Collo (), known as Chullu in antiquity, is a port town in the

Skikda Province Skikda () is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') of Algeria, on its eastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastline, with 1.095.666 inhabitants in 2019, With a natural annual growth rate estimated at 1.22%. Geography The Skikda Pr ...

in northeastern

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, and forms part of the Collo Massif region. It is the capital and one of three

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of the Collo District. Formerly a Phoenician trading post, then a

Numidian Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

port, Collo became under the Hammadids the port of Constantine. Today it is a small seaside town of about 35,000 inhabitants in 2008.

History

times, Collo was a city in the province of

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

, called Chullu. At the joint

Conference of Carthage (411) The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below. Synod of 251 In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cypr ...

that brought together Catholic and

Donatist Donatism was a schism from the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Carthage from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to ...

bishops of

Roman Africa Roman Africa or Roman North Africa is the culture of Roman Africans that developed from 146 BC, when the Roman Republic defeated Carthage and the Punic Wars ended, with subsequent institution of Roman Empire, Roman Imperial government, through th ...

, Chullu was represented by the Catholic bishop Victor and the Donatist Fidentius. In the book Al Istibsar fi 'agaib al-Amsar, written in the late 12th century, the author wrote about the city:كتاب الاستبصار في عجائب الأمصار، لكاتب مراكشي من كتاب القرن السادس الهجري، نشر وتعليق: سعد زغلول عبد الحميد. الدار البيضاء، دار النشر المغربية 1985

"An ancient city with many ruins from the early Romans. Located on the seashore, it serves as the port of the city of Constantine. The city is rich in fruits and resources, with an abundance of grapes and remarkable apples. It holds strategic importance, generating significant revenue and oversight. It is both a land and maritime city."

In 1282, king

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon (In Aragonese, ''Pero''; in Catalan, ''Pere''; in Italian, ''Pietro''; November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he con ...

led an expedition to Collo, in proclaimed support of a rebellion against the ruler of

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. The rebellion had collapsed before Peter arrived, but he kept his army there for several weeks until, in the wake of the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers (; ) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou. Since taking control of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266, the Capetian House ...

, envoys from Sicily came to Collo to offer him its throne. The resulting war continued until 1301.

Geography

Collo has a total area of . The city is distinguished by its containing a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

, the most prominent of which are el Goufi , Sidi Achour , and the Tars Mountains. It is known for its various beaches and tourist attractions.

Climate

Collo's climate is classified as warm and temperate. The rain falls mostly in the winter, with relatively little rain in the summer. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, this climate is classified as "Csa". The average annual temperature is , and precipitation is about per year.

Demographics

Titular bishopric

In 1833, the Roman diocese was nominally revived as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of the lowest (episcopal) rank. So far, it had four incumbents: * Marc Lacroix, O.M.I. (1968.10.25 – 1970.11.24) * Joseph Edra Ukpo (later Archbishop) (1971.04.24 – 1973.03.01) * Franco Mulakkal (2009.01.17 – 2013.06.13) * Varghese Thottamkara,

Lazarists The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, ...

( C.M.) (2013.06.28 – present)

References

Sources and external links

GigaCatholic, with titular bishops list and linked biographies
Chullu Chullu Communes of Skikda Province Skikda Province {{Skikda-geo-stub