As with many other places in Calabria, Pizzo claims ancient origins. The town may have been founded by colonists from an unknown site in ancientMagna Grecia, but there is currently no documentary or archeological evidence to support this. Consequently, the history of Pizzo begins in 1300 when the existence of a community of Basilian monks, a fort, and a fishing village is documented . The namePizzo (translated either as bird's beak or projecting point) fits perfectly with the tuffa promontory that juts out into the sea near the mouth of the river Angitola.
For centuries tuna was trapped in the beaches around Pizzo, especially in the months of May and June. Despite fading in importance over time this activity continued until the 1970s in the Centofontane area, where nets were spread to corral tuna from offshore. Ruins of the activity remain. The activity is now banned. The Piedigrotta and Prangi areas include some sea caves, and "the cave of the Saracen", although largely eroded today, was supposedly used by Saracen pirates to store booty and people captured during their raids along the coast of Calabria.
The former King of NaplesJoachim Murat, who was the brother-in-law ofNapoleon, was imprisoned for several days in the town's Aragonese castle and then sentenced to death. He was executed by firing squad on October 13, 1815, in the main hall of the castle and was possibly buried in the church of San Giorgio. Paradoxically, the castle is now calledCastello Murat. Inside the castle is the Provincial Museum Murat.
In 1783 the town was almost destroyed by anearthquake, and it suffered some damage from the same cause in 1905.
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010.
^Official records for Pizzo were kept at the from September 1895 to November 1900, the PizzoCOOP from December 1900 to May 1911, the Weather Bureau Office from June 1911 to February 1937, at various locations in and around the city from March 1937 to July 1942, and at Pizzo Int'l since August 1942. For more information, seeThreadEx.
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