Cirò is a ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' and
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
with a population of 3614 people in the
province of Crotone, in
Calabria
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,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
History
There were Bronze Age settlements in the area and fossils have been found and are preserved for eventual exhibition in a museum to be established. The ancient Greeks had a settlement on the sea coast - rudiments of a shrine to Apollo have been found. The town on the hill had its origins before 1000 AD but it was greatly expanded after the Saracens started raiding the sea coast. Cirò (known earlier as Psicro) became an important regional center with a castle most of which was constructed between the years 1300 and 1500. Today the castle is in a rather bad shape and should be restored. The administration is attempting to obtain funds and authorisation to do so. Until around 1970 the regional court had its seat in Cirò. After the coastal town split off, much of the administrative functions were transferred there.
Economy
Ciro relies on the production of
oil,
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
,
cereal
A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...
s,
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
es and intense breeding of
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
.
The town of Ciro is famous for the production of Calabria's most important wine of the same name. The ancient Greeks started producing this wine under a different name nearly 3000 years ago and it was also offered to victors of the ancient Olympics.
Notable people
*
Luigi Lilio
Aloysius Lilius (c. 1510 – 1576), also variously referred to as Luigi Lilio or Luigi Giglio, was an Italian doctor, astronomer, philosopher and chronologist, and also the "primary author" who provided the proposal that (after modifications) ...
(creator of the Gregorian Calendar)
See also
*
Cirò wine
Calabrian wine (Italian: ''Vino Calabrese'') is Italian wine from the Calabria region of southern Italy. Over 90% of the region's wine production is red wine, with a large portion made from the Gaglioppo grape. Calabria has 12 ''Denominazione ...
References
Cities and towns in Calabria
{{Calabria-geo-stub