Vibo Valentia (formerly Monteleone until 1861 and Monteleone di
Calabria from 1861 to 1928 (Vibbu Valenzia or Muntiliuni in Vibonese
dialect, Hipponium or Montileonum in Latin), is an Italian town of
31 239 inhabitants, capital of the province of the same name in
Calabria, located on the Costa degli Dei.
The city of Vibo
Valentia has a long history of over 8,000 years, it has also been
the capital of Calabria Ultra and the Calabrie treasury (Ulterior
and Hither).
Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Leoluca (Duomo): built in the
seventeenth century on the remains of an ancient Byzantine basilica from
the ninth century, it was restored after the earthquake of 1783 based on
a design by Francesco Antonio Coratoli and under the supervision of
Emanuele Paparo. Its layout is a Latin cross with a single nave. Its
interior is covered by a barrel vault with paintings by Emanuele Paparo
and eighteenth-nineteenth century stuccoes. The main bronze entrance,
with a granite portal, is rich in decorations, the work of the sculptor
Giuseppe Niglia, which narrate the historical events of the city. Inside
there are valuable works such as the eighteenth-century high altar in
polychrome marble by Francesco Raguzzini, from which stands out a
sixteenth-century sculpture in the round of the Madonna della Neve
attributed to Annibale Caccavello, and a Renaissance marble triptych,
the work of the artist Gagini , depicting the Madonna delle Grazie, San
Giovanni Evangelista and Santa Maria Maddalena, where it is also
possible to see the coat of arms of the powerful Pignatelli family.
Inside the dome, on its plumes, there are paintings by Giulio Rubino
depicting the four Evangelists.
Sanctuary of the Madonna della Salute
(Church of Santa Ruba): located halfway between Vibo and one of its
satellite towns (San Gregorio d'Ippona). Of ancient origins (it was
built around the year 1000 under Pope Callixtus II), it has an
oriental-inspired dome. It is called the Church of Santa Ruba from the
Santa Ruba area where it stands.
Church of the Rosary: built in 1337
in Gothic style, in the location of a pre-existing Roman theatre, it was
annexed to the convent of the Friars Minor Conventual. The church was
rebuilt several times following cataclysms (such as the earthquake of
1783) and preserves the De Sirica Crispo chapel in its original Gothic
style; it is governed by the archconfraternity of the same name and
contains several paintings by the local artist Giulio Rubino as well as
five polychrome wooden statues of the Sorrowful Mysteries and a Risen
Christ by Ludovico and Domenico Rubino (brothers of the painter Giulio)
which are carried in procession during the Holy Week.
Church of
Carmine: dating back to the seventeenth century with an adjoining
convent, it was rebuilt around 1864 with a single nave in an oval shape.
The convent was for a long time the people's city hospital.
Church of
Santa Maria degli Angeli: built between 1621 and 1666, initially annexed
to the convent of the reformed Friars Minor (today Convitto Nazionale),
it has been looked after by the Capuchin fathers since 1866. It
preserves inside a wooden Crucifix called "of the Angels" by an unknown
1600s author, a destination for thousands of devotees who go every year,
according to ancient tradition, on a pilgrimage on Fridays in March. In
addition, two paintings attributed to Luca Giordano and the sculpture
Madonna with child by Michelangelo Naccherino.
Church of San Michele:
there is evidence of this ancient church, an example of Renaissance
architecture, from 8 August 1519, when the bishop of Mileto, Andrea
Della Valle, elevated it to a parish. The bell tower, probably designed
by Baldassarre Peruzzi, with a square tower, with three superimposed
orders, had a clock whose mechanism was found on site and will be
preserved in a museum. Inside there is a painting by Luca Giordano of
San Michele which chase away Lucifer. There is also a painting by
Ludovico Mazzanti Ecstasy of Saint Ignatius.
