Girifalco 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 ...
in the
province of Catanzaro
The province of Catanzaro ( it, provincia di Catanzaro; Catanzarese: ) is a province of the Calabria region of Italy. The city Catanzaro is both capital of the province and capital of the region of Calabria. The province contains a total of 8 ...
in the
Calabria
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region of southern
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
The first settlements in the area date back to prehistoric times, as evidenced by the archaeological finds discovered in the area and datable to the Neolithic age. It was founded by the inhabitants of Caria and Toco, who, in order to escape the devastating Saracen raids, decided to move to the heights. Possession, at the beginning of the 14th century, of Caterina Niceforo, daughter of the
despot of Epirus
The despot of Epirus was the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The name "Despotate of Epirus" and the title "despot of Epirus" are modern historiographical ...
, then made part of the county of Arena, in which it remained until the end of the fifteenth century. Among the noble families, who obtained their investiture, there were the Borgia of Squillace, the Carafa of Soriano, the Ravaschieri and the Caracciolo. These last two families gave birth to the Duchy of Girifalco which lasted from 1624 to 1806. The toponym has an uncertain etymology. Some scholars refer to the homonymous Italian term, indicating ‘a species of falcon (from the ancient northern word “geirfalk”), others make it derive from the Greek “kur Falkos”.
A minute of 1845 records a lodge called Fidelitas being founded at Girifalco in Calabria in 1723. In spite of the lack of earlier records, this is often cited as the first Masonic Lodge in Italy.
Notes and references
Cities and towns in Calabria
{{Calabria-geo-stub