Amato (surname)

Amato is a family name of Italian origin, meaning "beloved" or "dear one". Notable people with the surname include:

Amato

Amato (Greek: Amathous) is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy.

History

Amato is one of the oldest towns in Calabria. It is mentioned by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who calls it "Portus Amati Fluminis" (harbour of the Amato River). It is also mentioned by the Roman Pliny the Elder in one of his books. He calls it "Sinus Lametinus" (Lametino Harbour).

It appears that the people of Amato originated from the ancient city of Lametia, on the promontory of the Gulf of Sant'Eufemia, near the mouth of the Amato River. It was one of the most thriving cities of old Calabria, which at that time was called Bruttium.

From an English publication entitled "Brief History of Amato", we learn that Amato existed many years before the foundation of Rome. From this book we also learn that at that time Amato was very industrious and had a population of about 20,000 people. Its economy was centered around the very important textile industry, with about 1300 looms at work. In fact even up to a few years ago many Amatese women had a loom and many of them were very capable weavers. Production of the silkworm was also a very popular activity.

Amato (disambiguation)

Amato is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy.

Amato may also refer to:

See also

Amato (horse)

Amato (1835 – January 27, 1841) was an English bred, English trained thoroughbred racehorse who won the Derby Stakes in 1838 on his only racecourse appearance. He was then injured and retired undefeated.

Breeding

Amato was a brown bay colt, bred on Epsom Downs by Sir Gilbert Heathcote in 1835, and was by Velocipede out of Jane Shaw, by Woful out of Bella Dona (bred by the Duke of York in 1816), by Seymour. In his pedigree were notable thoroughbreds such as Perdita, Old Partner and Yellow Turk. At fifteen hands two inches Amato was on the small side and described as wiry.

Racing career

The Epsom trained Amato ridden by Jem Chapple won the 1838 Derby Stakes. According to contemporary accounts the start of Amato’s Derby was an unsatisfactory one. Before the flag was finally lowered there were three breaks away and when the signal to ‘go’ arrived two horses were left at the start whilst several others were slowly away.

Epsom's undulating cambers suited Heathcote’s horse who led from the mile post coming home to win by a length from Ion, with Grey Momus three lengths third. At 33/1 Amato’s victory was unexpected and much celebrated by the team who helped him to victory.