Church of San Giuseppe:
commissioned by the Jesuit Fathers and annexed to the college they
founded there, it was built on the basis of a project by Francesco
Grimaldi and was opened for worship in 1701 with the title of
Sant'Ignazio or del Gesù; it preserves numerous pictorial works inside
including the vision of Sant'Ignazio and sculptural works such as the
wooden group of San Giuseppe on the main altar; it is the parish seat
together with the nearby church of San Michele and the Confraternity of
Jesus, Mary and Joseph is still active there, which among other things
takes care of the evocative procession of the Madonna Desolata on the
night of Good Friday.
Church of the Holy Spirit: built in 1579, it is
still deconsecrated for worship; it was the first cathedral of the city
before the construction of the current one, as well as the extraordinary
seat and residence, in 1613, of the then bishop Virgilio Cappone. It
kept many artistic works inside which, when it closed, were moved to
other churches in the city; the parish of which it was located was
transferred, while maintaining the same title, to the nearby church of
Santa Maria La Nova.
Church of Santa Maria la Nova: built in 1521
with the name of Santa Maria di Gesù by Duke Ettore Pignatelli, it
houses the sarcophagus. It currently presents itself in different styles
and houses a Gagini marble inside. During Napoleonic domination it was
used as a stable and military depot, it was restored and reopened in
1837 by order of Enrico Gagliardi. Inside there are works by the Flemish
painter Dirk Hendricksz.
Church of Santa Maria del Soccorso:
originally built around 1632, it was rebuilt in 1791 based on designs by
Bernardo Morena.
La Madonnella: small chapel built on the site of the
ancient Capuchin convent, called "the old Capuchins"; annually the cult
of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio and of Sant'Anna is celebrated there.
Church of Sant'Antonio di Padova: 17th century church annexed to the
convent of the Capuchin Friars Minor; inside it is possible to observe
another canvas by Luca Giordano, The Madonna and Child between Saints
Anna and Felice, and the Immaculate Conception with Saints Francis and
Anthony of Padua by Pacecco De Rosa.
Gate and tower of the Conte d'Apice (gate of the medieval city
walls)
Arco Marzano (gate of the medieval city walls)
Norman-Swabian castle
The castle stands where the Acropolis of
Hipponion was probably located, which also partly extended onto the
nearby hill. Although the first phase of construction of the
structure is commonly attributed to the Norman age, in reality, it
dates back to the Swabian period when Matteo Marcofaba, governor of
Calabria, was commissioned by Frederick II to repopulate and
encourage the development of the city. the castle was enlarged by
Charles of Anjou in 1289 when it took on a more or less similar
appearance to its present one. It was strengthened by the Aragonese
in the 15th century and finally remodeled by the Pignatellis between
the 16th and 17th centuries, almost completely losing its military
function and instead assuming that of a noble residence. The second
floor was demolished on purpose, as it was unsafe, due to the damage
reported after the earthquake of 1783. The castle today features
cylindrical towers, a rammed tower and a single-arched door from the
Angevin period. It is now home to the State Archaeological Museum.
Of the last two phases, at least 8 circular towers remain in
plan. Some of them have survived beyond the foundations, in
particular one which reaches around 4 meters in height. These towers
must have originally been about 10 meters high.
Bivona Castle
The castle of Bivona was built in the first half of the fifteenth
century by Mariano d'Alagno, brother of Ugone and Lucrezia, governor
of Monteleone, to defend the port. The castle has a more or less
rectangular plan with four circular towers at the corners. It was
abandoned at the end of the seventeenth century due to the formation
of swamps nearby. Since then the castle has remained in a total
state of abandonment; the restoration work that will make it usable
again has recently begun.
Civil architecture
Capialbi
Palace
Located in via Ruggero il Normanno, at the foot of the
Castle, the 1500 m² palace was built at the end of the 17th -
beginning of the 18th century, on pre-existing buildings from the
1400s and 1500s, perhaps belonging to the Pignatellis and the
government of Monteleone. It has a facade of mixed, exposed masonry,
onto which the entrance portal opens with a round arch in granite,
made up of differently worked ashlars. Inside there is a rich
archaeological collection and an important library, among which
stands out an autograph sheet by Giacomo Leopardi, a past guest of
the palace, containing the poem he composed, The Infinite.
