San Giorgio Morgeto (
Calabrian: or simply ) 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 ...
'' (municipality) in the
Province of Reggio Calabria
The Province of Reggio Calabria ( it, Provincia di Reggio Calabria) was a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was the southernmost province in mainland Italy and is separated from the island of Sicily by the Strait of Messina. The capital ...
in the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
region
Calabria
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, located about southwest of
Catanzaro
Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...
and about northeast of
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...
. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,356 and an area of .
[All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute ]Istat
The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...
.
San Giorgio Morgeto borders the following municipalities:
Canolo
Canolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 901 an ...
,
Cinquefrondi
Cinquefrondi ( Calabrian: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria.
Cinquefrondi borders th ...
,
Cittanova
Cittanova is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria.
Located on the slopes of Aspromonte and facing t ...
,
Mammola
Mammola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria.
Mammola borders the following municipalities: A ...
,
Polistena
Polistena (, or ''Polysthénē'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria.
Polistena borders the fo ...
.
History
The history of San Giorgio Morgeto is the topic of many myths concerning King
Italus
Italus or Italos (from ) was a legendary king of the Oenotrians, an ancient people of Italic origin who inhabited the region now called Calabria, in southern Italy. In his ''Fabularum Liber'' (or ''Fabulae''), Gaius Julius Hyginus recorded the ...
and the
Morgetes
The Morgetes ( grc, Μόργητες, la, Morgetes) were an ancient Lucanian tribe, of Pelasgian descent, who occupied the region of southern Italy from Calabria to Sicily. Girolamo Marafioti, ''Croniche et antichità di Calabria. Conforme all'or ...
which centre on the citadel, located on a hill which falls within the
Aspromonte National Park
Aspromonte National Park is situated in the southern section of the Apennines, in Calabria, Italy.
The park lies near the sea and includes mountain summits with altitudes close to 2000 meters ( Montalto is 1,955 m).
The park's territory, cros ...
.
The area was certainly a point of great military and strategic significance and it may have previously served as an outpost of the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
inhabitants of
Locri
Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural centre on the Ionia ...
to assure their control of their colonies on the Tyrrhenian coast:
Medma
Medma or Mesma (Greek: , Steph. B.; , Strabo, Scymn. Ch.; but on coins, and so Apollodorus of Damascus, cited by Steph. B.; Scylax has , evidently a corruption for ), was an ancient Greek city of Southern Italy ( Magna Graecia), on the west co ...
,
Hipponion
Vibo Valentia (; Monteleone before 1861; Monteleone di Calabria from 1861 to 1928; scn, label= Calabrian, Vibbu Valenzia or ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Calabria region of southern Italy, near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the ...
and
Metaurus. Archaeological work has revealed that a fortress was built nearby at Altanum by
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
to defend the area against Gothic forces during the
Gothic War.
In the 9th century AD, there were
Byzantine
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 ...
monks on the site, who influenced the economic and religious activities of the community. They built a monastery and a church (
Hodegetria
A Hodegetria , ; russian: Одиги́трия, Odigítria ; Romanian: Hodighitria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of s ...
), which became a central point for the people of the area. According to S.Nico, when there was a plague, Morgeto and its monastery did not suffer any harm and accepted refugees from and
Oppido Mamertina
Oppido Mamertina ( el, label= Calabrian Greek, script=Latn, Oppidù, ) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Reggio Calabria in Calabria in southern Italy at about northeast of Reggio Calabria and about southwest of Catanzaro.
It is the ...
.
Subsequently, the area was conquered by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
, who built the castle on the site and whose feudatories remained in control of the area until the reign of the
Hohenstaufens
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
. In 1324, San Giorgio became a
barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
, containing
Polistena
Polistena (, or ''Polysthénē'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria.
Polistena borders the fo ...
,
Anoia
Anoia () is a comarca (county) in central Catalonia, Spain, with its capital at Igualada.
The comarca of l'Anoia is irrigated by the Anoia River; the leading industry is the making of paper.
To the north are Solsonès and Bages, to the west, ...
,
Cinquefrondi
Cinquefrondi ( Calabrian: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria.
Cinquefrondi borders th ...
,
Prateria and
Galatro
Galatro () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. As of 31 December 2004 it had a population of 2,077 and a ...
. In 1343, this barony was given to
Antonio Caracciolo by
Queen Joanna I. Subsequently, the barony endured under the suzereinity of the
Angevins, the Hohenstaufens, and the
Aragonese.
In 1684, the borders of the barony extended east as far as Prateria and south to San Fili. The barony passed from the Caracciolo to the Correale and then to the Milano family (Barons of San Giorgio from 1501 and Marquesses from 1593), who retained the title until 1806, when
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
abolished feudalism.
In 1864,
Victor Emmanuel II
Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...
changed the name of San Giorgio to San Giorgio Morgeto. Previously it had sometimes been known as San Giorgio di Polistena, because it was part of the Polistena region.
Architecture
Religious structures
The Convent of San Domenico, of Byzantine origin, was granted to Baron Caracciolo in 1393 by
Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX ( la, Bonifatius IX; it, Bonifacio IX; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope of the Western Schism.Richa ...
, where he erected a church dedicated to the Annunciation.
Tommaso Campanella
Tommaso Campanella (; 5 September 1568 – 21 May 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.
He was prosecuted by the Roman Inquisition for heresy in 1594 and w ...
undertook his early education and said his vows at the age of fourteen at the convent. In 1818, the convent of San Giorgio was renovated, along with the other six Dominican convents of Calabria.
