Corigliano-Rossano
Brief history
Corigliano-Rossano was established on 31 March 2018, from the merger of the two former municipalities of Corigliano Calabro and Rossano.
The origins of the Corigliano area date back to the Greek colonization of the second half of the VIII century BC. and are linked to the colonists who founded the city of Sybari between 710-720 BC. Its history has been particularly marked by the Norman conquest, whose testimony is the Castle, built in the late XI century by Robert the Guiscard and the passing of San Francis of Paola in 1475, founder of the monastic order of the Minimi to which it owes construction of a convent and of a Roman type aqueduct.
The Rossano origins date back to the XI - VIII centuries BC with the Oenotrians. From 540 to 1059, it became a strategic city of the Byzantium Empire. A military center as well as a political-administrative center among the most important which houses the highest dignitaries of the court of Byzantium, but also of the Italian-German Empire. In 951 - 952, it is the seat of the Strategos and thus becomes the capital of the Byzantine possessions in Italy. In this era, monastic schools, monasteries, libraries and "scriptoria" were also created which made it famous for its high levels of religion and Greek - Byzantine culture.
From this environment comes a large group of prominent personalities in the Middle Ages including 4 popes, Saints Nile and Bartholomew, and Shabbettai Domnolo, Jewish doctor and scientist.
Since the end of the Byzantine era, it has been preserved as a royal city and ruled by important feudal families as the Sforza of Milan, the Borghese of Rome and Bona Sforza, Princess of Rossano and at the same time Duchess of Bari and Queen of Poland (1524 - 1559).
Corigliano-Rossano is an Italian municipality of about 80 thousand inhabitants. It is the largest municipality in the entire Calabria region and the third largest by population after Reggio Calabria and Catanzaro.
It was established on 31 March 2018, from the merger of the two former municipalities of Corigliano Calabro and Rossano. The city consists of 5 main urban areas located within the Sibari Plain.
For its position enclosed between two national parks and the Gulf of Corigliano, it plays a strategic role in the Mediterranean area as commercial hub between Puglia and Sicily and between the east coast of the Ionian Sea and Europe.
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City Hall
Address: B. Abenante Street, 87064 Corigliano-Rossano (CS), Italy
The city is located within the strategic area of the Sibari plain, one of the main economic areas of the entire region. Its economic system with great potential is particularly known within the agro-food sector for products ranging from clementines to EVO, from licorice to lavender, from rice to dairy products. The city is also home to a port where there is a fishing fleet and one of the most important fish markets in the South.
TOURISM
Corigliano-Rossano enjoys a unique naturalistic position. Its territory is enclosed between the national parks of Sila (Unesco Biosphere Reserves) and Pollino (UNESCO Global Geopark) and the crystal-clear waters of the Ionian Sea.
The two medieval historic centers, suspended on hills with warm colors and intense scents, are testimony to the important historical role played in the Byzantine and Norman times mainly. Relevant treasures are preserved here such as the several Byzantine masterpieces (as the X-XI century churches of Panaghia, St. Mark, Abbey of Patir and the fresco of the Achiropita) and noble palaces.
Its jewels are the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, the oldest and most precious illuminated evangeliary in the world, recognized as a UNESCO heritage in 2015. As well the majestic 11th century Ducal Castle, defined as one of the most beautiful and best-preserved castles in southern Italy.
