Acri, Italy
Encyclopedia
Acri is a town and comune
in the province of Cosenza
in the Calabria
region of Italy.
The town is built on three hills overlooking the Mucone and Chàlamo rivers on the edge of Sila National Park.
, the more recent to an advanced Early Bronze Age. It has been suggested that some of the latter represent the ancient Greek city of Acheruntia or Pandosia (Bruttium)
.
Acri sided with Hannibal against Rome during the Second Punic War
and was besieged by the Romans in 203 BC. During the domestically peaceful Imperial era Acri enjoyed a period of economic prosperity.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire
, it was part of Odoacer
's kingdom (476-493) and then the Ostrogoth
ic Kingdom of Theodoric
(493-554). During the Gothic War (535-553) Acri was besieged by Totila
, whose troops plundered and almost completely destroyed the city in 542.
The Lombards made it a Gastaldate (an administrative ward governed by a civil employee of the Royal Court) until 896 when it was conquered by the Byzantines and became part of the Eastern Empire. The town was besieged, plundered and conquered numerous times by the Saracens and it was not until the city fell under the control of the Norman Robert Guiscard
, who assigned the city to Count Simone Cofone, that a stable government returned (1074).
The town's 12th century history was characterised by conflict between powerful local abbots and the Norman feudal overlords. Acri was sverely damaged by an earthquake in 1185. Under the Houhenstaufen dynasty of the early 13th century it experienced a return to prosperity based on the silk trade. In 1268, along with the rest of southern Italy, the town came under the control of the Angevins and suffered a period of bad economic administration. In 1462 it was besieged by the Aragonese who captured the city after an act of betrayal by an Acri citizen. Devastation, pillage and killing followed. The S. Maria Maggiore Church was set alight with women and children inside. The commander Nicolò Clandioffo was sawed alive in the public square.
In 1496 the Aragonese were besieged by the French under King Charles VIII
, who destroyed the castle and executed the nobles of Acri by sawing them alive.
The city's support for the Republican movement in 1799 was punished 7 years later when it was besieged and destroyed by Sanfedisti forces in 1806. Support for liberal politics remained strong and Acri played an active part in the Carbonari
revolt of 1820-21, the uprising of 1848 and the Unification of 1860.
The Church of Beato Angelo d'Acri and the adjacent museum contain artifacts of the namesake of the church, Beato Angelo. In the museum is the real room where Beato Angelo spent days praying and many articles of his clothing and religious implements. The body of Beato Angelo is displayed in a glass tomb inside of the church.
The castle ruins are preserved along with various former homes of the nobility, now museums, such as the Palazzo Sanseverino and the Palazzo Ferraudo.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Cosenza
Province of Cosenza
The Province of Cosenza is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza.It has an area of 6,650 km², and a total population of 733,797 . It is the biggest Calabrian Province...
in the Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
region of Italy.
The town is built on three hills overlooking the Mucone and Chàlamo rivers on the edge of Sila National Park.
History
The area has been inhabited since the Neolithic period (3500-2800 BC). Archaeological excavations on the side of the Dogna Hills in 1999-2000-2001-2008 have described two phases of early settlement in the area. The earliest remains correspond to the Copper AgeCopper Age
The Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...
, the more recent to an advanced Early Bronze Age. It has been suggested that some of the latter represent the ancient Greek city of Acheruntia or Pandosia (Bruttium)
Pandosia (Bruttium)
Pandosia was an ancient city of Bruttium , Italy, situated near the frontiers of Lucania . Strabo describes it as a little above Consentia , the precise sense of which expression is far from clear ; but Livy calls it imminentem Lucanis ac Bruttiis finibus. Pandosia (Greek: ) was an ancient city of...
.
Acri sided with Hannibal against Rome during the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
and was besieged by the Romans in 203 BC. During the domestically peaceful Imperial era Acri enjoyed a period of economic prosperity.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
, it was part of Odoacer
Odoacer
Flavius Odoacer , also known as Flavius Odovacer, was the first King of Italy. His reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Though the real power in Italy was in his hands, he represented himself as the client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in 480, of the...
