Calabria Regione Calabria
—  Region of Italy  —
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Italy
Capital	Catanzaro
Government
• President	Giuseppe Scopelliti (PdL)
Area
• Total	15,080 km2 (5,820 sq mi)
Population (31-05-2010)
• Total	2,009,227
• Density	130/km2 (350/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
GDP/ Nominal	€ 33.6[1] billion (2008)
GDP per capita	€ 16,400[2] (2008)
NUTS Region	ITF
Website	www.regione.calabria.it

Calabria (pronounced [kaˈlaːbrja]; in Calabrian dialects: Calabbria or Calavria, Greek: Καλαβρία), in antiquity known as Bruttium or -formerly- as Italia, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro. The most populated city of Calabria is Reggio, that furthermore is the seat of the Council of Calabrian government. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea. The region covers 15,080 km² (5,822 sq mi) and has a population of just over 2 million. The demonym of Calabria in English is Calabrian (Italian: calabrese). In ancient times the name Calabria was used to refer to the southern peninsula of Apulia also known as the heel of Italy.

Geography [link]

Cliff at Tropea.

Pollino National Park

La Sila National Park.

Calabria is at the very south of the Italian peninsula, to which it is connected by the Monte Pollino massif, while on the east, south and west it is surrounded by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. The region is a long and narrow peninsula which stretches from north to south for 248 km (154 mi), with a maximum width of 110 km (68 mi). Some 42% of Calabria's area, corresponding to 15,080 km², is mountainous, 49% is hilly, while plains occupy only 9% of the region's territory. It is separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina, where the narrowest point between Capo Peloro in Sicily and Punta Pezzo in Calabria is only 3.2 km (2 mi).

It is mainly a mountainous region. Three mountain ranges are present: Pollino, La Sila and Aspromonte. All three mountain ranges are unique with their own flora and fauna. The Pollino Mountains in the north of the region are rugged and form a natural barrier separating Calabria from the rest of Italy. Parts of the area are heavily wooded, while others are vast, wind-swept plateaus with little vegetation. These mountains are home to a rare Bosnian Pine variety, and are included in the Pollino National Park. La Sila is a vast mountainous plateau, about 1,200 metres above sea level, which stretches for nearly 2,000 square kilometres along the central part of Calabria. The highest point is Botte Donato, which reaches 1,928 metres. The area boasts numerous lakes and dense coniferous forests. The Aspromonte massif forms the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula bordered by the sea on three sides. This unique mountainous structure reaches its highest point at Montalto, at 1,995 metres, and is full of wide, man-made terraces that slope down towards the sea.

In general, most of the lower terrain in Calabria has been agricultural for centuries, and exhibits indigenous scrubland as well as introduced plants such as the prickly pear cactus. The lowest slopes are rich in vineyards and citrus fruit orchards. The Diamante citron is one of the citrus fruits. Moving upwards, olives and chestnut trees appear while in the higher regions there are often dense forests of oak, pine, beech and fir trees.

The climate is influenced by the mountainous and hilly relief of the region: cold in the area of Monte Pollino, temperate with a very limited temperature range in the area of Aspromonte, while the Sila and Serre massifs ensure greater humidity on the Tyrrhenian coast and a drier climate on the Ionian coast.

Geology [link]

Geotectonic map of the Central Mediterranean Area and the Calabrian Arc. The blue trace indicates the position of the geotectonic cross section depicted below.From van Dijk (1992)^[3]

Geotectonic Cross Section of the Calabrian Arc. Left: NW; Right: SE. From van Dijk (1992)^[3]

When describing the geology of Calabria it is commonly referred to "The Calabrian Arc", the arc-shaped geographic domain extending from the southern part of the Basilicata Region up to the northeast of Sicily, the Peloritano Mountains (although some authors extend this domain from Naples in the North up to Palermo in the Southwest). The Calabrian area shows basement (crystalline and metamorphic rocks) of Paleozoic and younger ages, covered by (mostly Upper) Neogene sediments. Studies have revealed that these rocks comprise the upper Unit of a pile of thrust sheets which dominate the Apennines and the Sicilian Maghrebides.^[3]

