Mileto (
Calabrian: ; grc, Μίλητος, translit=Míletos) is a ''
comune'' (municipality) in the
Province of Vibo Valentia in the
Italian region
Calabria
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, located about southwest of
Catanzaro and about south of
Vibo Valentia.
Mileto is the seat of the Roman Catholic
diocese of Mileto.
History
According to tradition, the city was founded, not far from the site of ancient
Medma by Greek fugitives from
Miletus
Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
(Miletos in Greek; hence the name) in
Anatolia, which had been destroyed by
Darius
Darius may refer to:
Persian royalty
;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire
* Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC)
* Darius II (423 to 404 BC)
* Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC)
;Crown princes
* Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...
.
Mileto was a Norman stronghold under
Roger I of Sicily, the last great leader of the
Norman conquest of southern Italy. He died here of old age in 1101. Roger's son and also a
Count of Sicily
The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816.
The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...
,
Simon died in the town in 1105, when he was 12 years old.
Simon's brother and successor
Roger II was born here in 1095. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105 and later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in 1127. He became the first
King of Sicily
The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816.
The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...
in 1130.
In 1807 it was the location of the
Battle of Mileto between the French and
Neapolitan armies.
Mileto suffered from numerous earthquakes, especially from those of 1905 and 1906, and, although in a less degree, from that of 28 December 1908, which destroyed Reggio and Messina.
Notable people
*
Natuzza Evolo
Fortunata "Natuzza" Evolo (; 23 August 1924 – 1 November 2009) was an Italian Catholic mystic who has been declared a Servant of God. She is said to have evidenced stigmata.
Life
A few months before Natuzza's birth at Paravati near Mileto ...
(mystic of 20th century)
*
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily
Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...
(first
King of Sicily
The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816.
The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...
)
References
Mileto,
{{Calabria-geo-stub