Nicastro (, ''new castle'') is a small town 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. Since 1968 it constitutes, together with Sambiase and Sant'Eufemia Lamezia, the city 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 ...

Geography

It is situated on the isthmus between the gulfs of Sant'Eufemia and of Squillace, the narrowest part of the entire Italian peninsula. At 216 meters above sea-level, it commands a fine view.

History

Nicastro's origins trace back to the 9th century, when Calabria was part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, when a fortress called Neo Castrum ("New Castle") was created. The centre was founded during the time of

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

raids (IX-Xcentury), pushing coastal inhabitants to move to surrounding higher fortified ground. However, many finds dating back to the Neolithic age and from the

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; the ...

era (IV century BC) have emerged. In 1057, the area was conquered by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

, but Nicastro revolted against

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 Calab ...

and his brother Roger. Having dominated the revolt, the new nobiliary had the Castle built, which was restored in the XIII century by Frederick II of Swabia in the XIII century. The castle of Nicastro served as the place of imprisonment of Frederick II's son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

. Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, who was briefly

Innocent IX Pope Innocent IX ( la, Innocentius IX; it, Innocenzo IX; 20 July 1519 – 30 December 1591), born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591. Prior to h ...

, was the

bishop of Nicastro The Italian Catholic Diocese of Lamezia Terme ( la, Dioecesis Neocastrensis) is in Calabria. In 1818 the ancient see of Martirano, the former Mamertum (the first bishop of which was Domnus, in 761), was united to the diocese of Nicastro. The dioc ...

from 1560 to 1572. The area suffered greatly in the earthquakes of 1638, which destroyed the cathedral and the

Benedictine abbey , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

of St. Euphemia, founded by

. Valuable archives were lost in the ruins. Until the

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave tradi ...

, in Nicastro and its surroundings

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...

was a very widespread and prosperous activity, so much so that five thousand pounds of raw

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

were produced every year. According to the historian

Giuseppe Maria Galanti Giuseppe Maria Galanti (1743–1806) was an Italian historian and economist, in the Kingdom of Naples. Life Galanti was born in Santa Croce del Sannio, Molise. He was a follower of Pietro Giannone and studied under Antonio Genovesi. While young ...

, at the end of the 18th century, sericulture alongside the cultivation of

mulberry trees ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

for the breeding of

silkworms The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically im ...

were still practiced, however there was a decline in the production.

Economy

The commerce of the port of Nicastro consists of the exportation of acid, herbs, and wine.

Notes and references

Lameziastorica.it
History of Lamezia Terme Nicastro

from the

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

{{authority control *Nicastro Frazioni of the Province of Catanzaro Former municipalities of Calabria

Geography

History

Economy

See also

Notes and references