Cordopatri Palace
The palace was built by Antonino Cordopatri in
1784, on some ruins of an ancient 17th century building which was
destroyed during the earthquake of 1783. Located in the street of
the same name, it stands in the heart of old Vibo and is one of the
first buildings built after 1783, as evidenced by the neoclassical
decorative elements of the main façade. The state of conservation of
the building, especially the central part, is terrible. Damages,
missing parts, cracks and humidity are taking their toll on the
internal and external wall structures.
Palazzo Romei
The
palace, located in via F. Cordopatri, was built at the end of the
fifteenth century by Giovanni Andrea Romei based on a design by Leon
Battista Alberti. The building has the shape of a parallelogram,
placed on three levels. Of particular beauty are its balconies with
"belly" wrought iron railings, made with volute-shaped strips and
floral applications. Inside there is a fresco with the noble coat of
arms of the Sacco family, in possession of the palace from the
mid-1600s to 1730.
Other buildings
Palace of France
The
palace stands on the highest part of Via Gioacchino Murat, a street
which took this name due to Murat's presence in the Marquis's house
during his short reign. The 1800 m² building vaguely recalls some
eighteenth-century Vesuvian villas, such as Villa Campolieto and
Villa De Gregorio in Rome, for some ideas on the facade, and for the
concept of the atrium opposite the entrance to the park.
Vanvitellian elements combine to give it a clearly classic taste.
For just over a decade the building has been subject to protection
restrictions together with the park.
Palazzo Gagliardi
At
the end of the 18th century, on the area previously occupied by the
church of Santi Marco e Luca, the first Gagliardi palace stood, of
small dimensions and which had valuable paintings by Emanuele Paparo
and Michele Pagano. In 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi stayed there, as is
remembered by a plaque on the current facade. The building was
demolished in the 19th century to make room for a larger one. It was
donated in 1952/53 to the Association for Southern Italy to be used
for cultural purposes and subsequently passed from the Association
to the Municipality of the city. In the past it housed the
archaeological museum. It is currently home to the Italian Institute
of Criminology.
Marzano Palace
Palazzo Marzano is located
in the center of the Marzano district, near the church of San
Michele. It has been owned by the Marzano family since 1658. The
E-shaped building has a certain artistic value especially for the
beautiful entrance portal, formed by a series of vertically aligned
frames. No substantial changes have been made to the structure of
the building. A small intervention took place in 1700 when, for
inheritance reasons, a dividing wall was built in the main room.
Stagno d'Alcontres Palace
The palace belonged to the Francia
family, when in 1927 it became part of the Stagno family's estate
from Messina through a bequest from the knight Antonio di Francia to
his niece Teresa Stagno d'Alcontres.
Palazzo Gagliardi -
today Murmura
The palace was built by the Marquises Gagliardi,
then passing to the current family following the marriage of a
representative of the same with Antonietta Gurgo, widow of
Gagliardi. With two floors, of 1700 m², it stands on Piazza
Garibaldi, between Palazzo Gagliardi and the church of Santa Maria
degli Angeli. On the ground floor, two large portals with round
arches lead, through an imposing entrance hall, into the master
apartments
Froggio Palace
Built at the end of the 18th
century by Baron Domenico Antonio Froggio (the Froggios were known
until well into the nineteenth century as the "Barons of Santo
Stefano") and belonged to this family until 2013. It is located in
Via Marconi (ancient Piazza di Majo) . It is a building that
recalls, certainly not for its sumptuousness, eighteenth-century
Neapolitan civil architecture (perhaps the only example of this
style among the buildings in Vibo). Worthy of note are the atrium
and the beautiful staircase.
