The archbishop's seat was the capital of the province of Calabria Ultra for over 200 years. It houses theMagna Græcia University, the second-largest university in Calabria.
Catanzaro is an urban centre, with much activity, including some coastal towns, such as Sellia Marina and Soverato, and the municipalities of Silas, with a total of 156,196 inhabitants. Catanzaro is being consolidated to form a greater metropolitan area, by the Region of Calabria, and in connection with the town ofLamezia Terme, comprising 10 municipalities. This will lead to the creation of an integrated area involving over 200,000 inhabitants.
During the summer months, the Ionian coast from Catanzaro toSoverato is an important tourist attraction, especially for the youth, and several important structures are located in the coastal districts of the city and in the towns of Copanello and Soverato.
Catanzaro is also known as the city of the three V's, referring to the three distinct features of the city, namely Saint Vitalian, the patron saint;velvet, because the city has been an important silk centre sinceByzantine times; and wind (vento inItalian), because of the strong breezes from theIonian Sea andLa Sila.
"VVV" was the symbol by which Catanzaro's silk industry was known, identified for both its domestic and foreign markets, and iconic for the finest fabrication of silks, velvets,damasks, and brocades from the city.
Catanzaro overlooks theGulf of Squillace, in theIonian Sea. The district of Catanzaro stretches from the sea to an elevation of 600 metres (2,000 ft). The historic center is approximately 300 metres (980 ft)above sea level. The town dates back to the valley of Fiumarella (formerly known as River Zaro). The Bishopric, St. Tryphon (or San Rocco) and St. John (or castle) marks the city's historical centre and is connected to the North Sila. Due to its particular geography, the municipality gets wet from the sea and is still subjected to a snowy winter. Catanzaro's rivers include the mainstream of the Fiumarella (in local dialect Hjiumareddha), which joins with the river Musofalo, and the torrent Corach (formerly called Crotalo).
The climate of Catanzaro is typicallyMediterranean, temperate, and characterized by a windy spring and autumn.
According to the 30-year average of 1961–90 reference, the average temperature of the coldest month, January, came to 8.9 °C (48 °F). The hottest month, August, is 24.5 °C (76 °F).
The climate, as mentioned, is marked by the presence of wind, even high intensity, especially during spring and autumn. The annual average intensity is about 4 knots (4.6 mph) with peaks at 6 knots (6.9 mph). The months of April and May are characterized by strong winds and the "scirocco libeccio".
The annual rainfall is around 1,000 millimetres (39 in), distributed in 87 days on average, with a long summer and a maximum peak in the autumn and winter.
Basilica dell'ImmacolataView from Old Town of Catanzaro
Certain assumptions trace the origin of Catanzaro to anancient Greek colony, already in place, which became the land ofScolacium, believed to have been built on the ruins of the ancient city of Trischines. Other sources identify Catanzaro's development to have grown from various settlements scattered in the area of Catanzaro, Marina, Tiriolo (formerly Teure), Santa Maria di Catanzaro, and on the hill Trivonà (Trischines, along the valley of Corach which formed the old "Land of Feaco"). The mouth of the river, according to legend, created the ancientUlysses Skilletion.
In the district of Germaneto along the valley of Corach, a Greek necropolis of the fifth century BC and anancient Roman settlement were found. Archaeological discoveries show that the municipality was active since theIron Age, flourishing with the populations ofVitulo, so-called because they worship the statue of the calf (Latin:vitulus), which the Greeks renamedItaloi ("worshipers of the calf"), and governed by the Italian king of the same name, brother ofDardanus and ancestor of theTrojans. Italy itself gets its name from this figure.
According to another legend, Catanzaro was named after twoByzantine generals Cattaro and Zaro who led the coastal city ofMagna Graecia Skilletion or Skillakion, corresponding to the Roman Scolacium (near Catanzaro's Marina), first on Zarapotamo (today Santa Maria di Catanzaro) and then later on Trivonà, a military fortress.
Catanzaro was always choice land due to its safe, high location, and the territory was under several groups' control, including theSaracens,Normans,Catalans andVenetians. The Saracens were the first to push the town's development to its highest regions by the second half of the ninth century. Byzantine generalNikephoros Phokas was responsible for the naming of the "Rock of Niceforo". Catanzaro's development into a fortress town was established by General Flagizio, who began the construction of acitadel, which later assumed the name of Katantzárion. According to some assumptions, the name is inspired from the development of workshops for creating silk, what the Greeks callKatartárioi (Καταρτάριοι, "spinners of silk").
At the beginning of the tenth century (circa 903),[9] the Byzantine city was occupied by the Saracens, who founded anemirate and took the Arab name ofقطنصارQaṭanṣār. An Arab presence is evidenced by findings at an eighth-century necropolis which had items with Arabic inscriptions.
Around the year 1050, Catanzaro rebelled against Saracen dominance and returned to a brief period of Byzantine control. In 1069, Catanzaro was the last city in Calabria, after many months of resistance, to fall under siege by theNormans ofRobert Guiscard, who built the Norman castle, still in existence today. During this era, arts and crafts pioneered, and particularly the processing ofsilk, which was traded with other regions in Italy, other countries and Eastern Europe.
