper and stuffed into blind
casings, to then be smoked. The original is 50% pork and 50% chilli. It
is eaten by spreading it on slices of toasted bread, used as a sauté for
the base of tomato sauces, to garnish pizza or on slices of semi-mature
cheeses.
The Soppressata: is a sausage that can boast the
recognition of presidium with protected designation of origin. It is
obtained with white pork cut into large pieces to which black pepper (in
grains) and salt and a touch of chilli are added.
'U Morzeddhu is
a typical Catanzaro dish made with veal. For a long time, between 1800
and around 1970, morzello was the snack of unskilled workers and
workers. This dish is considered a true symbol of the city of Catanzaro.
The Zippula is a typical homemade product of the Province of Reggio
Calabria that is prepared during the Christmas period even if it is not
missing in the numerous summer village festivals. Not to be confused
with the sweet Zeppola. It can be prepared with or without desalted
anchovies inside.
Cuzzupa is a typical Calabrian Easter dessert,
produced in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the southern part of the
province of Catanzaro and in the province of Crotone. This Easter
dessert is of oriental origin and symbolizes the end of the Lent fast,
the egg is the symbol of the Lord's resurrection.
Pitta 'nchiusa
is a sweet typical of some areas of Crotone, Catanzaro and Cosentino
(especially San Giovanni in Fiore). Formed from a base of puff pastry
that encloses several roses of the same pastry, filled with dried fruit
and honey, soaked in cooked wine. In pastry shops, especially in areas
outside the typical production areas, use the aforementioned name or
that of Pitta 'mpigliata to ask for it. The simple name Pitta instead
indicates a particular type of bread.
Drinks
La Brasilena:
sparkling non-alcoholic beverage of the coffee-based soft drink type.
Almond milk is a refreshing drink widespread in Calabria as in other
southern regions.
Although there are no DOCG wines in Calabria,
there are many DOC wines that are produced locally, such as: Bivongi,
Cirò, Greco di Bianco, Lamezia, Melissa, Sant'Anna di Isola Capo
Rizzuto, Savuto, Scavigna and Terre di Cosenza.
Calabria is a substantially safe and hospitable region, crimes against tourists are very rare and crimes that can affect them are not very common. Widespread are many stereotypes and beliefs, often untrue and in any case these should not discourage a tourist from visiting the region. Calabria has a very high seismicity and in the past there have been seismic events of magnitude greater than 6.
Calabria, the toe of the Italian boot, is made up of a peninsula
jutting out into the Mediterranean. For this reason, the region has a
coastal development of 788.92 km, along which rocky stretches,
promontories, cliffs and sandy coasts alternate.
The Calabrian
territory is largely occupied by mountains (Pollino, Sila, Catena
Costiera, Serre and Aspromonte), which form the central backbone of the
region. Therefore, only a small part of the regional surface is occupied
by plains; the main ones are the Piana di Sibari, the Piana di
Sant'Eufemia and the Piana di Gioia Tauro.
Two small islands also
belong to Calabria, Dino (larger in size) and Cirella, both falling
administratively in the province of Cosenza and bathed by the Tyrrhenian
Sea. The extreme points of the region are to the north a portion of
territory bordering Basilicata falling within the municipal territory of
Nocara, to the east Capo Colonna, to the south Punta Palizzi and to the
west the mouth of the Calopinace. Furthermore, the closest point to
Sicily is Punta Pezzo, just 3.2 km away from Capo Peloro.
Calabria is made up of 49.2% of its territory by hills, 41.8% by
mountains and the remaining 9% by plains.
The northernmost
mountainous relief is the Pollino Massif, which has the highest peaks in
Calabria, Monte Serra Dolcedorme (2,267 m) and Monte Pollino (2,248 m).
Proceeding south, separated from the Pollino by the Orsomarso Mountains
where the highest peak is Cozzo del Pellegrino (1,987 m), the Coastal
Chain extends along the Tyrrhenian coast, whose highest peak is Monte
Cocuzzo (1,541 m ).