Villa Cordopatri
Greek Walls of Hipponion
Located in Trappeto Vecchio, they are the
defensive walls of the city of Magna Graecia Hipponion. They stretch for
approximately 500 meters and are made up of square blocks of sandstone
and calcarenite from the 6th century BC. for the first construction
phase. The blocks are arranged in a double face with transverse
connecting walls, the internal filling is in clay.
Roman baths
and domus of Vibonia
Located in Sant'Aloe. They consist of a thermal
plant referred to the Roman city of Vibonia from the 2nd century AD. and
several domus, one of which has a peristyle, almost all paved with
polychrome mosaics. The thermal complex is divided into a frigidarium,
calidarium and gymnasium, perhaps connected to a public house. The spa
facility is enriched by various polychrome mosaics depicting deities,
mythological creatures or animals.
Doric Temple of Persephone
Discovered by Paolo Orsi in 1916, it is located inside the Parco delle
Rimembranze, in the Belvedere Grande-Telegrafo area. The temple is
peripteral and can be dated back to the 6th-5th century BC. The
dimensions are 17.10 x 37.45m.
Ionic temple of
Kore-Persephone-Demeter
In the Cofino area there are the
archaeological remains of an Ionic temple dedicated to the cult of
Persephone and Demeter. In Cofino the remains of an Ionic temple (late
5th-early 4th century BC) were brought to light. Two sacred deposits
were found, one identified by structures and the other by statuettes
depicting Demeter, mother of Persephone, with the traditional attributes
of the little pig and the cross torch. The sanctuary located on the
Cofino hill was used from the end of the 6th century BC. and at least
until the 4th century BC; the site seems to have been abandoned during
the Roman period, when some houses were built in the area.
Greek
necropolis
Located in Scrimbia, a necropolis from the 7th century BC.
from which numerous finds come and are housed in the Vito Capialbi State
Archaeological Museum.
Doric temple Cava Cordopatri
Located
near the Cordopatri Quarry, in the immediate vicinity of the
Norman-Swabian Castle, it is a Doric temple, naiskos, dating back to the
5th century BC.
Early Christian Baptistery, Hellenic building,
Roman domus in Piazza San Leoluca
Located in Piazza San Leoluca, they
were discovered on 5 February 2014 during the renovation works of the
square. The excavations have brought to light the remains of a building
from the Hellenic era, a Roman domus from the imperial age adorned with
a mosaic and a baptistery from the early Christian era, a discovery of
particular interest, one of a kind in Calabria.
Roman furnaces
Archaeological site discovered in 2009 beneath the municipal building,
in Piazza Martiri D'Unità, during its expansion works. It is an entire
artisan neighborhood from the Roman era including three different types
of kilns, a well and a clay extraction quarry.
Protected natural
areas
Capocozzo Seabed Regional Marine Park – S. Irene – Vibo Marina
– Pizzo Calabro – Capo Vaticano and Tropea, (also known as Costa degli
Dei Regional Marine Park, established by Regional Law no. 13 of 21 April
2008). The headquarters of the Regional Marine Park is in Vibo Valentia.
Municipal Villa "Nazzareno Cremona" (formerly Villa Regina
Margherita)
Villa Gagliardi (classic noble villa with mostly lost
architectural and artistic structures, Italian vegetation and
centuries-old trees)
Botanical Park Palace of France
Urban Park,
Moderata Durant neighborhood
Parco delle Rimembranze, Piazza d'Armi
(with stele dedicated to the hero of two worlds Giuseppe Garibaldi)
The position of the city, perched on the slope of a
hill, assumes strategic importance in the area. A crossroads since
the times of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, it dominates both
the hinterland, the Calabrian Serre mountain range, and the maritime
area with its port and tourist resorts. It is also necessary to
travel by road to reach the port of Vibo Marina.
