Mileto (
Calabrian: ; grc, Μίλητος, translit=Míletos) 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 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
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 coas ...
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 ...
(Miletos in Greek; hence the name) in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, which had been destroyed by
Darius.
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,
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
Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to:
Geography and history
* Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city
* Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...
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 (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 and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria i ...
(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