At the center of the region rises the Sila, a
vast plateau covered by large coniferous forests, whose highest peak is
Monte Botte Donato (1,928 m). To the south-west, the Sila merges,
through the Corace valley, with the Reventino massif (1,417 m), which
overlooks the Tyrrhenian coast of Capo Suvero and the plain of
Sant'Eufemia.
Between the latter plain and that of Gioia Tauro
stands the Monte Poro group (710 m), the relief with the smallest
dimensions in the region. Between the isthmus of Catanzaro and the pass
of the Limina rise the Serre, of which the highest peak is Mount Monte
Pecoraro (1,423 m). To the south, the greenhouses join the southernmost
mountain range of the region, namely Aspromonte, whose highest mountain
is Montalto (1,956 m).
The rivers of Calabria generally do not present a significant development, primarily due to the narrow and elongated shape of the Calabrian peninsula, and secondly due to the particular arrangement of the mountains; therefore, most of the Calabrian rivers are torrential in nature, with the exception of the Crati and the Neto - the longest rivers - which flow into the Ionian Sea. The Coscile (which originates from the Pollino massif, into which its major tributary, the Esaro), the Trionto, the Tacina and the Corace also pay tribute to the Ionian, but with a much shorter course; these latter rivers, like the Neto, arise from the Sila. The Amato and Savuto also originate from the Sila plateau, which together with the Lao which descends from the Pollino massif, are the major rivers of the Tyrrhenian side. The other watercourses are even shorter and have the typical characteristics of fiumare as they have a torrential regime, they flow embedded in narrow upstream slopes and then pour into the alluvial plains in large pebbly beds, dry for most of the year, but which can fill up suddenly during storms or heavy rains. There are also numerous lakes that are artificial, especially on the Sila plateau, the main ones being the Ampollino, the Arvo, the Cecita, the Angitola and the Passante.
When speaking of the geology of Calabria it generally refers to the
Calabrian Arc, also called "Calabro-Peloritano Arc". It is a
semi-circular mountain range that begins south of Basilicata and
includes the northeastern sector of Sicily, with the Peloritani
Mountains. The basement of Calabria consists mainly of crystalline and
metamorphic rocks of the Paleozoic age, covered by successive mainly
Neogenic sediments. The substrate rocks are made up of different
tectonic units ("appes") superimposed on each other and on the units of
the Southern Apennines and the Sicilian Maghreb.
The Neogene
evolution of the Mediterranean is typical of the subduction Arc-Fossa
systems, characterized by a shift of the Calabrian Arc towards the
South-East in conjunction with the opening of the Tyrrhenian basin. The
so-called foreland of this system consists of the Apula platform and the
Ibleo or "Ragusana" platform. The Tyrrhenian Sea represents the back-arc
basin of this subduction system, where the parts with African affinity
subduct below the elements of European affinity (Calabrian Arc).
Calabria is a region with a high seismic hazard.
The Calabrian climate is of the Mediterranean type. The Ionian coast is drier and more arid than the Tyrrhenian one, which has a milder climate. Generally, the temperatures along the coasts never drop below 10°C and never rise above 40°C, with peaks of 42-44°C in the summer months. Along the Apennines and in the inland areas, from Pollino to the Sila up to Aspromonte, the climate is mountainous Apennine (cold continental) with cold and snowy winters, the summer is warm and there is no shortage of thunderstorms. Of note is the interesting daily temperature range, in winter, in the Crati valley, where abundant snowfalls can occur even at lowland altitudes.
