Squillace ( grc, Σκυλλήτιον ''Skylletion''; grc-x-medieval, Σκυλάκιον ''Skylakion'') is an ancient town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'', in the

Province of Catanzaro The province of Catanzaro ( it, provincia di Catanzaro; Catanzarese: ) is a province of the Calabria region of Italy. The city Catanzaro is both capital of the province and capital of the region of Calabria. The province contains a total of 8 ...

, part of

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...

, facing the Gulf of Squillace. Squillace is situated near the east coast of Calabria, close to the shores of an extensive bay, the Gulf of Squillace ( it, Golfo di Squillace), which indents the coast of Calabria on the east as deeply as that of the

Gulf of Saint Euphemia The Gulf of Saint Euphemia ( it, Golfo di Santa Eufemia or Golfo di Sant'Eufemia, la, Lametikos Kolpos or Vibonensis Sinus) is a gulf on the west coast of Calabria, southern Italy. It is part of the Tyrrhenian Sea and borders the province of Cosen ...

(Italian: ''Golfo di Sant'Eufemia'') does on the west, with a comparatively narrow isthmus between them.

History

Squillace is known today as one of Italy's most important archaeological sites as well as a popular resort. The name derives from the ancient city of Scylletium, the principal ruins of which are located in the nearby comune of

Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

. The Roman statesman and writer

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...

founded a monastery called

Vivarium A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...

on his family estates on the shores of the Ionian Sea in the 6th century AD. This monastery was on the site of the modern Santa Maria de Vetere near Squillace.

Medieval and early modern history

* The modern town was founded as a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

fortress during the Byzantine reconquest of Italy (6th–8th century). * During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

it was subject to frequent raids by

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

, who made it for a short time a strong military base. * After the brief Arab rule, the city fell under Norman hegemony. Its strategic military role, already recognised by the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

, was also recognised by the Normans who in 1044 built a castle and transformed the settlement into a county. * During the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

, with the lordship of

Roger of Lauria Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305) was a Neapolitan admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the Crown of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and tal ...

, Squillace passed first to

Robert of Anjou Robert of Anjou ( it, Roberto d'Angiò), known as Robert the Wise ( it, Roberto il Saggio; 1276 – 20 January 1343), was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of Ita ...

and to the counts of Monfort, then for one hundred and fifty years the city was ruled by the counts of Marzano. * In 1445, it reverted to the Aragonese Kings of Naples but passed by marriage to the infamous

House of Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the tow ...

, who ruled the city as Princes of Squillace from 1494 to 1735. *

Gioffre Borgia Gioffre Borgia (1481/82–1516/17), also known as Goffredo (Italian), or Jofré Borja (Valencian), was the youngest son of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei, and a member of the House of Borgia. He was the youngest brother of Cesare, ...

(1482–1516), son of

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

and younger brother of

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex-cardinal and ''condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major i ...

and

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Gover ...

, married Sancia (Sancha) of Aragon, daughter of

Alfonso II of Naples Alfonso II (4 November 1448 – 18 December 1495) was Duke of Calabria and ruled as King of Naples from 25 January 1494 to 23 January 1495. He was a soldier and a patron of Renaissance architecture and the arts. Heir to his father Fer ...

. Gioffre thereby obtained both the Principality of Squillace (1494) and the

Duchy of Alvito The Duchy of Alvito was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Naples, in southern Italy. Rule of the Cantelmo The Cantelmo family, of French origins, arrived in Italy in the 13th century around the time the Angevins conquered Naples (1266). From the An ...

(1497) as his wife's dowry. * Although Gioffre was deprived of Alvito after the death of Sancia in 1506, he managed to retain Squillace. He subsequently married Maria de Mila, and passed it on to their son Francesco Borgia. * The Borgia Princes were: Gioffre, Francesco, Giovanni, Pietro and, finally, Anna that on whose death, paed to Francisco de Borja y Aragón and last to his brother

Fernando de Borja y Aragón Don Fernando de Borja y Aragón or Ferran de Borja y d'Aragón (1583, in Lisboa – 28 November 1665, in Madrid) was a Spanish noble from the House of Borja and the House of Castro. He was the third Count of Mayalde, Viceroy of the royal house, ...

. Living either in Naples or in Spain, the Borgias ruled their fief through governors. * Under the Bourbons, Squillace was downgraded to a Marquisate and granted in 1755 to the Marquis Leopoldo de Gregorio, a nobleman from Messina who was to be the last feudal lord of Squillace.

Ceramics

Production of highly prized

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

has been an important part the local economy for centuries;

makes several mentions of it in his writings. Squillace is the home of the ''pignatari'' style of ceramic artistry. The name is derived from the Italian word ''pignata'', an earthenware container used for cooking beans over an open fire.

Notable people

Florestano Pepe Florestano Pepe (March 4, 1778 – April 3, 1851) was an Italian patriot. He was brother to the more famous general Guglielmo Pepe and cousin to Gabriele Pepe. Pepe was born in Squillace (Calabria) and entered the Two Sicilies army at young age. I ...

Guglielmo Pepe Guglielmo Pepe (13 February 1783 – 8 August 1855) was an Italian general and patriot. He was brother to Florestano Pepe and cousin to Gabriele Pepe. He was married to Mary Ann Coventry, a Scottish woman who was the widow of John Borthw ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Italy Cities and towns in Calabria