The city of
Vibo Valentia stands on a large schisty hilly terracing.The town
hall rises at 476 m s.l.m. but the municipality reaches 568 m in the
highest part and is located above sea level in the Marina area. The
three largest concentrations of industrial activities in the
municipality are at the Airport Location, near Porto Salvo (adjacent
to Vibo Marina, thanks to the exploitation of the opportunities
provided by the presence of the multifunctional port and the railway
station), and finally on the border with Maierato, while the the
commercial area is located within the city on the hill, as well as
the greatest demographic concentration.
The most important river in the municipal area is the Mesima, which originates on the slopes of Mount Mazzucolo (942 m) and flows into the Mediterranean Sea north of San Ferdinando, a locality between Nicotera (VV) and Rosarno (RC). The Marepotamo river, the Metramo river and the Vena river meet on the left and the Cinnarello ditch and the Mammella torrent on the right. In the municipal territory it flows behind the Norman-Swabian castle, inside the homonymous valley. The city also has numerous rivers, among which the Sant'Anna and the Trainiti stand out.
The summer climate in
the city is never really hot, barely exceeds 30 ° C but on the other
hand it is humid and muggy, a different situation on the marina
where temperatures even reach 35 ° C but with a much lower level of
humidity. The climate is pleasant, never too cold and often allows
sunny days that even reach 20 ° C. Precipitation is not very
frequent, and snowfalls in particular are rare.
On the basis
of the thirty-year reference average 1961-1990, the average
temperature of the coldest months, January and February, is +12.2 °
C; that of the hottest month, August, is +26.3 ° C.
Average
annual rainfall is around 550 mm and is distributed on average in 73
days, with a prolonged summer minimum and a moderate peak between
autumn and winter.
Over the course of its thousand-year history, Vibo Valentia has had
different names, which correspond to the evolution of the city in
historical eras:
Veip or Veipuna, name of the Oscan settlement;
Weiponion (in ancient Greek: ? Ϝειπώνιον), which became Eiponion (in
ancient Greek: ? Ειπώνιον) after the fall of the digamma, name of the
Greek polis, cited as Hipponion (in ancient Greek: ? Ἱππώνιον) by
ancient literary sources;
Valentia-Vibo Valentia-Vibonia, name of the
Roman municipality;
Mons Leonis-Monteleone, from the Swabian period
to the Unification of Italy;
Monteleone di Calabria, until 1928.
From prehistory to Roman times
Traces of an intense frequentation
of the current Vibo Valentia date back to the Neolithic (Neolithic tools
came to light during the excavation of the Western Necropolis of
Hipponion, Orsi reported other discoveries relating to this period near
the remains of the Doric temple in the Belvedere Telegrafo area and in
the stretch of the Greek walls of Hipponion in the Trappeto Vecchio
area, the Topa recalls various Neolithic findings in Vibo, finally in
recent excavations near Via Romei significant traces of this period
emerged). Traces of occupation in the Bronze and Iron Ages were found
during the excavation of the Western Necropolis, of the sacred area in
the Scrimbia area and in the sacred area in via Romei. The name of this
first indigenous settlement must have been Veip or Veipuna. To have a
commercial outlet on the Tyrrhenian Sea and avoid circumnavigating
Calabria and therefore crossing the strait (under the influence of
Rhegion), in the second half of the 7th century BC. the Greeks of Locri
Epizefiri founded the sub-colony with the name of Hipponion. At the end
of the 6th century BC, the city defeated Crotone in battle with the help
of Locri and Medma: the news is reported on a shield with an engraved
dedication found in Olympia, it should be underlined that Hipponion
holds first place on the engraving of certainly due to the importance he
had in the clash. Initially it was assumed that the shield was a trophy
of the battle of the Sagra, but the different chronological positioning
of this event with respect to the dating of the shield and the fact that
the sources do not report Hipponion and Medma in the battle of the
Sagra, while in the dedication Hipponion occupies the main role, has
overthrown this theory. In fact, the shield is from the end of the 6th
century BC, it seems to refer rather to a battle not mentioned in the
sources, probably in a period shortly after the clash between Sibari and
Crotone, which occurred in 510 BC. In 422 BC. Thucydides reports the
news of a clash between Hipponiati and Medmei against their motherland
Locri Epizefiri, understood until recently as a sort of rebellion of the
sub-colonies against Locri, but in reality the archaeological findings
attest that Hipponion must have been autonomous since beginning: the
rich votive gifts of the sacred area in the Scrimbia area in fact attest
to the presence of a rich aristocratic class that had control of the
city since the archaic age, this makes us understand how the social
organization of Locri was similar to that of Hipponion and therefore not
subordinate to that of the mother city.
