Rossano is a town and frazione of Corigliano-Rossano in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy.[1] The city is situated on an eminence c. three kilometres (1.9 mi) from the Gulf of Taranto. The town is known for its marble and alabaster quarries.

Rossano
Church of Santa Maria del Patire.
Church of Santa Maria del Patire.
Rossano is located in Italy
Rossano
Rossano
Location of Rossano in Italy
Coordinates: 39°34′N 16°38′E / 39.567°N 16.633°E / 39.567; 16.633
Country Italy
RegionCalabria
ProvinceCosenza (CS)
ComuneCorigliano-Rossano
Area
 • Total149 km2 (58 sq mi)
Elevation
270 m (890 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2013)
 • Total36,876
 • Density250/km2 (640/sq mi)
DemonymRossanesi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
87067, 87068
Dialing code0983
Patron saintNilus the Younger
Saint daySeptember 26

The town is the seat of a Catholic archbishop and has a notable cathedral and castle. Two popes have been born in the town, along with Nilus the Younger.[2][3][4]

History edit

 
The Oratory of St. Mark.[5]

The town was known as Roscianum under the Roman Empire. In the second century AD, the emperor Hadrian built or rebuilt a port here, which could accommodate up to 300 ships. It was mentioned in the Antonine itineraries as one of the important fortresses of Calabria. The Goths under Alaric I and, in the following century, Totila, were unable to take it.

 
Antipope John XVI (ca. 945 – 1001) a native of Rossano.[6]

It was known as Rhusianum under the Byzantine Empire. The Rossanesi showed great attachment to the Byzantines, who placed a strategos over the town. The Rossano Gospels, a sixth-century illuminated manuscript of great historical and artistic value, is a tangible relic of that period.

The Saracens failed to conquer Rossano, while in 982 Otto II captured it temporarily from the Byzantines. Its Greek character was preserved long after its conquest by the Normans, as noted by its long retention of the Greek Rite over the Latin Rite.[citation needed] The city in fact maintained notable privileges under the subsequent Hohenstaufen and Angevine dominations, but subsequently decayed after the feudalization in 1417.[citation needed]

Passing to the Sforza, and thus to Sigismund I the Old, it was united in 1558 to the crown of Naples by Philip II of Spain in virtue of a doubtful will by Bona Sforza, queen of Poland in favour of Giovanni Lorenzo Pappacoda. Under Isabella of Naples and Bona, the town had been a literary culture centre; but it declined under the Spaniards.

In 1612, the crown sold the lordship to the Aldobrandini, and in 1637, it passed to the Borghese who retained it until 1806. The city was part of the Neapolitan Republic of 1799, but its conditions did not improve after the Unification of Italy, and much of the population emigrated.

Rossano was the birthplace of Pope John VII and Antipope John XVI. Rossano was also the birthplace of Bartholomew the Younger and Nilus the Younger, who founded the Abbey of Grottaferrata, and whose "Life" is a valuable source of information about southern Italy in the tenth century.

Rossano is considered <<one of the most Byzantine cities in Europe>>.[7][8]

Main sights edit

  • The Rossano Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Rossano, Cattedrale di Maria Santissima Achiropita),[9] built in 11th century, with massive interventions in the 18th–19th centuries, is the main historical building of Rossano. It has a nave with two aisles, and three apses. The bell tower and the baptismal font are from the 14th century, while the remaining decorations are from the 17th and 18th centuries. The church is famous for the ancient image of the Madonna acheropita ("Madonna not made by hands"), now located in the Diocesan Museum, probably dating between 580 and the first half of the eighth century. In 1879, the famous Codex Rossanensis was discovered in the sacristy.[10] It is a Greek parchment manuscript of Matthew and Mark, written in silver on purple-stained parchment, and is one of the oldest pictorial Gospels known.[11] Scholars date the codex from the end of the fifth to the eighth or ninth century; it is probably of Alexandrian origin.[12][13]
 
A view of Panaghia.
  • Chiesa della Panaghia, an example of Byzantine architecture, with traces of frescoes portraying John Chrysostomos.[14]
  • Chiesa di San Nilo.[15]
  • The Oratory of Saint Mark (10th century, originally dedicated to St. Anastasia) is the most ancient monument of the city and one of the best preserved Byzantine churches in Italy.[16]
  • The church of Santa Chiara (1546–1554) was built by Bona Sforza.[17]
  • The church of San Francesco d'Assisi has a notable Renaissance portal and a cloister.[18]
  • The late-Gothic church of San Bernardino (1428–62)[19] was the first Roman Catholic church in Rossano. It houses the sepulchre of Oliverio di Somma (1536) and a seventeenth-century wooden crucifix.
  • Rossano is also the home of the internationally renowned annual Marco Fiume Blues Passion, a free three-day open air blues/jazz festival named after a native son who was becoming a giant in the American blues/jazz guitar world before his early demise. The festival occurs in July and is linked to the Cognac Blues Festival in France.

