Castrovillari ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the province of Cosenza in the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

region of southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Geography

Castrovillari lies in the north of Calabria, close to the border with

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

and within the

Pollino National Park Pollino National Park (Italian language, Italian: ''Parco Nazionale del Pollino'') is an Italian national park in the southern Italian peninsula, peninsula, in the provinces of province of Cosenza, Cosenza, province of Matera, Matera and province ...

. The town is surrounded by mountains including Pollino (2,248 m) and Dolcedorme (2,273 m), also part of the Pollino National Park. The town borders with the municipalities of Altomonte,

Lungro Lungro () is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of Italy. Lungro is one of the most prominent centers of the Arbëreshë people and the seat of the Eparchy of Lungro. This jurisdiction of the Catholic Chu ...

, Cassano allo Ionio, Cerchiara di Calabria, Chiaromonte, Civita, Frascineto, Morano Calabro, San Basile, Saracena, San Lorenzo Bellizzi, San Lorenzo del Vallo and Terranova di Pollino.

History

The name derives probably from the

medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

''castrum villarum'', meaning "fortress of the villas". The place is inhabited since prehistoric times. The city was founded, or better fortified, during the medieval wars between the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

and the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

; the name comes from a more ancient fortress called "Sassonion" or "Saxonion", so the "Castron" appeared in some documents as "Neon Sassonion", likely the ancient Byzantine name corresponding to the medieval Latin "Castrum Villarum". Officially the city entered the history in 1064 AD when the "Castra" was occupied by Norman warriors led by

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

. In 1090, during the county of his son Roger Borsa, the sanctuary of "Saint Mary of the Castle" Madonna del Castello was built. During the

House of Hohenstaufen 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 ...

rule in southern Italy, the town obtained the title of city and was the starting point for the evangelization of Calabria by the Minor Friars Order, founded by St. Francis from Assisi. The first Franciscan Monastery in Calabria ("Protoconvento francescano") was built here in 1220 by Pietro Cathin from Sant'Andrea of the Marca, the first Order's Prior in Calabria. the castle was built in 1490 during the Aragonese rule in southern Italy.

Main sights

*''Castello Aragonese'' *''Ponte della Catena'' (Bridge of the Chain), connecting the two halves of the city *Church of ''San Giuliano'' *Franciscan protoconvent *Church of ''Madonna del Castello''

Transport

The town was served, until 1978, by a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the now abandoned

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

line Lagonegro-Lauria-Castrovillari-Spezzano Albanese, owned by the regional company Ferrovie della Calabria. It is crossed by the A2 motorway (

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

) and served by two exits: "Castrovillari-Morano Calabro" and "Castrovillari-Frascineto".

Sport

Castrovillari local chess team plays in the second division of the Italian team competition. Regarding

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, the most representative team is the U.S. Castrovillari Calcio, commonly known as Castrovillari. The team played for several seasons in the

Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...

,Now ''Lega Pro Seconda Divisione'' the fourth highest football league in Italy and the lowest with a professional status. Its home ground is the " Mimmo Rende Stadium".

Climate

References

External links

Official website

Castrovillari.info

The diary of Castrovillari
{{authority control Cities and towns in Calabria Castles in Italy Castrovillari