The Neogene evolution of the Central Mediterranean system is dominated by the migration of the Calabrian Arc to the southeast, overriding the African Plate and its promontories (Argand, 1922;^[4] Boccaletti and Guazzone, 1972^[5]). The main tectonic elements of the Calabrian Arc are the Southern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt, the "Calabria-Peloritani", or simply Calabrian block and the Sicilian Maghrebides fold-and-thrust belt. The foreland area is formed by the Apulia Platform, which is part of the Adriatic Plate, and the Ragusa or Iblean Platform, which is an extension of the African Plate. These platforms are separated by the Ionian Basin. The Tyrrhenian oceanized basin is regarded as the back-arc basin. This subduction system therefore shows the southern plates of African affinity subducting below the northern plates of European affinity.^[3]

The geology of Calabria has been studied for more than a century; For details concerning the older literature, i.e. from before 1973, the reader is referred to the review of Ogniben (1973) .^[6] Ippolito (1959) ^[7] presented a complete bibliography of the literature on the Calabrian geology as published up until that moment. Books, reviews and important "mile¬stones" concerning the geology of the Calabrian Arc are the following: Cortese (1895),^[8] Limanowski (1913),^[9] Quitzow (1935),^[10] Caire et al. (1960),^[11] Caire (1961),^[12] Grandjacquet et al. (1961),^[13] Ogniben (1969,^[14] 1973 ^[6] ), Caire (1970,^[15] 1975,^[16] 1978 ^[17] ), Burton (1971),^[18] Amodio-Morelli et al. (1976),^[19] Dubois (1976),^[20] Grandjacquet and Mascle (1978),^[21] Moussat (1983),^[22] van Dijk (1992),^[23] and van Dijk et al. (2000).^[3] The earlier works were mainly dedicated to the evolution of the basement rocks of the area. The Neogene sedimentary successions were merely regarded as "post-orogenic" infill of "neo-tectonic" tensional features. In the course of time, however, a shift can be observed in the temporal significance of these terms, from post-Eocene to post-Early Miocene to post-middle Pleistocene.^[3]

The area is seismically and volcanically highly active. This is generally ascribed to the re-establishment of an equilibrium after the latest (mid-Pleistocene) deformation phase. Some authors believe that the subduction process is still ongoing, which is a matter of debate (van Dijk & Scheepers, 1995).^[24]

History [link]

Magna Grecia around 280 BC.

Calabria was first settled by Italic Oscan-speaking tribes. Two of these tribes were the Oenotrians (roughly translated into the "vine-cultivators") and the Itali. Greeks settled heavily along the coast at an early date and several of their settlements, including the first Italian city called Rhegion (Reggio Calabria), and the next ones Sybaris, Kroton (Crotone), the birthplace of the mathematician Pythagoras, and Locri, were numbered among the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

The Greeks were conquered by the 3rd century BC by roving Oscan tribes from the north, including a branch of the Samnites called the Lucanians and an offshoot of the Lucanians called the Bruttii. The Bruttii conquered the Greek cities, established their sovereignty over present day Calabria and founded new cities, including their own capital, Cosenza (known as Consentia in the ancient times).

The Romans conquered the area in the 3rd century BC after the fierce Bruttian resistance, possibly the fiercest resistance the Romans had to face from another Italic people. At the beginning of the Roman Empire the region would form the Augustan Regio III Lucania et Bruttii of Roman Italy.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the inhabitants were in large part driven inland by the spread of malaria and, from the early Middle Ages until the 17th century, by pirate raids.^{[citation needed]} Calabria was devastated during the Gothic War^{[citation needed]} before it came under the rule of a local dux for the Byzantine Empire.

In the 1060s the Normans, under the leadership of Robert Guiscard's brother Roger, established a presence in this borderland, and organized a government along Byzantine lines that was run by the local Greek magnates of Calabria. In 1098 Roger, named the equivalent of an apostolic legate by Pope Urban II, and later formed what became the Kingdom of Sicily. The administrative divisions created in the late medieval times were maintained right through to unification: Calabria Citeriore (or Latin Calabria) in the northern half and Calabria Ulteriore (or Greek Calabria) in the southern half.

Beginning with the subsequent Angevin rule, which ruled Calabria as part of the Kingdom of Naples, Calabria was ruled from Naples right up until unification with Italy. The kingdom came under many rulers: the Habsburg dynasties of both Spain and Austria; the Franco-Spanish Bourbon dynasty which created the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte, and then French Marshal Joachim Murat, who was executed in the small town of Pizzo. Calabria experienced a series of peasant revolts as part of the European Revolutions of 1848. This set the stage for the eventual unification with the rest of Italy in 1861, when the Kingdom of Naples was brought into the union by Giuseppe Garibaldi. The Aspromonte was the scene of a famous battle of the unification of Italy, in which Garibaldi was wounded.