Another sign of
Hipponion's independence is also given by the shield of Olympia, from
which it is clear that Hipponion was the city that led a war against
Crotone and by Thucydides himself who defines the Hipponiati as
"homoroi" (neighbors) of the Locrians. There were probably some federal
ties between Locri, Hipponion and Medma according to which in case of
war a polis could request the help of the other two, and perhaps due to
a too heavy request on the part of the Locrians in this league, it
originated in 422 BC, the clash. Thucydides gives us no information
about the outcome of the conflict, but that he was favorable to
Hipponiati and Medmei seems certain from the subsequent events which saw
Locri taking sides together with Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of
Syracuse. In fact, at the beginning of the 4th century BC, Dionysius
married a Locrian woman and Locri supported the tyrant in his
expeditions to Italy. In 393 BC, the tyrant, once occupied Medma,
deported part of its inhabitants to Messana and left the territory of
the city to the Locrians. This pushed Hipponion, Rhegion, Kaulon,
Kroton, Thurii, Velia and a series of smaller centers to ally themselves
in view of the Syracusan threat, creating the so-called Italian League,
however in 388 BC. after the defeat of the Italiots at Kaulon in the
battle of Helleporus (389 BC), Dionysius conquered Hipponion and
deported part of the inhabitants to Syracuse, handing the territory over
to the Locrians. Nine years later, in 379 BC, the Carthaginians
liberated the city and repopulated it with the Hipponiates deported by
Dionysius and with other exiles due to the tyranny. In 356 BC. the birth
of the Brettian people caused no serious problems in Hipponion, which
perhaps, albeit for a short period, would be occupied by this Italic
population. In 340-331 BC. Alexander the Molossian, king of Epirus,
intervened against the Brettii and initially managed to liberate the
Greek Terina (a city north of Hipponion) which had been under Brettian
control for some years and conquered the Brettii Pandosia and Cosenza,
giving relief to for a certain period Hipponion.
But in 331 BC.
the Epirot will die treacherously killed near Pandosia. It will begin at
the end of the 4th century BC. the construction of a new phase of the
city wall, equipped with circular towers which must have required
enormous public spending and the presence of specialized manpower. In
294 BC. Agathocles, Tyrant of Syracuse conquers Hipponion according to
what was handed down by Diodorus "Agathocles laid siege to the city of
the Hipponiati...[lacuna]...and using stone-throwing machines they got
the better of the city and conquered it" (Diod XXI, fr 8). Agathocles
made Hipponion one of his main centers for the control of possessions in
Italy: from Strabo we know that he enlarged the port, archaeological
evidence attests to the strengthening of the walls which will make the
city a truly great stronghold. Shortly after the death of Agathocles
there will be the clash of the cities of Magna Graecia with the Romans
and the intervention of Pyrrhus. After the end of the war, Hipponion,
like the other Italiot and Bruttian centers, will come under the control
of the Romans and a Roman garrison will be established. Roman control
was absent during the Second Punic War, when the Brettii who had joined
Hannibal took it over. In 192 BC, a few years after the end of the
Second Punic War, the Romans established a colony under Latin law in
Hipponion (Liv., XXXV, 40, 5-6) called Valentia, with the right of mint
and various autonomies. The name Valentia (attested on the coins of the
colony and by Polla's epigraph which recalls the construction of the Via
Popilia), in Latin means strength, military power, together with the
massive sending of settlers superior to all the other centers of Bruzio:
4,000 soldiers, certainly with women and children, it makes us
understand how the capital of the Empire recognized the great strategic
and economic importance of the Tyrrhenian center. Subsequently, from 89
BC. when it became a municipality, Vibo Valentia was the name used to
indicate the city (Strabo, Pliny the Elder, etc.).
