Amantea

Amantea
Comune
Comune di Amantea
View of Amantea on the sea with the Palazzo delle Clarisse.

Coat of arms
Amantea
Location of Amantea in Italy
Coordinates: 39°08′N 16°04′E / 39.133°N 16.067°E / 39.133; 16.067
Country Italy
Region Calabria
Province Cosenza (CS)
Frazioni Acquicella, Camoli, Campora San Giovanni, Coreca, Colongi
Government
 • Mayor Francesco Tonnara
Area
 • Total 28 km2 (11 sq mi)
Elevation 50 m (160 ft)
Population (31 December 2011)[1]
 • Total 13,754
 • Density 490/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Amanteani
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 87032
Dialing code 0982
Patron saint St. Anthony of Padua
Saint day June 13
Website Official website

Amantea (Calabrian: A' Mantia; Greek: Amanthea) is a town, former bishopric, comune (municipality) and Latin Catholic titular see in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.

It is the twentieth municipality in the region by population[2], while for population density[3] it is ranked twenty-fourth place It is a tourist centre on the southern Tyrrhenian Sea coast.

History

Amantea appears as a centre of its own in the 7th century, although traces of human presence from pre-historical times onwards have been found in the area. In 839 the Arabs captured it, being ousted by the Byzantines in 889. Later it was under Norman domination. In 1269 the Amanteani rebelled against the Angevines in the name of Conradin of Hohenstaufen, but were besieged by the French and defeated.

The town is mostly famous for the long resistance of its inhabitants against the French troops under Joseph Bonaparte who, in 1806–1807, attempted to conquer its castle.

In July 1810, three British warships, the frigate HMS Thames, HMS Weazel, and Pilot, captured or destroyed a convoy of 31 coasting vessels that were carrying stores and provisions from Naples to Murat's army at Scylla. Seven large gunboats, four scampavias and an armed pinnace protected the convoy. At the approach of the British warships the convoy and its escorts beached themselves in front of Amantea, but the British were still able to capture almost all the vessels, and destroy half a dozen, all while suffering only minimal casualties.

Ecclesiastical History

  • In 987 a diocese of Scala (Italian) / Scalen(sis) (Latin adjective) was established on territory split off from the Diocese of Amalfi (which became its Metropolitan)
  • On 1603.07.31 the bishopric was suppressed, merging its territory and title -under its last hitherto nominated incumbent- into the then Diocese of Ravello–Scala (which was itself suppressed on 1818.06.27, merged into the Archdiocese of Amalfi, but would in 1968 -like Scala- be restored as Titular Episcopal See of Ravello / Rebellum) [4]

Residential incumbents

Suffragan Bishops of Scala
incomplete
  • Sergio (987 – ?)
  • ...
  • Alessandro (1118 – ?)
  • Orso (1144 – ?)
  • Alessandro (1171 – 1191?)
  • ...
  • Costantino D’Afflitto (1207 – 1227?)
  • Matteo D’Afflitto (1227 – 1267)
  • ...
  • Teodoro Scacciavento (1328 – ?)
  • Guglielmo Lombardo (1335 – 1342)
  • Guglielmo (1342 – 1349)
  • Giacomo Sazali (1349 – 1369)
  • Andrea Fusco (1390 – 1394?), next Bishop of Ravello (1397 – 1400), Bishop of Venosa (Italy) (1400 – death 1419)
  • Pietro (1394? – 1396)
  • Petruccio De Penni (1397 – 1418)
  • Natale Mastini D’Afflitto (1418 – 1450)
  • Evangelista Frioli (1450 – 1465)
  • Matteo Doti (1465? – 1499)
  • Giacomo Pisanelli(1500 – 1511)
  • Ferdinando de Castro (1511 – 1515)
  • Baldassarre Del Rio (1515 – 1540)
  • Ludovico Vannio (1541 – 1548)
  • Gaspare De Fossa (1548 – 1551)
  • Alfonso Romero (1551 – 1551)
  • Costantino De Monte Veltronio (1552 – 1557)
  • Feliciano Niguarda (1557 – 1583)
  • Francesco D’Afflitto (1583 – 1593)
  • Giovanni Battista Serignano (1594 – 1594)
  • Floriano Nanni (1594 – 1598)
  • Francesco Bennio (1598 – 1603), next first incumbent of successor see as Bishop of Ravello-Scala (1603 – 1617).