The different climatic conditions of the region also favor a different vegetation from area to area. From sea level up to 600 meters (Mediterranean level) the Mediterranean maquis predominates with olive trees, holm oaks and other plants typical of the Mediterranean climate. From 700 meters up to 1000 meters (lower Apennine mountain plain), however, a transitional vegetation grows: chestnut trees and other oaks dominate. From 1000 meters upwards (mountain level) the species typical of the mountain climate dominate, made up of beech, silver fir and larch pine. On the Calabrian Serre the mountain plain begins, in some points, even at 800 meters. Worth mentioning is the "Loricato pine" (Pinus heldreichii), the undisputed symbol of the Pollino National Park: this ancient relic lives only on the Pollino, while outside the Italian territory it is found in the Balkans.
In the Augustan era of the Roman Empire, the current region was known
as Bruttium, by the population that inhabited it. Even earlier, around
the fifteenth century BC, these lands were known by the name of Italy,
from the Italian population, descendants of the Oenotrians. The Greeks
indicated the origin of the name in Ouitoulía from the word "Italòi"
(plural of Italós), a term with which the Achaean settlers who arrived
in the lands of present-day Calabria ambiguously designated both the
Vituli, a population that inhabited the lands south of the isthmus of
Catanzaro, whose ethnonym was etymologically related to the word
indicating the bull, an animal sacred to the Vituli and deified by them,
and the bulls themselves: the Greek italós is in fact of Italic
derivation, specifically it derives from the Osco-Umbrian uitlu, bull
precisely (see the Latin uitellus, form with a diminutive suffix which
means calf). Ouitoulía thus came to mean "land of the Vituli" or "land
of the bulls". In support of this hypothesis, in the southern part of
the Calabrian peninsula, where the largest Italic civilization
developed, before the advent of Rome, there are toponyms of Magno-Greek
origin (some translated into Latin by the Normans) probably belonging to
the more ancient etymology of land of bulls (of cattle): Bova, Bovalino,
Taurianova, Gioia Tauro, etc.
The name Calabria originally
designated the Salento peninsula, which was included in the Augustan
region Regio II Apulia et Calabria, while today's Calabria together with
the current Basilicata formed the Regio III Lucania et Bruttii. But when
the two peninsulas of southern Italy were unified by the Byzantines, the
name of Calabria was also used to identify the region of Bruzio;
subsequently, with the loss of the Byzantine possessions in Salento in
favor of the Longobards, the name was used to designate only the current
Calabrian peninsula, which still retains the name. During the late
Middle Ages and the modern age, the term Calabria was transformed into
Calabria, with the doubling of the territory into the two Neapolitan
provinces of Calabria Ulteriore and Calabria Citeriore.
The name
Calabria comes from Calabrī, to be compared with the Γαλάβριοι
(Galábrioi) of the Balkan Peninsula (from which perhaps the ethnic
Calabrī also derives). The origin seems to be a pre-Roman root
*cal-/cala- or *calabra-/galabra-, which also appears in calaverna and
calabrosa, as well as in calabria, the common name of the rock partridge
(Lagopus muta), which would mean "rock" , "calcareous or frozen
concretion". In support of this thesis Latham (1859) reports tribes of
Galabri or Calabri in the eastern regions of today's Kosovo, rich in
mineral deposits of gold and silver and states that Iapigi and Iapodi
were contiguous to the Galabri and, "for all practical purposes" , were
the same population and that "word for word" Galabri is the same as
Calabri. Latham further states that in Italy there are Iapyges called
Calabri, in the Balkans there are Iapodes also called Calabri. The
Messapians and Calabris were also indicated with the name of Iapigi. It
is therefore probable that migrants skilled in mining techniques
populated the areas of southern Italy close to deposits of interest to
them. Those of the Serre (Pazzano) and the very rich ones of Mount Mula
(again gold and silver) were also cultivated in remote times. "Mula" is
one of the many Calabrian toponyms derived from ancient Near Eastern
languages.
Another hypothesis has it that the term Calabria
derives instead from the ancient Greek kalón-bryōn ([earth] which gives
rise to good/beauty), to indicate the fertility of its territory. For
example, the sixteenth-century poet and historian Francesco Grano da
Cropani refers to it in his short poem De situ laudibusque Calabriae, in
which, in praising the beauties of Calabria, he also mentions the
presumed existence of the aforementioned etymological origin ("[... ] if
it is true that in the Greek language the term kalon means beautiful,
and brio indicates gushing [...]").