The 'Ndrangheta organized crime families of Calabria began to appear after 1860. The Calabrian word 'ndrangheta comes from Ancient Greek ανδραγαθία that means "valiance".^[25] According to a US Embassy cable, Calabria would be a failed state if it were not part of Italy. The 'Ndrangheta controls huge segments of its territory and economy, and accounts for at least three percent of Italy's GDP through drug trafficking, extortion, skimming of public contracts, and usury. Law enforcement is hampered by a lack of both human and financial resources.^[26]

Until the mid 20th century, Southern Italy was among the poorest regions of Europe. Impoverished Calabria was a main source for the Italian diaspora of the early 20th century. Many Calabrians moved to the industrial centres of northern Italy, the rest of Europe, Australia and the Americas (especially Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and the United States). Since the 1970s there has been an increased affluence and a much improved economy based on modern agriculture, tourism, and a growing commercial base. Although the per capita income remains well below that of northern and central Italy, it is reportedly approaching the European Union median.^[27]

Economy [link]

Calabrian olive tree plantations.

A typical feature of agriculture in Calabria is the high fragmentation of the farm structure. Holdings of less than two hectares made up 69% of the total in 2000. The main cultivation in Calabria is olive tree, representing 29.6% of UAA and 70% of tree crops. In fact the majority of farms (137,938 units on a total of 194,600) produce olives.^[28]

Within the industrial sector, manufacturing contributes to gross value added by 7.2%. In the manufacturing sector the main branches are foodstuff, beverage and tobacco with a contribution to the sector very close to the national average.^[28]

The seaport of Gioia Tauro.

The main Calabrian ports are in Reggio Calabria and in Gioia Tauro. The Reggio di Calabria port is equipped with five loading docks of a length of 1,530 metres. The Gioia Tauro port has seven loading docks with an extension of 4,646 metres; it is the largest in Italy and the seventh largest container port in Europe,^[29] with a 2007 throughput of 3.7 million TEU's^[30] from more than 3,000 ships.

The region is served by three heavily used roads: two national highways along the coasts and the A3 motorway, which links Salerno and Reggio di Calabria along the old inland route. In Calabria there are two main airports: one is situated in Lamezia Terme and the other in Reggio di Calabria, both very close to the cities.^[28]

Demographics [link]

The following is a list of Italian municipalities with population over 20,000^[31]:

1. Reggio di Calabria - 186,013 inhabitants
2. Catanzaro - 93,265 inhab.
3. Lamezia Terme - 71,123 inhab.
4. Cosenza - 69,827 inhab.
5. Crotone - 61,529 inhab.
6. Corigliano Calabro - 40,533 inhab.
7. Rossano - 38,280 inhab.
8. Rende - 35,352 hab.
9. Vibo Valentia - 33,857 inhab.
10. Castrovillari - 22,518 inhab.
11. Acri - 21,263 inhab.
12. Montalto Uffugo - 20,553 inhab.

Population genetics [link]

Y-Dna haplogroups were found at the following frequencies in Calabria : J (38.60%), R1 (33.40%), E1b1b (15.80%), G (10.50%), I (1.75%).^[32] R1 and I haplogroups are typical in West European populations while J and E1b1b consist of lineages with differential distribution within Middle East, North Africa and Europe which include regions in the Balkans, parts of France, and Austria which are only among the few.

Government and politics [link]

Administrative divisions [link]

Calabria is divided into five provinces:

Culture [link]

Main sights [link]

The Riace bronzes, Greek bronzes, about 460-430 BC.

The Byzantine church known as the Cattolica.