The city
possessed a large territory: in Greek times its chora (territory in
Greek) was bordering that of Locri Epizephiri (Thucid. 5,5,1). According
to the most recent studies, its territory must have bordered the Lametos
stream (now Amato) to the north, Nicotera to the south and the Serre
mountain range to the east, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west; in Roman
times the border of the ager Vibonensis (as Titus Livy calls it) had
gone south a little further down the Mesima river (also taking the place
of Medma, located near today's Rosarno, which from a flourishing Greek
colony was now disappeared in Roman times). During the Roman period, the
construction of the Via Popilia affected the city which became an
important station. The port was also of great importance for the
development of the city, the remains of which are partly buried and
partly under water between the locality Trainiti and Bivona in the
municipality of Vibo Valentia. Speaking of Vibo, Strabo reports that it
possessed an epineion, i.e. a port located at a certain distance from
the city on which it depends, which was strengthened by Agathocles,
tyrant of Syracuse, after conquering it in 294 BC. During the Roman era,
the port became the main port of departure, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, of
the Silva Bruttia wood for the construction of the ships of the powerful
Roman army.
Thanks to its strategic and political importance,
Vibo had the honor of hosting Julius Caesar, Octavian and Cicero, who
remembers it in his letters. Gaius Julius Caesar had used the city's
port, during the civil wars, to host half of his fleet; Caesar himself
describes a war episode that occurred near the city's port. The fleet
stationed in Vibo managed to repel an assault by the Pompeians, led by
Cassius Longinus, destroying the ship of the same enemy general who had
to escape in a lifeboat and then, once he reached the other ships,
depart definitively from the Vibo waters. Octavian like his adoptive
father used the city's port as a naval base. In fact, in 36 BC, the
future emperor was defeated and put to flight by Sextus Pompey (son of
the more famous Gnaeus) who had taken over Sicily, so with the fleet hit
hard by the defeat he took refuge in the flourishing Tyrrhenian city
where he established his headquarters and lived for about a year. In his
work on the civil wars, Appian describes the various movements of the
fleet which had Vibo Valentia as its main base. When Pompey was
definitively defeated, the city, which due to the importance and
prosperity achieved had been chosen as a territory to be assigned to the
veterans as a colony, was exempted from the burdensome task together
with Reggio for the merits obtained in this situation, thus keeping the
its thriving economy. At least starting from the 5th century (but
probably already a century earlier) it became the seat of a diocese, the
name changing to that of Vibona in the late empire.
After the end of the Roman Empire, the Byzantines fortified it, but
the Saracens attacked and sacked it several times. Roger I of Sicily
placed his camps in Vibo in the 11th century and later moved the seat of
the diocese, present in Vibo since the 5th or 4th century, to his
Mileto. Also in this period, Ruggero dismantled the columns and marbles
of the ancient classical buildings of Vibo Valentia to use them in
Mileto in the construction of other buildings. Frederick II of Swabia
passing through the city, impressed by the beauty and strategic
potential of the place (Nicolai de Jamsilla, De rebus gestis Federici II
imperatoris), gave the task to the "secreto" of Calabria, Matteo
Marcofaba, to rebuild and repopulate it and since then it changed its
name to Monteleone.
In this period the first phase of the castle
was built which by mistake was attributed to the Norman period. Under
the Angevins the city acquired even more prestige and prosperity,
becoming the royal vicar's series. Also in the same period, the castle
and the medieval city walls were further strengthened and enlarged.