The first traces of man's presence in Calabria date back to the Paleolithic as evidenced by the findings in the caves of Praia a Mare, the graffiti of the Bos primigenius of the Grotta del Romito in Papasidero, a figure of a bovid engraved in the rock 12,000 years ago, but also the mining activities in the Grotta della Monaca in Sant'Agata di Esaro. During the era of metals new populations arrived, one of the most important settlements dating back to that period is the Torre Galli complex near Vibo Valentia, moreover, near Roccella Ionica, at the end of the sixties, excavations were carried out which brought to light a necropolis dating back to the Iron Age, just as, in the 1950s, in Contrada Ronzo a Calanna, not far from the town, the necropolis of a protohistoric village dating back to the 11th-10th centuries BC was discovered. Important finds are preserved in Reggio Calabria in the National Museum of Magna Grecia. Near Girifalco, in the Carìa district, a necropolis of the Upper Neolithic was discovered during the last years of the 19th century by the historian and archaeologist Armando Lucifero in which he found the skull of Carìa.
According to the myth, Aschenez, great-grandson of Noah, Semite
merchant and inventor of the rowing boat, arrived three generations
after the universal flood on the shores where Reggio was founded.
Later, according to the Greek myth, about 850 years before the
Trojan War, Enotrio and Peucezio (also reported as Paucezio), of
Enotrian and Pelasgian lineage, originally from the Peloponnese, in
Ausonia, already inhabited by the Ausoni, would have arrived there.
According to legend, Enotrio would have reigned for 71 years and on
his death his son Italo would have succeeded him ("strong and wise man"
according to what Dionysius of Halicarnassus narrates) who reigned over
an "Italòi" population who occupied the peninsula in the area located
south of the Isthmus of Catanzaro, which today are the provinces of
Catanzaro, Vibo Valentia and Reggio Calabria, from which Ausonia would
have taken the new name of "Italia", as reported by Thucydides ("that
region was called Italy by Italo, king arcade ") and Virgil (Aeneid,
III). However, we know from Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1 11.2-4; 12.1)
and Diodorus Siculus that the "Ausoni" (inhabitants of Ausonia) were
already settled in the Reggio area around the 16th century BC.
Therefore, these populations (Ausoni-Enotri-Itali, of Indo-European origin, Italians belonging to the Latin-Faliscan group), would have mainly inhabited the coastal areas. The Lucanians (Italic Indo-Europeans, belonging to the Osco-Umbrian group), lived in the region which took the name of "Lucania" from them, north of Calabria. The hinterland of Calabria (later called "Bruttium" by the Romans) was mainly inhabited by the Bruzi (of warlike temperament, called Brutti or Bretti, closely related to the Lucanians) as well as by people of Iberian origin. The nerve center of this people was Consentia, the current Cosenza, which was elected by the tribes of the Bruzi, after having coalesced into a league, the "capital" of the region. It was occupied by the Romans together with the rest of Magna Graecia in 265 BC, but during the Second Punic War it rebelled against Rome to form an alliance with Hannibal, to then return under the firm control of the Roman republic after the defeat of the Carthaginian leader.
Of fundamental importance is the landing of the Greeks on the
Calabrian coasts, who snatched the lands from the Lucanians (forced to
take refuge in the hinterland and in the northern part of Calabria), and
mixed with the other native peoples, giving life to a mestizo culture,
Greek-Italian, extremely flourishing in the following centuries. The
Greeks founded thriving colonies, so magnificent that they earned the
title of Magna Graecia (Great Greece), so important that, in some cases,
they surpassed the motherland itself.