Between the 9th and the 11th century, Catanzaro was the first centre to introduce silk production to Italy. The silk of Catanzaro supplied almost all of Europe and was sold in a large market fair to Spanish, Venetian, Genoese and Dutch merchants. Catanzaro became the lace capital of Europe with a large silkworm breeding facility that produced all the laces and linens used in theVatican. The city was world-famous for its fine fabrication of silks, velvets, damasks and brocades.[10][11]
While the cultivation of mulberry was moving first steps in Northern Italy, silk made in Calabria reached a peak of 50% of the whole Italian/European production. As the cultivation of mulberry was difficult in Northern and Continental Europe, merchants and operators used to purchase in Calabria raw materials in order to finish the products and resell them for a better price.The Genoese silk artisans used fine Calabrian silk for the production of velvets.[12]
In the 13th century, EmperorFrederick II made Catanzaro a direct possession of the crown. Later the city was the household feud of the Ruffo, Caraffa and Soriano families. TheNormans elevated Catanzaro into a noble county, giving it to Peter Ruffo. The latter was lost in a struggle againstManfred of Sicily, but he later returned to the city, whenCharles I of Anjou signed the peace of theWar of the Vespers. For fourteen years, it was the royal domain of KingLadislaus of Naples, and in 1420 it was returned again to Nicholas Ruffo, who gave it as part of a dowry for his daughter Enrichetta who was married to Antonio Centelles. After a rebellion by the rural people, KingAlfonso V of Aragon took control of the city. In 1460 there was a war with the partisans of Centelles. When peace returned, the city was granted new privileges which greatly promoted the development of its silk industry, for which its damasks were known throughout Europe. From this time forward, Catanzaro firmly established itself as an import center for its textile productions.
In the 15th century, Catanzaro was exporting both its silk cloth and its technical skills to neighbouringSicily. By the middle of the century, silk spinning was taking place in Catanzaro, on a large scale.[13]
In 1466, KingLouis XI decided to develop a national silk industry inLyon and called a large number of Italian workers, mainly from Calabria. The fame of the master silk weavers of Catanzaro spread throughoutFrance and they were invited to Lyon in order to teach the techniques of weaving. In 1470, one of these weavers, known as Jean le Calabrais,[14] invented the first prototype of aJacquard-type loom.[15] He introduced a new kind of machine which was able to work the yarns faster and more precisely. Over the years, improvements to the loom were ongoing.[16]
In 1519 EmperorCharles V formally recognized the growth of the industry of Catanzaro by allowing the city to establish a consulate of the silk craft, charged with regulating and check in the various stages of a production that flourished throughout the sixteenth century. At the moment of the creation of its guild, the city declared that it had over 500 looms. By 1660, when the town had about 16,000 inhabitants, its silk industry kept 1,000 looms, and at least 5,000 people, busy. The silk textiles of Catanzaro were not only sold at thekingdom's markets, they were also exported to Venice, France, Spain and England.[17]
In 1528 Charles V gave authorization for Catanzaro to bear the imperial eagle attached to a coat of arms depicting the hilltops of the town.
On 23 December 1961, at the Fiumarella viaduct near Catanzaro, there wasa serious rail accident, when a train derailed and fell about 40 metres (131 ft) into the river below. Seventy-one passengers lost their lives on impact, and 28 others were injured to varying degrees.
In 1970 Catanzaro was designated to be the capital of Calabria.
Catanzaro Bridge, a well-known, one-arch bridge (Viaduct Morandi-Bisantis), one of the tallest in Europe.
Duomo (Cathedral). Built over aNorman cathedral built in 1121, in the 16th century it received a Renaissance façade which was however destroyed in 1638. The church was almost entirely destroyed by the bombings of 1943, and was later rebuilt.
Church of theSantissimo Rosario (15th or 16th century), with a Renaissance façade and a single nave interior. The church of the Santissimo Rosario housessilk fabrics made between 1500 and 1800, including the Pianeta of theBorgia, a sacred vestment ordered byPope Alexander VI on the occasion of the wedding betweenGoffredo Borgia and Donna Sancia D'Aragona, who became Princess ofSquillace.[18]
Church ofSant'Omobono (11th or 12th century).
Byzantine small church ofSant'Omobono (11th century).
Chiesa dell'Osservanza, orSanta Teresa. In the interior is the 16th century Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and a statue of "Madonna delle Grazie" byAntonello Gagini.
Remains of the Norman Castle.
Porta di S. Agostino andPorta di Stratò, two gates of which are the last remains of the medieval walls, demolished in 1805.
Palazzo de' Nobili (15th century), now Town Hall.
Piazza Grimaldi, a town square named in honour of theHouse of Grimaldi, who had branches that traded heavily within Catanzaro.
Catanzaro's current economy is mostly based on tertiary and services. Industries are mostly medium and small-size companies working within a local market.
^Malanima, Paolo (2004). "Le sete della Calabria". In Fusco, Ida Maria (ed.).La seta. E oltre... (in Italian). Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane. pp. 55–68.
^Sakellariou, Eleni (2011).Southern Italy in the Late Middle Ages: Demographic, Institutional Change in the Kingdom of Naples, c.1440-c.1530. Brill. p. 407.ISBN978-900-422-4063.
^Rossi, Cesare; Russo, Flavio (2016).Ancient Engineers' Inventions: Precursors of the Present.
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