Tourism in Calabria has increased over the years. The main tourist attractions are the coastline and the mountains. The coastline alternates between rugged cliffs and sandy beaches, and is sparsely interrupted by development when compared to other European seaside destinations. The sea around Calabria is clear, and there is a good level of tourist accommodation. The poet Gabriele D'Annunzio called the coast facing Sicily near Reggio Calabria "... the most beautiful kilometer in Italy" (il più bel chilometro d'Italia).^{[citation needed]} The primary mountain tourist draws are Aspromonte and La Sila, with its national park and lakes. Some other prominent destinations include:

• Reggio, on the strait between the mainland and Sicily, the largest and oldest city in Calabria, renowned for its panoramic seaside with botanical gardens between the art nouveau buildings and the beautiful beaches, and its 3,000 years of history with the old Aragonian Castle and the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia where the famous Riace bronzes (Bronzi di Riace) are located.
• Cosenza, seat of the Cosentian Academy, renowned for its cultural institutions, the beautiful old quarter, a Romanesque Cathedral and a Hohenstaufen Castle.
• Scilla, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, "pearl" of the "Violet Coast", has a delightful panorama and is the site of some of Homer's tales.
• Tropea, on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast, is home to a dramatic seaside beach, and the Santa Maria dell'Isola sanctuary. It is also renowned for its sweet red onions (mainly produced in Ricadi).
• Capo Vaticano, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is a very famous wide bathing place near Tropea.
• Gerace, near Locri, is a beautiful medieval city with a Norman castle and an ancient cathedral.
• Squillace, a seaside resort and important archaeological site.
• Stilo, the home of Tommaso Campanella, with its Norman castle and beautiful Byzantine church, the Cattolica.
• Pizzo, on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast, known for its ice cream called "Tartufo". Interesting places in Pizzo are Piazza Repubblica and the Aragonian castle where Murat was murdered.
• Paola, a town situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast, renowned for being the birth place of St. Francis of Paola, saint patron of Calabria and Italian sailors, and for the old Franciscan sanctuary built during the last hundred years of the Middle Ages by the will of St. Francis.
• Sybaris, on the Ionian sea, a picturesque village situated near the excavation of ancient Sybaris, a Greek colony of the 7th century BC.
• Catanzaro, located at the centre of the narrowest point of Italy, from where the Ionian Sea and Tyrrhenian Sea are both visible, but not from Catanzaro. Of note are the well-known one-arch bridge (Viaduct Morandi-Bisantis, one of the tallest in Europe), the Cathedral (rebuilt after World War II bombing), the castle, the promenade on the Ionian sea, the park of biodiversity and the archaeological park.
• Soverato on the Ionian Sea, also known as the "Pearl" of the Ionian Sea. Especially renowned for its beaches, boardwalk and nightlife.
• Nicotera on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is a beautiful little medieval town with an ancient Ruffo's castle.
• Ancient temples of the Roman gods on the sun-kissed hills of Catanzaro still stand as others are swept beneath the earth. Many excavations are going on along the east coast, digging up what seems to be an ancient burial ground.
• Samo, a village on the foot of the Aspromonte, is well known for its spring water and ruins of the old village destroyed in the 1908 Messina earthquake.

Language [link]

Although the official national language of Calabria has been Standard Italian since before unification in 1861, as a consequence of its deep and colourful history, Calabrian dialects have developed that have been spoken in the region for centuries. Most linguists divide the various dialects into two different language groups. In the northern one-third of the region, the Calabrian dialects are considered part of the Neapolitan language (or Southern Italian) and are grouped as Northern Calabrian or Cosentino. In the southern two-thirds of the region, the Calabrian dialects are considered part of the Sicilian language and are often grouped as Central and Southern Calabrian.

Other historical languages have left an imprint on the region. In isolated pockets, as well as some quarters of Reggio Calabria (historical stronghold of the Greek language in Italy), a hybrid language that dates back to the 9th century, called Griko, is spoken. A variety of Occitan can also be found in certain communities and French has had an influence on many Calabrian words and phrases. In several villages, the Arbëresh dialect of the Albanian language has been spoken since a wave of refugees settled there in the 15th century. In addition, since Calabria (as well as other parts of southern Italy and Sicily) were once ruled by the Spanish, some Calabrian dialects exhibit Spanish derivatives.

It is important to highlight the presence of Calabrians in Humanism and in the Renaissance. Indeed the Hellenistics in this period frequently came from Calabria maybe because of the Greek influence. The rediscovery of Ancient Greek was very difficult because this language had been almost forgotten. In this period the presence of Calabrian humanists or refugees from Constantinople was fundamental. The study of Ancient Greek, in this period, was mainly a work of two monks of the monastery of Seminara: Barlaam, bishop of Gerace, and his disciple, Leonzio Pilato. Leonzio Pilato, in particular, was a Calabrian born near Reggio Calabria. He was an important teacher of Ancient Greek and translator, and he helped Giovanni Boccaccio in the translations of Homer's works.

