Rossano | |
|---|---|
 Church of Santa Maria del Patire. | |
  Rossano Location of Rossano in Italy | |
| Coordinates: 39°34′N 16°38′E / 39.567°N 16.633°E | |
| Country |  Italy |
| Region | Calabria |
| Province | Cosenza (CS) |
| Comune | Corigliano-Rossano |
| Area | |
| • Total | 149 km2 (58 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 270 m (890 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2013) | |
| • Total | 36,876 |
| • Density | 250/km2 (640/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Rossanesi |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 87067, 87068 |
| Dialing code | 0983 |
| Patron saint | Nilus the Younger |
| Saint day | September 26 |
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.
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]
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.
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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]
Outside the city are:
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]
