Mongrassano ( aae, Mungrasana) is a town and ''

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 ...

'' of the

province of Cosenza The province of Cosenza ( it, provincia di Cosenza) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 ''comuni'', listed at list of communes of the Province of Cosenza ...

in the

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

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 ...

, located 42 kilometers northwest of

Cosenza Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...

. The town is part of the Comunità Montana Media Valle Crate.

History

Mongrassano already existed in the 12th century, known as Mons Crasanus, Moncressano, Mocrasani, Montegrassano or Magrosani. It was originally divided in two hamlets: Serra di Leo and Mongrassano. Like many other

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

-origin settlements the urban structure was based on the '' gijtonia'', in other words, circular streets. Either in 1459 or early in the 16th century, another group of Albanian political refugees came and settled in Mongrassano. On 20 July 1459 the Prince of Bisignano gave the civil jurisdiction of the city to the Bishop of San Marco. In 1642 the Gaetani acquired the territory; in 1688 they sold the property to the Marquesses of Fuscaldo, who held it until the end of the feudal system in 1806. In 1807 Mongrassano became state owned and in 1811 it joined with Serra di Leo. In 1816 it was elevated to the level of a ''comune'', with Serra di Leo as its ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

''.

Language and dialect

Officially the inhabitants speak Italian. Traditionally, the dialect is of Albanian origin ( Arbëresh), but is spoken by an increasingly restricted number of inhabitants.

Festivals

The patron saint of Mongrassano is

Saint Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

, but the most important festival in the town is

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ...

that occurs during the month of August.

References

External links

* http://www.arbitalia.it/index.htm * http://www.comuni-italiani.it/078/080/ * http://calabria.indettaglio.it/eng/comuni/cs/mongrassano/mongrassano.html Arbëresh settlements Cities and towns in Calabria {{Calabria-geo-stub