The ancient town is the seat of theCosentian Academy, one of the oldest academies of philosophical and literary studies in Italy andEurope. To this day, Cosenza remains a cultural hub, with several museums, monuments, theatres and libraries. The modern city is the centre of an urban agglomeration including, among others, the municipality ofRende, where theUniversity of Calabria is located.
View of the old townPiazza XI Settembre in the snow
Situated at the confluence of two historical rivers, theBusento and theCrati, Cosenza stands 238 mabove sea level in a valley between theSila and the coastal range of mountains. The old town, overshadowed by its Swabian castle, descends to the river Crati. The modern city lies to the north, beyond the Busento, on level ground.
Almost completely surrounded by mountains, Cosenza is subject to a microclimate scarcely influenced by the effects of the Mediterranean Sea. It experiences cold winters and hot summers.
The ancientConsentia (Ancient Greek:Κωσεντία),[4] capital of the Italic tribe of theBrettii, was a bulwark of theItalic people against theHellenic influences of the Ionian colonies. It was in this province that theBattle of Pandosia was fought, in which a small Italic army composed of Brettii andLucanians defeated the uncle ofAlexander the Great, who was known asAlexander of Epirus. Over the centuries, Cosenza maintained a distinctive character, that marked it out among the cities of the region. Under EmperorAugustus, it became an important stopover on the Roman routevia Popilia, which connected Calabria toSicily. During the Roman Empire, the town benefited from municipal privileges.
In 410 AD,Alaric I, king of theVisigoths,sacked the city of Rome, becoming the first foreign enemy to capture the city in more than 800 years. Alaric amassed a great amount of treasure during his conquest of Rome. According to the historianJordanes,[5] after sacking Rome Alaric headed south with his troops, advancing easily until reaching the area of Cosenza, where he died. No one is certain how this happened: Some believe he contracted a disease that took his life, while others feel that his death came from an attack by enemy forces. In any case, his troops honored their king by burying him in a tomb in Cosenza. His burial place is said to have been at the confluence of theBusento andCrathis rivers. A horde of slaves were used to divert the water from the Busento, allowing them to dig a tomb large enough for Alaric, his horse, and all of the treasure amassed from his conquests in Rome. Once the tomb was completed, the river was returned to its bed and the tomb covered with water. Then, to ensure that no one would reveal this location to anyone, Alaric's troops killed all of the slaves.
In the centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, several towns in the province of Cosenza, most notablyRossano, refused to acknowledge the new governments of the Ostrogoths. Instead, they used their good fortune of having strong city walls and small Roman garrisons to hold out for centuries as semi-independent enclaves of the still extantEastern Roman Empire in Italy.
Bitterly disputed between theSaracens and theLombards, the town was destroyed, then rebuilt around 988; only to be ravaged again in the early eleventh century. In the attempt to escape the devastation, the population left the town and sheltered on the surrounding hills where they built some small hamlets (still denominated as,casali).
By the first half of the eleventh century, Lombard Calabria became a feudal dukedom of theNormans, with Cosenza as the capital. The town soon rebelled against the rule ofRoger Guiscard and was recaptured only after a long siege. Subsequently, under theHohenstaufen rule, the town became the seat of the Court of Calabria (Curia Generale). EmperorFrederick II had a particular interest in the town: he promoted construction and economic activities, organising an important annual fair.
Subsequently, Cosenza fought bitterly against theAngevin domination, supported by the clergy. While the uprising spread through the valley of the Crathis, the town was involved in the see-sawing fight betweenAngevins and theCrown of Aragon. In 1432, KingLouis III of Anjou settled in the castle of Cosenza with his wifeMargaret of Savoy. When he died untimely, in 1434, he was buried in the cathedral.
In 1500, in spite of resistance, Cosenza was occupied by the Spanish army led by CaptainGonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. During the sixteenth century the town experienced a period of expansion as the seat of the Viceroy of Calabria. At the same time its cultural importance grew thanks to the foundation of theAccademia Cosentina; among its most renowned members wereBernardino Telesio, Aulo Gianni Parrasio, the Martirano brothers,Antonio Serra, and others.
In 1707, the Austrians succeeded the Spanish in theKingdom of Naples, followed by the Bourbons. After the proclamation in 1799 of the short-livedParthenopean Republic and a vain resistance, the town was finally occupied for the Bourbons byCardinal Fabrizio Ruffo'sLazzari. Cardinal Ruffo was native of the province of Cosenza.
From 1806 to 1815, Cosentians fought hard against French domination. Cruel suppressions characterised that period and it was a cradle of theCarbonari secret societies. In 1813, the town saw many rebels executed. The local riots of 1821 and 1837 heralded theRisorgimento. They were followed by the uprising of 15 March 1844, which reached its climax with the “noble folly” of theBandiera Brothers, who were executed together with some of their followers in the Vallone di Rovito in Cosenza. In 1860, some months after the rapid and overwhelmingly heroic deeds of Garibaldi's troops, a plebiscite proclaimed the annexation of Calabria to the new Kingdom of Italy.
Founded in 1448, the Church of San Domenico combines Medieval and Renaissance architectural elements. Its most interesting feature is the rose window defined by 16 littletuff columns. The wooden portal (1614) is inlaid with floral motifs, figures of saints, and coats of arms.
Inside the church are works by thesanfilese painter Antonio Granata, such as the canvas depicting the Madonna of the Rosary between Saints Dominic and Agnese da Montepulciano preserved in the ancient choir used today as a sacristy in the church (late eighteenth century). The high altar is made of polychrome marble (1767). In the transept, there is aDeposition and aSan Vincenzo Ferreri (late eighteenth century, anonymous). The sacristy is noted for its ribbed vault, a double lancet window with a narrow arch, and a wooden choir installed in 1635.
