Maida ( Calabrian: ; ( sq, Vina) is an

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...

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 ...

'' 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 , 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 ...

. The British routed the French in the

Battle of Maida The Battle of Maida, fought on 4 July 1806 was a battle between the British expeditionary force and a French force outside the town of Maida in Calabria, Italy during the Napoleonic Wars. John Stuart led 5,236 Anglo-Sicilian troops to victory ...

in 1806, as part of the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

. Maida is south of

Lamezia Terme Lamezia Terme (), commonly called Lamezia, is an Italian city and ''comune'' of 70,452 inhabitants (2013), in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region. Geography Lamezia is located on the eastern border of the coastal plain commonly cal ...

and west of the provincial capital Catanzaro.

History

On 4 July 1806 the British under General John Stuart defeated the French under

Jean Reynier Jean Louis Ebénézer Reynier (14 January 1771 – 27 February 1814) was a Swiss- French military officer who served in the French Army under the First Republic and the First Empire. He rose in rank to become a general during the French Revolu ...

outside the town at the

. A London pub on the Edgware Road was named ''The Hero of Maida'', which in turn gave its name to adjoining districts of London, Maida Hill and later,

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is ...

. King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily awarded Stuart the title of Count of Maida. The Norman castle of Maida was built in the 11th century under the direction of Duke

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...

Famous citizens

* Mgr Giovanni Cervadoro, the Carbonaro and teacher, was born in Maida in 1783 and died in 1836, wote School Stabilimenti for his students in 1829. *

Baldassarre Squitti Baron Baldassarre Squitti was a writer and professor of law in the Faculty of Law at the University of Naples and at "La Sapienza" The University of Rome, and a member of the Italian Parliament, with Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti. Squitti ...

, the teacher and politician, was born in Maida in 1855. * The American writer

Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with ...

wrote about his ancestors from Maida in 1992's, ''Unto the Sons''.
Giuseppe Donato
sculptor and protégé o

was born in Maida in 1881 and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1965.

Economy

The main economic activity in the area is agriculture, especially the cultivation of

olive trees The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

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 ...

, and

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus '' Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwi ...

. In recent years, tourism has become a significant source of income for the town.

Sister cities

Maida is a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

with: *

Ambler, Pennsylvania Ambler is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the Center City Philadelphia. History Lenape The historical territory of the Lenni Lenape was in the Delaware River Valley, in a ...

, United States

References

External links

Photos of Maida
at Saint Francis Society of Ambler, Pennsylvania, United States *
Arbëresh settlements Cities and towns in Calabria {{Calabria-geo-stub