Nicastro
Encyclopedia
Nicastro was a small town in the province of Catanzaro
Province of Catanzaro
The Province of Catanzaro is a province of the Calabria region, in Italy. The city of Catanzaro is capital both of the province and of the region.- Demographics :The following is a list of the province of Catanzaro comunes with population over 5,000:...

, 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 southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Since 1968 it constitutes, together with Sambiase and Sant'Eufemia Lamezia, the city of Lamezia Terme
Lamezia Terme
Lamezia Terme, commonly named Lamezia, is an Italian city of 71,287 inhabitants in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region.-Geography:...

.

Geography

It is situated on the isthmus between the gulfs of Sant'Eufemia and of Squillace
Squillace
Squillace is an ancient seaside town and comune, in the Province of Catanzaro, part of Calabria, southern Italy, facing the Gulf of Squillace....

, the narrowest part of Calabria. At 216 meters above sea-level, it commands a fine view.

History

The cathedral, an ancient temple, with the episcopal palace, was outside the city; it was restored in the year 1100 after being pillaged by Saracens. The ruined castle at Nicastro served as the place of imprisonment of Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...

's son Henry
Henry (VII) of Germany
Henry was King of Sicily from 1212, Duke of Swabia from 1216, and King of Germany from 1220. He was the son and co-king of Emperor Frederick II and elder brother of Conrad IV of Germany...

.

Innocent IX
Pope Innocent IX
Pope Innocent IX , born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was Pope from 29 October 1591 to his death on 30 December of the same year...

 was the bishop of Nicastro from 1560 to 1572. The area suffered greatly in the earthquake of 1638, which destroyed the cathedral and the Benedictine abbey of St. Euphemia, founded by 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...

. Valuable archives were lost in the ruins.

Economy

The commerce of the port of Nicastro consists of the exportation of acid, herbs, and wine.
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