Cetraro

Cetraro (Citrarium)

Province of Cosenza (CS), Calabria, Italy

Key features

Size = 65.67 km2

Population = 10,144

Height above sea level = 120 metres

Diocese = St. Benedict of Norcia & San Benedetto Abate

Post code = 87022

Area code = 0982

Official Website = www.comune.cetraro.cs.it

Etymology

There are several theories on the etymology. The name Cetraro is due to the abundant production of cedars and lemons (Latin citrus and Greek kitron) in the surrounding countryside. There are other more fanciful etymologies. Some believe that the origin of the name should be reconnected to the river Aron which crosses its territory in that “Citra Aron”' would be the country on this side of the Aron. Others say that the name had Jewish origins since Jews sailed in ancient Santa Maria del Cedro to buy cedar used in their sacred rites.

History

Cetraro was probably the first maritime city of Bruzi. The old town is full of narrow streets, arches and picturesque spots. Access to the city was through three doors demonstrating that Cetraro was once a walled city. Some of the main monuments found in the streets have evocative names such as "giorgia" which was once home to the market or "miezzu to curta" which was at the center of the ancient village home of the Benedictine court.

The city was founded by the Duchess Sichelgaita of Salerno, the second wife of Robert Guiscard, Abbot Desiderio IV Epifanio of Monte Cassino, among the alliances between the Papacy and the Normans. From 1086 to 1810 Cetraro was ruled by the Benedictine monks of Monte Cassino.

The town reached a peak in the sixteenth century thanks to its commercial port, arsenal and flourishing shipyards. In 1512 King Ferdinand, with the blessing of the Abbot of Montecassino, Ignatius Squarcialupo, erected 50 statutes to the good governance of Cetraro. In 1533 in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a former Franciscan monastery, a marble altarpiece of the Madonna and Child with Saints was erected by Gian Battista Mazzola. The following year Saracen pirates led by Ariadeno Barbarossa attacked the town causing 40 deaths. By the year 700 Cetraro had returned to prosperity through trade, especially silk. In 1810 the town left the civil jurisdiction of Montecassino and by 1834 was within the Diocese of San Marco Argentano. In 1898 while developing the city waterworks the Fountain of Neptune was erected. Cetraro developed rapidly after the Second World War through the development of a textile factory, Faini, which specialised in the production of swimwear.

Places of Interest

Museum of the Brettii and the Sea

The Museum of the Bretti and the Sea which is located near the main square, Piazza del Popolo, opened on December 23, 2011 to display archaeological discoveries, models and reconstructions, including multimedia. Recently, the museum displayed the collection of the acts of government, known as the Official Collection of Laws and Decrees of the Kingdom of Italy from 1868 to 1941. Current research is being dedicated to periods in Cetraro’s history following donation of 78 maps of the town.

Religious Architecture

Church of St. Benedict the Abbot

A few steps from the main square located in Via Roma is the mother church of Benedict of Norcia and San Benedetto Abate. Built following the donation of Cetraro to hand Princess Sikelgaita benefit of the abbey of Montecassino Abbey, this Baroque church can be accessed through three doors into as many naves. It was renovated in the second half of the eighteenth century and, outwardly, the church underwent changes in the nineteenth century. Next to the church is an ancient tower, one of the four towers of the city, which was later converted into a bell tower.

Church Retreat

The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie known as "the Church of the Retreat" for friars dates from 1454. Of Renaissance style, it contains a marble altarpiece of the same period along with many elements of the late baroque. The entrace portal dates from the sixteenth century. During the Turk and Saracen raids the church was repeatedly ransacked destroying much of the original structure. After a period of neglect, it was restored in the early nineteenth century. The church is flanked by a medieval monastery now housing the Institute of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist founded in 1912 by Sister Crocifissa Militerni.

Church of St. Nicholas

Located in the city center, the church probably dates from the 11th century.

Church of St. Peter the Apostle

In the second decade of the seventeenth century, the University of Cetraro asked the Provincial of the Capuchins to establish their convent in Cetraro. In 1618 it was granted the request and completed in 1634 dedicated to St. Sebastian.

Other places of worship

Not far from Cetraro sits the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Serra, which is open most days. Every Sunday in the summer Mass is celebrated there.

Monuments

One of the significant monuments of the city is Neptune's Fountain in the town centre.

Commemorations

The cult of St. Benedict is a thousand year old annual tradition. Every July 11 the statue of the patron saint is carried in procession from the sea into Church of St Benedict in Cetaro where Mass is celebrated. In the evening a concert takes place in the Piazza del Popolo and at midnight there are fireworks concluding the festivities.

Events

Almost every year since 1986 held on the 10 and 11 July, on the feast of St. Benedict, there is a competition between the districts of Cetraro named after animals and displaying distinctive colors, clothes and banners. The preparations are meticulous including parades involving the entire population. After a break of eight years, in 2007 the tournament was resumed.

Cetraro villages

Borgo San Marco is a Cetraro village founded by settlers from the Veneto in 1910. It was part of the reconstruction of Calabria and Sicily after the devastating earthquake of 1908 which destroyed Messina, Reggio Calabria, and other towns in Calabria and Sicily. It is bordered to the north by Macchia di Mare, east of Monte Serra, south of the small village of Santa Maria di Mare.

Local geography

There are many beaches in Cetraro. The climate is typical of the Mediterranean coast with its hot summers and mild winters. The flora is characteristically Mediterranean and the animals include reptiles, such as geckos and harmless black snakes. At sea large fish include the Yellowtail Amberjack.

Economy

There is a thriving local industry in tomatoes, pumpkins, spicy oblong shaped peppers called "vajanelle", and even hotter peppers called "piparielli”. The main activity is tourism and in summer the population swells due to visitors often from from Campania and Lazio.

The port of Cetraro consists of two piers of about 450m extending southeast towards the sea. Since July 2009, this was extended with floating jettys supplied by water and electricity. The dock can now accommodate up to 500 boats.

Town twinning

Cetraro has been twinned with Venosa in Basilicata since 2010.

Bibliography

• Carlo Andreoli et al. “Churches of Cetraro – History, art, faith, popular piety in "our" places of worship”. Edited by Fabio Angilica (2007)
• Francis Sama, "The Church of St. Benedict in Cetraro", in "Literary Calabria", n. 10/12 (2000)
• Francis Sama, "The pipe organ of the church of San Benedetto in Cetraro", in "Masterpieces of the construction of the organ restored in Calabria" pp 56-59. Edited by Giorgio Ceraudo (1995)