Between the eighth and
fourth centuries BC in fact, numerous and important cities of Magna
Graecia flourished along the entire coast, such as Rhegion, Kroton,
Locri Epizefiri, Metauros and Sybaris, and numerous sub-colonies founded
by the colonies themselves such as: Kaulon, Hipponion, Medma, Terina and
Scolacium.
The history of the Magna Graecia poleis saw the cities
of Reggio excel politically and economically as master of the Strait of
Messina and southern Calabria, of Locri Epizephyrii in the central part
of the region, and of Crotone in the northern one, in a history made up
of alternating alliances and conflicts between the three powers of the
region.
Subsequently, with the pressure of the Italic populations
of the Bruzi and Lucani (who also conquered most of the Greek poleis),
and with the advent of Rome, Magna Graecia began its decline, also due
to a continuous struggle for dominance between the poleis.
After the conquest by the Romans, in the 3rd century BC, the territories assumed the name of "Brutium" but, apart from some allied cities, therefore not subjected to the authority of Rome, a large part of the region was unable to recover the former prosperity. The Magno-Greek poleis were therefore destined to lose their power in favor of an alliance (as in the case of Reggio) or a Roman colonization (in the case of Locri Epizefiri, Crotone and the other minor cities). Colonies under Latin law were Copia in 194 BC. and Vibo Valentia deduced in 192 BC. The latter was particularly important during the 1st century BC. and in the following century, it also hosted the army and fleet of Caesar and then of Octavian, Appiano remembers it as one of the most important cities in Italy. In fact, the only stronghold of the Greek language and culture remained Reggio (among other things the seat of the Corrector, governor of the province of Lucania et Bruttii), which connected its port with Rome through the Via Popilia; cities inhabited by the Bruttii were the colonies of Cosenza, Vibo Valentia, Locri, Crotone and Sibari. Among the most important cities we find Scolacium (near the current Catanzaro) which in 507 AD. it was the seat of the Corrector (governor) of the province of Lucania et Bruttii.
The Byzantine duchy
With the fall of the Western Roman Empire,
Calabria was devastated by the Gothic wars, between the Goths and the
Byzantines, who had the upper hand. Subsequently, due to the Lombard
invasion, the Byzantines lost a large part of Italy including also part
of northern Calabria, the remaining territories of Bruzio were
aggregated with the lands held in Salento, forming the duchy of Calabria
included in the theme of Sicily. Subsequently the Byzantine dominion in
southern Italy was divided into: thema of Langobardia, with capital
Bari, and, once Sicily fell into the hands of the Arabs, into thema of
Calabria, with capital Reggio. The latter territory had therefore
inherited the name Calabria, previously used to designate the Salento
peninsula; with the expansion of the Byzantine conquests, the theme of
Lucania was also organized, which included part of today's northern
Calabria.
During the early Middle Ages the inhabitants were
driven inland by both plagues and pirate raids, a real threat to the
coastal settlements, which continued until the end of the 18th century.
In fact, there were numerous hill and mountain fortifications in the
Calabrian hinterland, made up of villages perched in a sufficiently
backward and inaccessible position to be able to spot enemy ships in
time and promptly block the access routes to inhabited centres.
Cenobitism flourished in this historical period, with the rise
throughout the territory of countless churches, hermitages and
monasteries in which multitudes of Calabrian-Greek Basilian monks
dedicated themselves to the transcription of classical and religious
texts.
In the 9th and 10th centuries, Calabria was a borderland
between the Byzantines and the Arabs who settled in Sicily, who fought
for a long time over the peninsula, subject to raids and skirmishes,
depopulated and demoralised, but with the important Byzantine
monasteries, real strongholds of the culture of the time, and homeland
of many holy monks (San Nilo da Rossano, San Gregorio da Cerchiara
etc.).
Under Byzantine rule, between the end of the 9th and the
beginning of the 10th century, Calabria was one of the first regions of
Italy to introduce silk production in Europe. According to André
Guillou, mulberries for the production of raw silk were introduced to
southern Italy by the Byzantines in the late 9th century. Around 1050,
the theme of Calabria counted 24,000 mulberry trees grown for their
leaves and their numbers tended to expand.