's kingdom (476-493) and then the Ostrogoth
Ostrogoth
The Ostrogoths were a branch of the Goths , a Germanic tribe who developed a vast empire north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD and, in the late 5th century, under Theodoric the Great, established a Kingdom in Italy....
ic Kingdom of Theodoric
Theodoric
Theodoric is a widespread Germanic given name. First attested in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths....
(493-554). During the Gothic War (535-553) Acri was besieged by Totila
Totila
Totila, original name Baduila was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.A relative of...
, whose troops plundered and almost completely destroyed the city in 542.
The Lombards made it a Gastaldate (an administrative ward governed by a civil employee of the Royal Court) until 896 when it was conquered by the Byzantines and became part of the Eastern Empire. The town was besieged, plundered and conquered numerous times by the Saracens and it was not until the city fell under the control of the Norman Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
, who assigned the city to Count Simone Cofone, that a stable government returned (1074).
The town's 12th century history was characterised by conflict between powerful local abbots and the Norman feudal overlords. Acri was sverely damaged by an earthquake in 1185. Under the Houhenstaufen dynasty of the early 13th century it experienced a return to prosperity based on the silk trade. In 1268, along with the rest of southern Italy, the town came under the control of the Angevins and suffered a period of bad economic administration. In 1462 it was besieged by the Aragonese who captured the city after an act of betrayal by an Acri citizen. Devastation, pillage and killing followed. The S. Maria Maggiore Church was set alight with women and children inside. The commander Nicolò Clandioffo was sawed alive in the public square.
In 1496 the Aragonese were besieged by the French under King Charles VIII
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
, who destroyed the castle and executed the nobles of Acri by sawing them alive.
The city's support for the Republican movement in 1799 was punished 7 years later when it was besieged and destroyed by Sanfedisti forces in 1806. Support for liberal politics remained strong and Acri played an active part in the Carbonari
Carbonari
The Carbonari were groups of secret revolutionary societies founded in early 19th-century Italy. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in Spain, France, Portugal and possibly Russia. Although their goals often had a patriotic and liberal focus, they lacked a...
revolt of 1820-21, the uprising of 1848 and the Unification of 1860.
Main sights
The town's principal churches have survived various earthquakes over the centuries and have preserved their historical and architectural significance. S. Maria Maggiore Church was rebuilt in the 17th century but preserves a wooden crucifix dating from the 14th century and other noteworthy works are the 16th century S. Francesco di Paolo and the Madonna of Rinfresco. Other works of art can be found in the Capuchin Convent and the mediaeval Annunziata Church.The Church of Beato Angelo d'Acri and the adjacent museum contain artifacts of the namesake of the church, Beato Angelo. In the museum is the real room where Beato Angelo spent days praying and many articles of his clothing and religious implements. The body of Beato Angelo is displayed in a glass tomb inside of the church.
The castle ruins are preserved along with various former homes of the nobility, now museums, such as the Palazzo Sanseverino and the Palazzo Ferraudo.
People
- Charles AtlasCharles AtlasCharles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano , was the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program that was best known for a landmark advertising campaign featuring Atlas's name and likeness; it has been described as one of the longest-lasting and most memorable ad campaigns of all...
, American bodybuilder - Silvio VigliaturoSilvio VigliaturoSilvio Vigliaturo was born in Acri , in 1949. When still a child he moved to Chieri , where presently he lives and works. He is a glassfusion maestro and his technique is appreciated internationally and considered unique in his genre by the most important Italian and foreign critics.- Artistic...
, Glass artist and painter - Marcello GuidoMarcello GuidoMarcello Guido is an Italian deconstructivist architect.Born in Acri, he is based in Cosenza, Calabria.He trained as an architect at the Faculty of Architecture of La Sapienza University, Rome. He is a student of Bruno Zevi...
, architect