Outside the city are:

 
The image of Maria Achiropita in the cathedral.
  • The Torre Stellata ("Star Tower") is a 16th-century fortification built over an ancient fortress.[20]
  • The Abbazia del Patire (11th–12th century),[21] an abbey located in a wood outside the city, with some Arab-style mosaics, a Norman apse and ancient portals.[22]
  • Rossano also has a unique peculiarity: mountains[23] and sea[24] just a short distance away:[25] from the beach of San. Angelo[26] you can go trekking in the municipal mountains, with free access, of the Albanian cugnale,[27][28] of the Pathirion[29] up to S. Onofrio.[30][31][32][33]
  • Rossano is thriving with municipal chestnut groves: anyone can go to pick chestnuts.[34] [35]Furthermore, there are hectares of pine nut forests with free access and harvesting.[36][37]
  • In Rossano there are detached sections of national universities: UniCusano, UniPegaso and UniCampus etc.; with the possibility of choosing different degree courses: law, psychology, etc.

Transportation edit

Rossano can be reached from the airports of Crotone, Lamezia Terme or Reggio Calabria through SS. 106 Ionica Route. Rossano has a railway station on the secondary branch starting from Sibari, on the line to Crotone.

Rossano is easily reachable via many buses (in about 6 hours of travel) from Rome Tiburtina every day and several times a day.[38]

Rossano is also the seaport of the adjacent Corigliano.[39]

People edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Rossano Purpurea - Associazione di promozione sociale e turistica". Rossano Purpurea - Associazione di promozione sociale e turistica (in Italian). 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  2. ^ Beach, Alison I.; Cochelin, Isabelle (2020-01-09). The Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-77063-7.
  3. ^ Thomas, David; Mallett, Alexander; Roggema, Barbara (2010-12-17). Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. Volume 2 (900-1050). BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-16976-0.
  4. ^ Juniore, Saint Bartolomeo (1904). Vita di San Nilo abate, fondatore della Badia di Grottaferrata (in Italian). Desclʹee, Lefebvre e C., Editori.
  5. ^ Fiorenza, Elia (2017-01-13). "LA CHIESA BIZANTINA DI SAN MARCO | ROSSANO". Themaprogetto.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  6. ^ Duckett, Eleanor Shipley (1988). Death and Life in the Tenth Century. University of Michigan Press. p. 124. ISBN 9780472061723. This John, known as John Philagathos, Greek by birth, was a native of Rossano in Calabria, southern Italy
  7. ^ Borsetta, Maria Paola; Pugliese, Annunziato (1999). Villanella, napolitana, canzonetta: relazioni tra Gasparo Fiorino, compositori calabresi e scuole italiane del Cinquecento : atti del Convegno internazionale di studi, Arcavacata di Rende, Rossano Calabro, 9-11 dicembre 1994 (in Italian). Istituto di bibliografia musicale calabrese.
  8. ^ Leo, Pietro De (2003). In Calabria. Tra natura, arte, storia-Nature, art, history (in Italian). Rubbettino Editore. ISBN 978-88-498-0588-8.
  9. ^ "Maria SS. Achiropita (Cattedrale) - Santuari Italiani" (in Italian). 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  10. ^ Haseloff, Arthur (October 2013). Codex Purpureus Rossanensis Die Miniaturen Der Griechischen Evangelien-Handschrift in Rossano - Primary Source Edition. BiblioBazaar. ISBN 978-1-294-08087-9.
  11. ^ Hixson, Elijah (2019-09-16). Scribal Habits in Sixth-Century Greek Purple Codices. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-39991-4.
  12. ^ "Museo Diocesano e del Codex - Arcidiocesi di Rossano-Cariati". www.museocodexrossano.it. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  13. ^ "Antica Biblioteca Corigliano Rossano – La Biblioteca online di Corigliano – Rossano" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  14. ^ "Chiesa della Panaghia – Antica Biblioteca Corigliano Rossano" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  15. ^ "Chiesa di San Nilo a Rossano – Antica Biblioteca Corigliano Rossano" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  16. ^ "Chiesa di San Marco – Antica Biblioteca Corigliano Rossano" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  17. ^ "La Chiesa di Santa Chiara abbandonata al degrado". CORIGLIANO Informa. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  18. ^ "Luoghi di culto - Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi ROSSANO - Necrologie La Repubblica". Necrologie (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  19. ^ "Chiesa San Bernardino - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  20. ^ "Torre Sant'Angelo (XVI secolo) - Pro Loco Corigliano-Rossano" (in Italian). 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  21. ^ "Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pàtire (o Pathirion) · Loc.Patire, 87064 Corigliano CS, Italy". Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pàtire (o Pathirion) · Loc.Patire, 87064 Corigliano CS, Italy. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  22. ^ di), Silvia Lusuardi Siena (a cura; di), Marco Milanese (a cura; di), Guido Vannini (a cura (2023-11-30). Alle origini dell’archeologia medievale italiana. Dalla ceramologia archeologica all’archeologia della produzione. Per Hugo Blake (in Italian). All’Insegna del Giglio. ISBN 978-88-9285-229-7.
  23. ^ board, Editorial (2021-07-11). Calabria - Corigliano Rossano: Digital Tourist Guide (in Italian). Consorzio Turistico Calabria Vigorosa.
  24. ^ https://rossanopurpurea.org/2022/07/lidi-e-spiagge/ (in Italian). Rubbettino. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)
  25. ^ "Title: Foto dal satellite del comune di Rossano media e alta risoluzione". www.google.com. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  26. ^ "Lungomare Sant'Angelo · Viale Mediterraneo, 24, 87067 Rossano Stazione CS, Italy". Lungomare Sant’Angelo · Viale Mediterraneo, 24, 87067 Rossano Stazione CS, Italy. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  27. ^ "Cozzo ("cognale") albanese · 87067 Corigliano-Rossano, Province of Cosenza, Italy". Cozzo ("cognale") albanese · 87067 Corigliano-Rossano, Province of Cosenza, Italy. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  28. ^ Morelli, Tommaso (1842). Cenni storici sulla venuta degli albanesi nel Regno delle Due Sicilie di Tommaso Morelli (in Italian). dallo stabilimento del Gutemberg.
  29. ^ "Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pàtire (o Pathirion) · Loc.Patire, 87064 Corigliano CS, Italy". Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pàtire (o Pathirion) · Loc.Patire, 87064 Corigliano CS, Italy. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  30. ^ Vacanze creative in agriturismo (in Italian). Touring Editore. 2004. ISBN 978-88-365-2970-4.
  31. ^ "Chiesa S. Onofrio · 87067 Rossano, Province of Cosenza, Italy". Chiesa S. Onofrio · 87067 Rossano, Province of Cosenza, Italy. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  32. ^ Library, Geological Society of London (1895). List of Geological Literature Added to the Geological Society's Library. Geological Society.
  33. ^ Wikiloc. "I migliori percorsi in Rossano, Calabria (Italia) | Wikiloc". Wikiloc | Percorsi nel mondo (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  34. ^ "Copana' Castagneto gol free · GHXR+R8, 87067 Corigliano-Rossano CS, Italy". Copana' Castagne comunali · GHXR+R8, 87067 Corigliano-Rossano CS, Italy. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  35. ^ "I Giganti di Cozzo del Pesco". PARCHI DELLA CALABRIA (in Italian). 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  36. ^ "39°34'25.5"N 16°35'21.5"E". 39°34'25.5"N 16°35'21.5"E. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  37. ^ Lavia, Flaviano (2021-05-23). "La montagna sacra di Corigliano-Rossano" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  38. ^ "Tutte le partenze | Autostazione TIBUS - Autostazione RomaAutostazione TIBUS - Autostazione Roma" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  39. ^ "Area 6 - Porto di Corigliano Calabro - CalabriaImpresa". www.calabriaimpresa.eu. Retrieved 2024-03-13.

External links edit