Religion [link]

The majority of Calabrians are Roman Catholic. In the southern areas, there are some Byzantine Orthodox congregations in the Greek and Albanian communities. There are also communities of Evangelicals on the western coast. The most famous saint in Calabria and also the patron saint of the region is St. Francesco from Paola.

Even though it is currently a very small community, there has been a long history of the presence of Jews in Calabria. The Jews have had a presence in the region for at least 1600 years and possibly as much as 2300 years. Calabrian Jews have had notably influence on many areas of Jewish life and culture. Although virtually identitical to the Jews of Sicily, the Jews of Calabria are considered a distinct Jewish population due to historical and geographic considerations. There is a small community of Italian Anusim who have resumed the Jewish faith of their ancestors.^[33]

Cuisine [link]

Typical Calabrian red onion.

The cuisine is a typical southern Italian Mediterranean cuisine with a balance between meat-based dishes (pork, lamb, goat), vegetables (especially eggplant), and fish. Pasta (as in Central Italy and the rest of Southern Italy) is also very important in Calabria. In contrast to most other Italian regions, Calabrians have traditionally placed an emphasis on the preservation of their food, in part because of the climate and potential crop failures. As a result, there is a tradition of packing vegetables and meats in olive oil, making sausages and cold cuts (Sopressata, 'Nduja), and, along the coast, curing fish- especially swordfish, sardines (sardelle rosamarina) and cod (Baccalà). Local desserts are typically fried, honey-sweetened pastries (Cudduraci, scalille or scalidde) or baked biscotti-type treats (such as 'nzudda).

Some local specialties include Caciocavallo Cheese, Cipolla rossa di Tropea (red onion), Frìttuli and Curcùci (fried pork), Liquorice (liquirizia), Lagane e Cicciari (ceci) (a pasta dish with chickpeas), Pecorino Crotonese (Cheese of Sheep), and Pignolata.

Although Calabrian wines are not well known outside Italy, in ancient times Calabria was referred to as Enotria (from Ancient Greek Οἰνωτρία - Oenotria, "land of wine"). According to ancient Greek tradition, Οἴνωτρος (Oenotrus), the youngest of the sons of Lycaon, was the eponym of Oenotria.^[34] Some vineyards have origins dating back to the ancient Greek colonists. The best known DOC wines are Cirò (Province of Crotone) and Donnici (Province of Cosenza). 3% of the total annual production qualifies as DOC. Important grape varieties are the red Gaglioppo, and white Greco. Many producers are resurrecting local, ancient grape varieties which have been around for as long as 3000 years.^[35]

See also [link]

• 1783 Calabrian earthquakes
• 1905 Calabria earthquake
• Strait of Messina Bridge

References [link]

Further reading [link]

• Arlacchi, Pino, and Jonathan Steinberg. Mafia, Peasants and Great Estates: Society in Traditional Calabria (2009)
• Dal Lago, Enrico, and Rick Halpern, eds. The American South and the Italian Mezzogiorno: Essays in Comparative History (2002) ISBN 0-333-73971-X
• Dunston, Lara, and Terry Carter. Travellers Calabria (Travellers - Thomas Cook) (2009), guidebook
• Moe, Nelson. The View from Vesuvius: Italian Culture and the Southern Question (2002)
• Schneider, Jane. Italy's 'Southern Question': Orientalism in One Country (1998)

External links [link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Calabria.

• Calabria's History, Culture, Language and Genealogy
• Official Region homepage
• Living in Calabria - A Guide
• Calabria Property Website
• Official Region tourist information
• Web Portal of Calabria in the World
• KALìt Calabria in testa!
• The first web portal about Calabria
• A news aggregation website about Calabria
• Youth Association of Locri*
• Postcards from gioia tauro
• History and visit to art cities of Calabria
• Calabria Travel Guide VIDEO
• Calabria Region and History Guide
• Villaggi Calabria Reservation

v t e Calabria Provinces and places Catanzaro Cosenza Crotone Reggio Calabria Vibo Valentia Politics and government Elections in Calabria List of Presidents of Calabria

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