The Mother church dell'Assunta is the religious centre of San Giorgio Morgeto. It contains wooden statues of the Neapolitan school depicting Saint George and Saint James as companions, a crucifix, and a polychrome marble main altar from the eighteenth century, as well as a nineteenth century Neapolitan organ. The ancient "Pietra Santa" (Holy rock) is visible in the external wall of the church having been revealed during restoration work on the church. It was probably an object of veneration for the worshipers, as the corrosion to it (probably resulting from believers kissing it) indicates. There is also a carving of a cross visible on it.
The Tommaso Campanella Comunale Library is the centre of San Giorgio Morgeto's cultural life and is located in the historic centre of the town on two floors. Originally it was for ecclesiastical use; it is now used for conferences and meetings. The library is named for Tommaso Campanella, the Dominican theologian who began his monastic life at the Convent of San Giorgio Morgeto.
The Castle
The Castle of San Giorgio Morgeto was built in the 9th or 10th century AD on the summit of a rocky peak near the settlement. It is one of the few examples of High Medieval Calabrian architecture and one of the few fortifications in the region to have undergone restoration work. Even today it dominates the plain of
Gioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (Italy), on the Tyrrhenian coast. It has an important port, situated along the route connecting Suez to Gibraltar, one of the busiest maritime corridors in t ...
from the
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...
to
Capo Vaticano
Capo Vaticano is a wide bathing place in the Municipality of Ricadi in Calabria, Italy. The 'Cape' is formed by a particular white-gray granite, which is examined worldwide for its geologic characteristics.
Geography
The maximum altitude of the c ...
, with a view of
Stromboli and the
Aeolian Islands
The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after ...
. Local legend attributes the original fortification to the mythical King Morges of the
Morgetes
The Morgetes ( grc, Μόργητες, la, Morgetes) were an ancient Lucanian tribe, of Pelasgian descent, who occupied the region of southern Italy from Calabria to Sicily. Girolamo Marafioti, ''Croniche et antichità di Calabria. Conforme all'or ...
, son of
Italus
Italus or Italos (from ) was a legendary king of the Oenotrians, an ancient people of Italic origin who inhabited the region now called Calabria, in southern Italy. In his ''Fabularum Liber'' (or ''Fabulae''), Gaius Julius Hyginus recorded the ...
. Morges' shade or ghost is meant to appear on the walls from time to time.
Rebuilt and expanded by the Normans in the eleventh century, during the reign of
Roger I Roger I may refer to:
:''In chronological order''
* Roger I of Carcassonne (died 1012), Count of Carcassonne
* Roger I of Tosny (), Norman noble
* Roger I "de Berkeley" (died 1093), Norman noble, possibly the son of Roger I of Tosny - see Baron ...
, it underwent various changes over the centuries, mostly in response to changing military requirements, at the hands of the Caracciolo, Curreale di Sorrento, and Milano families. It was finally abandoned in the sixteenth century.
The surviving structure consists of the walls, the foundations of the towers and the cistern, which is now used as a gallery and conference hall. The field below the castle is used for concerts and cultural events. The keep is difficult to access, but the cistern and the lower part of the castle can be reached easily by means of a stairway from the monument to the fallen. The ruins of the keep have been the object of restoration work, while the wider area requires further work. In February 2010, artistic nocturnal lighting was installed.
Costruito in cima alla collina
/ref>
War memorials
In the 1920s, the comune of San Giorgio Morgeto commissioned Fortunato Longo (a sculptor with strong links to the town) to create a memorial for the soldiers killed in the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The resulting monument still stands near the castle. It is a bronze sculptured group, with a winged female warrior in the centre holding sword and shield, symbolising attack and defence. There are three Italian soldiers at her sides. The soldier at her right is in the process of throwing a grenade of the type employed by the Italian army in 1915, the SIPE (Società Italiana Prodotti Esplondenti). The man at her left carries a wounded soldier out of battle.
In September 1943, a German pilot was shot down by an Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
pilot over San Giorgio. His body was found in a field nearby with no means of identification. The comune erected a monument for this unknown airman on a hill in the comunale cemetery.
Archaeological site
In 1921, Paolo Orsi
Paolo Orsi (Rovereto, October 17, 1859 – November 8, 1935) was an Italian archaeologist and classicist.
Life
Orsi was born in Rovereto, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now in the province of Trento in Italy. After studying at a g ...
assigned to perform excavations at Altanum, near San Giorgio. The large walls, remains of a circular tower (called the "Bombardiera") were identified by Minuto as the remains of a sixth-century Byzantine fortress from the reign of Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
, part of the defensive network built after the Goths invaded Calabria during the Gothic War. During the excavations near the cistern, a large amount of ceramic material and bone fragments were found.
Demographic evolution
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Notable people
* Francesco Florimo
Francesco Florimo (12 October 1800 – 18 December 1888) was an Italian librarian, musicologist, historian of music, and composer.Libby, Dennis; Rosselli, John. "Florimo, Francesco" in Sadie 2001.
Early life and friendship with Bellini
Florimo ...
(1800-1888), musician, composer and librarian
* Fortunato Longo (sculptor).
* Francisco Macri
Francesco Raùl Macri (15 April 1930 – 2 March 2019) was an Italian-Argentine contractor, developer, industralist and father of former Argentine President Mauricio Macri.
Life and career Childhood in Italy
Macri was born in Rome, to Giorgio M ...
(1930-), Italian-Argentine businessman
* Tommaso Campanella
Tommaso Campanella (; 5 September 1568 – 21 May 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.
He was prosecuted by the Roman Inquisition for heresy in 1594 and w ...
(1568-1639), Dominican theologian
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
San Giorgio Morgeto is twinned with:
* Aosta
Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of ...
, 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 ...
* San Luca
San Luca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about east of Reggio Calabria. The town is situated on the eastern slopes of the Aspromonte ...
, Italy
References
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Calabria