Titular see

In 1968 the diocese was nominally restored (like Ravello, see above) as Latin Titular bishopric of Scala (Italiano) / Scalen(sis) (Latin).

So far, it had the following incumbents, of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank, with an archiepiscopal esception : [5]

  • Joseph Alphonse McNicholas (1969.01.31 – 1975.07.22) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Saint Louis (USA) (1969.01.31 – 1975.07.22); later Bishop of Springfield in Illinois (USA) (1975.07.22 – death 1983.04.17)
  • João Alves (1975.09.05 – 1976.09.08) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Coimbra (Portugal) (1975.09.05 – 1976.09.08), succeeding as Bishop of Coimbra (1976.09.08 – 2001.03.24), also President of Episcopal Conference of Portugal (1993 – 1999), died 2013
  • Marion Francis Forst (1976.10.16 – 1986.12.23) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Kansas City (Kansas, USA) (1976.10.16 – 1986.12.23); previously Bishop of Dodge City (USA) (1960.01.02 – 1976.10.16); later emeritate and Titular Bishop of Leavenworth (1995.09.23 – 2007.06.02)
  • George Pell (1987.03.30 – 1996.07.16) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Melbourne (Australia) (1987.03.30 – 1996.07.16); next succeeded as Metropolitan Archbishop of Melbourne (1996.07.16 – 2001.03.26), Metropolitan Archbishop of Sydney (Australia) (2001.03.26 – resigned 2014.02.24), President of “Vox Clara” Committee (2002.04 – ...), created Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Domenica Mazzarello (2003.10.21 [2004.03.20] – ...), Member of Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organisational and Economic Problems of the Apostolic See (2007.02.03 – 2014.02.24), Member of Council of Cardinals to assist in the governance of the Universal Church and to reform the Roman Curia (2013.04.13 – ...), Prefect of Secretariat for the Economy (2014.02.24 – ...)
  • Titular Archbishop (1996.08.24 – ...): Edward Joseph Adams, as papal diplomat : Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh (1996.08.24 – 2002.08.22), Apostolic Nuncio to Zimbabwe (2002.08.22 – 2007.09.03), Apostolic Nuncio to Philippines (2007.09.03 – 2011.02.22), Apostolic Nuncio to Greece (2011.02.22 – 2017.04.08), Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain (UK minus Northern Ireland) (2017.04.08 – ...)

Main sights

  • The Rocca (Castle). First built by the Byzantines, it was strengthened by the Arabs. The current cylindrical tower is however to the Norman-Hohenstaufen age. It was long besieged by Charles of Anjou's troops in 1269. It was nearly destroyed during the French siege in 1806-1807. It is now a public structure, but is abandoned.
  • Church of San Bernardino.
  • Palazzo delle Clarisse (17th century). The palace was built in the early seventeenth century as the Convent of the Poor Claires (Clarisse) and has remained a convent until 1806 when the French, as a result of the siege of Amantea, confiscated it along with other church properties and then sold it to the Marquis de Luca di Lizzano who made it his noble residence. The Marquis De Luca lived in the palace until 1977. Following a period of severe neglect and decay, the building was then purchased and restored by the current owner, Prof. Fausto Perri. The Palazzo delle Clarisse now hosts cultural and commercial activities such as concerts, exhibitions and paintings by the masters of the Atelier of Copyists, a highly specialized Italian laboratory with great tradition as well as a restaurant with a beautiful view of the sea.
  • Palazzo Mirabelli (17th century).
  • U Turriune (large tower, 14th century) at Campora San Giovanni.
  • Archaeological findings in the area of Campora San Giovanni.
  • Capuchins Church.

See also

Notes and References

  1. ↑ Population data from Istat
  2. ↑ Comuni calabresi per popolazione
  3. ↑ Comuni calabresi per densità
  4. ↑ http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t1449.htm Ravello(-Scala) (titular) bishopric
  5. ↑ http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t1525.htm Scala (titular) bishopric
  • Lorelli, Alfonso (2009). Amantea nel XX secolo. Catanzaro: Rubettino.
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