Later between the Angevin and Aragonese periods, it became a fiefdom of
the Caracciolo family and then a state municipality. In 1501, usurping
the rights of the city, it was entrusted again as a fiefdom to the
Pignatelli family. For this reason a revolt broke out in which General
Lo Tufo of the kingdom of Naples had to intervene. The latter, unable to
tame it, called the seven leaders of the people who were treacherously
killed to discuss. A few years later, Diana Recco from Monteleone, who
had lost a brother and her father in the revolt, stabbed to death
General Lo Tufo who was taking part in the wedding ceremony of one of
her daughters. In any case, the Pignatellis thought about the
development of the city, creating spinning mills, oil mills and
encouraging many artisan activities.
In the 17th century,
Monteleone was one of the most productive silk centers in the region. In
this period an important silk market took place in the city which had
Naples or Cava dei Tirreni as its destination.
In the nineteenth
century the French elevated it to the capital of Calabria Ultra and from
then until a few decades ago many trades flourished, the memory of which
is in the names of streets (Via Forgiari, via Chitarrari, via
Argentaria, etc.) and institutions such as the Real Collegio Vibonese
(the still existing Convitto Filangieri and the Municipal Theatre,
demolished in the sixties). After the return of the Bourbons the city
lost its role as capital and its political and economic importance was
reduced. During the wars for the unification of Italy, Garibaldi passed
through Monteleone where he obtained material aid and financing from the
inhabitants. In 1861, after the unification of Italy, the name of the
city was changed to Monteleone di Calabria.
Under Fascism, thanks to Luigi Razza, journalist, politician, Member of Parliament and Minister of Public Works, a great relaunch was initiated in the field of public works, in which the construction of the Town Hall stands out (finished in 1935 and which, according to the initial project, should have welcomed, at the end, the Prefecture of the province to be formed) in a rationalist style. On the initiative of Razza himself, in 1927 a royal decree inspired by the fascist government which became effective on 13 January 1928, renamed the city from Monteleone di Calabria to, according to the ancient Latin diction, Vibo Valentia. The public building drive in the city came to a decisive halt when Minister Razza disappeared in a plane crash in Egypt in 1935. The city subsequently wanted to honor his memory with a full-length bronze statue, sculpted by Francesco Longo in 1938 and personally inaugurated by Benito Mussolini in 1939 during his visit to the city, which stands in Piazza San Leoluca on a high pedestal, surmounted by a stele bearing the marble effigy of winged Victory at the top. Another effigy was reserved for him in the Town Hall, named after him. The city also named its military airport, the stadium, a square and a street in the historic center after Luigi Razza.
The most important event of recent years, in 1992, was the
proclamation of the province of the same name, which was previously
included in the province of Catanzaro.
In 1993, with the creation
of a monument, the city intended to honor the memory of one of its
inhabitants, Michele Morelli, patriot and martyr of the Risorgimento.
During the nineties, Vibo Valentia dedicated a square and a bronze
bust to the poet Vincenzo Ammirà.
On 3 July 2006 it was hit hard
by a flood, which caused the death of four citizens and extensive
economic damage to industry, tourism and private property. The greatest
damage was recorded in the localities of Longobardi, Vibo Marina and
Bivona, hit by a large quantity of water, mud and debris. The renovation
works were entrusted to a commission chaired by Pasquale Versace,
professor of Hydrology and Design of Hydraulic Works at the University
of Calabria.
Then, in 2021, the city was designated the Italian
Book Capital by the then Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini.
Shield divided into gold and red and split into blue in the upper third. In the first he has three green mountains, on the middle (central) highest one a rampant lion lampased in red, one half of which is blue in the gold field, and the other of the same in the blue field. In the second he has two gold amalthea horns (cornucopias) filled with gold fruit and a silver rod supporting on the end an owl in the field of blue. Shield stamped by the ducal crown, with the words S.P.Q.V. at the bottom.