The exact origins of theDuomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta) are unknown; it was probably built during the first half of the eleventh century. An earthquake destroyed the cathedral on 9 June 1184, and rebuilding was completed by 1222, when the cathedral was consecrated by EmperorFrederick II. At some point during the first half of the eighteenth century the church was covered by a baroque superstructure that obliterated the original structure and its works of art. In the first half of the nineteenth century the façade was transformed in neo-gothic style, which completely changed its character. At the end of the nineteenth century, Archbishop Camillo Sorgente entrusted restoration work to Pisanti, who recovered the original old arches and the ancient structure of the church. In the 1940s the work was finally completed.
The tomb ofIsabella of Aragon, wife of kingPhilip III of France is in the transept. A long aisle links the Duomo to the palace of the archbishop, thePalazzo Arcivescovile, which houses anImmacolata byLuca Giordano. One can also see a rare and preciousStauroteca. A Stauroteca is a relic containing fragments of wood from the cross of Christ. It generally has a rectangular and flat rectangular cross or rectangular tee with cruciform recipe used to guard the relic. It was a gift from Emperor Frederick II to the Duomo upon consecration. The work was produced in workshops of the royal goldsmiths, better known as "Tiraz", in a cultural environment blending Arabic, Byzantine, and Western cultural elements.
The "Convent of the Virgins" stands in via Gaetano Argento. The external part of the main entrance is made of decorated tuff, while the internal part is carved of wood. The convent contains a sixteenth-century painting of theAnnunciation. In front of it, is the thirteenth-centuryMadonna del Pilerio attributed to Giovanni da Taranto, while on the walls are four other anonymous sixteenth-century paintings: theVisitation, theCircumcision, theAdoration of the Shepherds, and theAdoration of the Magi. In the apse is the altarpieceTransit of the Virgin (1570). Thecymatium houses a painting portraying theCoronation of the Virgin, while at the base of the two columns are paintings of two unidentified saints that are attributed to Michele Curia, the "Master of Montecalvario". The wooden choir dates to the seventeenth century.
In the fifteenth century, at Palazzo Falvo theRenaissance was introduced at Cosenza, in theGiostra Vecchia. Here are located the church and monastery ofSaint Francis of Assisi. TheLatin cross plan has a nave and two aisles. In the nave stands the impressive high wooden altar built in 1700. Above it is a painting by Daniele Russo representing thePerdono d’Assisi(1618). The left aisle is home to a wooden seventeenth-century crucifix, the altar of theMadonna della Febbre and the statue of theMadonna with Child, in marble, dating to the sixteenth century. The sacristy has a painted wooden ceiling, a woodenarmadio representing episodes from the Passion of Christ, and paintings of saints and Franciscan friars. The stone arch is characterized by the painting ofSt. Francis of Paola, while on the walls are some frescoes dating to the beginning of the fifteenth century.
TheCastello Svevo ("Swabian" orHohenstaufen Castle) was originally built by the Saracens on the ruins of the ancient Rocca Brutia, around the year 1000. The castle was restored by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, adding the octagonal tower to the original structure, in 1239. According to tradition, his sonHenry lived in this castle, as a prisoner at his father's command.Louis III of Naples and Margaret of Savoy married in the castle and they both settled there in 1432.
All signs of the ancient Saracen structure have now disappeared. In the internal cloister, the modifications made by theBourbons in order to convert it into a prison can also be seen. The entrance-hall is covered by ogival arches with engraved brackets. A wide corridor is dominated by somefleur-de-lis from theHouse of Anjoucoat of arms. They are engraved on the ribbed Hohenstaufen arches.
The church ofSant'Agostino, also known as theSpirito Santo, was built in 1507 by theAugustinians. The original portal has several inscriptions in Gothic characters. The interior has a series of paintings from the eighteenth century. Further on a narrow street leads to the so-called “Area of theBandiera Brothers”, theVallone di Rovito. Here, the insurrectionist patriots of 1844 were executed by a firing squad.
In the Arenella, are the church and monastery ofSaint Francis of Paola (1510). The interior, with a single nave, houses the tomb of Ottavio Cesare Gaeta. On the right wall, are two eighteenth-century paintings: aSacra Famiglia andMadonna con San Francesco e Sant’Agostino. On an altar is a wooden statue of Saint Francis of Paola; while on the left side of the nave, on another altar, is a wooden statue of San Michele Arcangelo. TheMadonna with Child in Glory and Saints Paul and Luke (1551) was painted byPietro Negroni. In the apse, a sixteenth-century triptych made by Cristoforo Faffeo represents theMadonna and Child in glory with saints Catherine and Sebastian. At the back of the altar is a wooden choir built in 1679 by M. Domenico Costanzo da Rogliano. On the wall of the sacristy are remains of frescoes dating back to 1550–1600. On the vault are some pastels representing scenes from the life of the Saint from Paola.
The small church of San Salvatore serves the parish that professes the Byzantine-Albanian faith. Inside the nave are a wooden ceiling, some frescoes of the Apostoli, of the Salvatore, and of the Madonna, as well as a splendidiconostasis.
In the modern part of Cosenza, in an area stretching from the pedestrianized Corso Mazzini to Piazza Bilotti, lies the open-air "Museo MAB" (Museo all'aperto Bilotti). The museum hosts a wide range of modern art sculptures that stand in the street for residents and tourists. The sculptures were donated to the city by the Italian-American entrepreneur and art collector, Carlo Bilotti. They includeSaint George and the Dragon bySalvador Dalí,Hector and Andromache byGiorgio de Chirico, "the Bronzes" bySacha Sosno,The Bather byEmilio Greco,The Cardinal byGiacomo Manzù, and various marble sculptures byPietro Consagra.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Cosenza".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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