- Belmonte Calabro
Infobox CityIT
official_name = Comune di Belmonte Calabro
img_coa = Belmonte Calabro-Stemma.png
img_coa_small =
image_caption =
region = RegioneIT|sigla=CAL
province = ProvinciaIT (short form)|sigla=CS (CS)
mayor =
mayor_party =
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 262
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 = 23.89
population_footnotes =
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 3013
pop_density_footnotes =
population_density_km2 = 131
coordinates = coord|39|10|0|N|16|5|0|E|region:IT_type:city(3013)
gentilic = Belmontesi
telephone = 0982
postalcode = 87033
frazioni = Annunziata, Vadi, Marina di Belmonte, Santa Barbara, Salice, Spineto
saint =Assumption of Mary
day =15 August
mapx = #expr:39 + 10 / 60.0
mapy = #expr:16 + 5 / 60.0
locator_position =
native_name = Belmonte Calabro
name = Belmonte Calabro
website = http://www.comune.belmontecalabro.cs.itBelmonte Calabro, known simply as Belmonte prior to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, is a town and commune in the
province of Cosenza , inCalabria (SouthernItaly ). The town is perched on a hilltop on the coast of theTyrrhenian Sea .History
Belmonte was founded in about 1270, under the reign of King
Charles I of Anjou , with the construction of a castle in the territory ofAmantea by Drogone di Beaumont, the marshal responsible for new fortification in Calabria, in order to provide resistance against partisans fighting for the claimantConradin of Hohenstaufen.During the War of the
Sicilian Vespers (1282), Belmonte was conquered by Sicilian-Aragonese troops. It was elevated to the status of county, and assigned to Peter Salvacossa. In 1360 the county was awarded by QueenJoan II of Naples to a family of Amantea, which maintained it until 1443. In that year the Aragonese transformed Belmonte into a barony and assigned it to the Tarsia family, who maintained it until 1578. During the feudal tenure of this family the petrarchan poetGaleazzo di Tarsia composed his canzoniere, or Book of Songs, in the castle of Belmonte.Under the Tarsia lordship, Belmonte was besieged several times: during the invasions of Charles VIII and
Louis XII of France , between 1495 and 1503, and again in 1528 under the French marshal Lautrec. The Tarsia were succeeded by the RavaschieriFieschi , of the Counts Fieschi di Lavagna, an ancient family of powerful Genoese bankers. Feudal tenure of Belmonte is recorded to have been purchased from the Tarsia for 28,220 ducats. Under the Ravaschieri churches were constructed in Belmonte, fortifications built and palaces laid out, including thePalazzo Ravaschieri Fieschi della Torre . In 1619 the title ofPrince Belmonte was granted to the RavaschieriFieschi by KingPhilip III of Spain .The Principate of Belmonte was further enlarged in 1630 with the purchase of the town of Amantea and the manor of Saint Peter. In 1647, during the revolt of
Masaniello , the Prince provided 200 of his armed Belmontese vassals to Naples to assist the Viceroy. In 1685, the Ravaschieri family had no male heir, and the principate of Belmonte passed first to the Pinelli by marriage and then in 1722 again by marriage to the Pignatelli.His Serene Highness Prince Antonio Pignatelli, 6th Prince of Belmonte by marriage and a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in his own right, minted his own coinage among which was the famous "zecchino of Belmonte", a gold coin on which appears both the Prince's head and coat of arms. In 1806 and 1807 Belmonte supported Amantea and
Fiumefreddo while under siege by French troops commanded by General Peyri. Belmonte's castle was the last to surrender. Under the French, Belmonte became the centre of the administrative area of Crati, comprising the territory that reaches from Amantea to Guardia Piemontese and including the cities of Aiello, Altilia, Mangone and Rogliano. With the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in the late C19th, Belmonte gained the additional name of Calabro, to distinguish it from other Italian places of the same name.The coat of arms of Belmonte itself is a palm between two towers under a princely crown. The two towers represent the fortifications of Verri and Barbarise, with the palm symbolizing the countryside between. The crown represents the historical connection with the Belmonte Princes.
Belmonte was in the news on December 5th 1930, when the English
aviator s,Winifred Spooner and Captain Edwards were forced by mechanical breakdown to ditch into the sea whilst en-route fromLondon toCape Town ,South Africa , in what had been planned as a 5 days and nights record breaking attempt. Winifred Spooner swam the 3 kilometers to shore in complete darkness and alerted local fishermen who rescued Captain Edwards and the plane. [ [http://www.earlyaviators.com/espoone2.htm Winifred Spooner - London to Cape Town at Earlyaviators.com] ] [ [http://www.earlyaviators.com/espoon2a.htm Winifred Spooner - Londra a Citta Del Capo at Earlyaviators.com - Italian Version] ]Noted Belmontese
*
Michele Bianchi , involved with theMarch on Rome Main sights
Transportation
References
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