While the cultivation
of mulberry took its first steps in the rest of Italy, the silk produced
in Calabria reached a peak of 50% of the entire Italian-European
production. Since mulberry cultivation was difficult in northern and
continental Europe, traders bought raw materials in Calabria to finish
the products and resell them at a better price. Genoese silk artisans
used Calabrian silk for the production of velvets.
However, the Norman Altavilla family put an end to the long
Arab-Byzantine dispute. In fact, the year 1061 establishes that Calabria
belongs to the Normans, divided between Robert Guiscard, Duke of
Calabria, and Roger, Count of Calabria. The government thus organized
was carried out by the local Byzantine magnates. The dominion was
extended to Apulia and from this moment all Byzantine pertinence ended.
Roberto confirms in Reggio the capital of the Duchy of Puglia and
Calabria and seat of the execution of Calabria, nominating himself duke;
In this period Cosenza became the capital and seat of the Val di Crati
and Terra Giordana executioner and the residence of Ruggero II, Duke of
Calabria who began the construction of the Castle.
Ruggero is instead
Count of Calabria, vassal of his brother Roberto, based in Mileto.
Roberto il Guiscardo was made Duke of Apulia, Calabria and Sicily on
August 23, 1059 by Pope Nicholas II with the formula: by the Grace of
God and St. Peter duke of Apulia and Calabria and, if they still assist
me, future Lord of Sicily.
In 1098, Pope Urban II invested Roger
with the role of apostolic nuncio and the Altavillas with their dynasty
became precursors of the Kingdom of Naples or Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies which dominated Calabria until the unification of Italy.
From 1130 until 1194 Calabria was part of the Kingdom of Sicily
under the Altavilla dynasty. The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry
VI, conquered the Kingdom starting the Swabian Dynasty (1194-1266),
whose greatest exponent was Frederick II.
In 1147, during the
Second Crusade, Roger II attacked Corinth and Thebes, two important
centers of Byzantine silk production, capturing the weavers and their
equipment and founding his own silk factories in Calabria.
With the conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266 by Charles I of
Anjou, the Angevin domination began, with the transfer of the capital of
the kingdom from Palermo to Naples. The widest diffusion of the feudal
system dates from this period. Because of the revolt of the Sicilian
Vespers (1282) the Kingdom of Sicily finds itself divided into two
parts: the Sicilian island, in the hands of the Aragonese, and the
continental part, held by the Angevins. The effective beginning of this
subdivision is with the peace of Caltabellotta of 1302, when Calabria
becomes part of the Regnum Siciliae citra Pharum (or Kingdom of Naples).
The Dynasty of the d'Angiò, then articulated in the Anjou-Durrase
and Anjou-Valois, constituting the so-called Dynasty of the Capetians,
resisted until 1442.
Meanwhile, in Catanzaro, weaving assumed
considerable importance. The progress in the art of silk is witnessed by
the gift of a stupendous green velvet hanging starred in gold, which the
city made to Ladislao di Durazzo in 1397, in gratitude for the exemption
from certain taxes on the dye works. This parade was of such merit that
the king used it to have the throne room in Castel Capuano upholstered.
From that moment the art progressed more and more, to the point of
deserving privileges and parchments from the sovereigns.
The
Dynasty of the Capetians was followed by the Trastámara d'Aragona
dynasty of Naples. In 1442 Alfonso V of Aragon, conquering the
territories of the Angevins, assigned the territory of Reggio to
Catanzaro, since Reggio had supported his opponent Renato d'Angiò, but
twenty years later in 1465 Ferdinand I of Aragon (Ferrante) reassigned
the title of capital to Reggio. The Aragonese period consecrated Cosenza
as the most important city of the realm in the field of law (1494-1557).
After Naples it became the second city to have a cartography and in 1511
the Cosentina Academy was born, founded by Aulo Giano Parrasio and
brought to its maximum splendor by Bernardino Telesio, the greatest of
the illustrious inhabitants of Cosenza, defined by Francesco Bacon as
the first of the new men.
In the fifteenth century, the silk
industry of Catanzaro supplied almost all of Europe and was sold at
large fairs to Spanish, Venetian, Genoese, Florentine and Dutch
merchants. Catanzaro became the silk capital of Europe with a large
silkworm farm producing all the lace and lace used in the Vatican. The
city was famous for its fine manufacture of silks, velvets, damasks and
brocades. In 1519, Emperor Charles V formally recognized the growth of
the Catanzaro silk industry, allowing the city to set up a silk
handicraft consulate, charged with regulating and controlling the
various phases of a production that flourished throughout the sixteenth
century.
In the 16th century, Calabria was characterized by
strong demographic and economic development, mainly due to the growing
demand for silk products and the simultaneous growth in prices, and it
became one of the most important Mediterranean markets for silk.
In this period in Calabria the division into the two provinces of
Calabria Citeriore (or Citra) and Calabria Ulteriore (or Ultra) was
confirmed initially governed by a single magistrate, then from 1582 the
two provinces were administered by two distinct governors:
one in
Cosenza for Calabria Citeriore: the capital in the 16th century went
through an impressive humanistic flowering and marked an intellectual
renaissance, so much so that it was defined as the Athens of Calabria;
one in Reggio for 11 years from 1582 to 1592, then in Catanzaro for over
220 years from 1593 to 1816 for the Calabria Ulteriore. For a short
time, Monteleone was also the capital of the province.
The Kingdom of Naples itself underwent various dominations: the
dynasties of the Habsburgs, Spain and Austria, the Bourbons, and for a
short time a brother and a general of Napoleon, respectively Giuseppe
Bonaparte and Gioacchino Murat, the latter executed in the town of
Protection payment.
In 1806, reigning Giuseppe Bonaparte,
Napoleon's brother, Calabria and Basilicata rose up against the
Napoleonic regime, supported by the fleet and by the English troops,
giving rise to the so-called Calabrian Insurrection. This, born against
the French and in support of the Bourbons, lasted two years and saw
among the various captains of pro-Bourbon insurgents both professional
soldiers and common bandits. The repression of the anti-French movement
was mainly entrusted to generals Andrea Massena and Jean Maximilien
Lamarque, who managed to curb the rebellion, albeit with extremely cruel
expedients, as happened for example in the so-called Lauria massacre,
perpetrated by Massena's soldiers.
Aspromonte, a mountain region in the south of Calabria, in the
province of Reggio, was the scene of a famous battle of the
Risorgimento, in which Giuseppe Garibaldi was wounded. It is still
possible to admire the hollow tree in which, according to tradition,
Garibaldi sat down to be treated, near Gambarie, near Reggio. In this
period, liberal and patriotic movements also manifested themselves in
Cosenza, the best known being that of 15 March 1844 which ended with a
firefight in Largo dell'Intendenza between Bourbon soldiers and 21
patriots later sentenced to death, and of whom only six were executed.
The Bandiera Brothers, Venetians who came to the aid of the Calabrian
brothers and were shot at the Vallone di Rovito together with 7 other
officers on 25 July 1844, took their cue from this revolt. independence
until the Expedition of the Thousand. Garibaldi was in Cosenza on August
31, 1860; two months later, a plebiscite established the annexation to
the Kingdom of Italy.
With the Kingdom of Italy established in
1861, Calabria was administratively divided into the provinces of
Catanzaro, Cosenza and Reggio, exactly marking the pre-existing
provinces of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1947 Calabria was one
of the 19 regions (which became 20 in 1963 following the independence of
Molise from Abruzzo) provided for by article 131 of the Constitution of
the Italian Republic. In 1970 the Calabria Region was finally
established with Catanzaro as regional capital.