Cosenza - Cosenza

Cosenza
Panorama of Cosenza by night
StateItaly
RegionCalabria
TerritoryCosentino
Altitude238 m a.s.l.
Surface37.2 km²
Inhabitants69.131 (2012)
Name inhabitantsCosenza
Prefix tel 39 0984
POSTAL CODE87100
Time zone UTC 1
PatronMadonna del Pilerio (February 12)
Position
Map of Italy
Reddot.svg
Cosenza
Institutional website

Cosenza is a city of Calabria, capital ofprovince of the same name.

To know

Cosenza in a copy of the famous print by Abbot Giovan Battista Pacichelli

Geographical notes

Cosenza was born on the hills along the Crati river valley, in the area where it flows into the Busento, a confluence that separates the historic center, located on the Pancrazio hill, and the new city, developed along the left bank of the Crati.

The historic core, better known as Old Cosenza, reflects the common facies of the ancient hillside settlements, dominated by steep, narrow and winding alleys along which stands a building made up of small buildings and stately palaces, perched on the Pancrazio hill, subsequently on the Guarassano and Torrevetere hills, to the left of the Crati , while the houses on the remaining surrounding hills, Gramazio, Triglio, Mussano and Venneri, are very rare.

Background

«Cosenza has interests and wonders that make it tempting to shoot it all day. It is inappropriate to call it picturesque; at every step, from the beginning of the main road at the foot of the hill to the severe medieval castle that crowns the top, there is something to be amazed and admired. "
(George Gissing, On the shore of the Ionian, 1897)
Ancient age

The origins of the city date back to at least the eighth century BC, when the Italic village of Kos ("Kossa" in the list of cities located in Calabria compiled in the fifth century BC by the Greek historian Hecateus of Miletus, Ecat, stood on its territory. FGrHist 1 FF 64-71), whose coins, dating back to 420 BC, are now on display at the British Museum in London; in the 4th century BC it was probably conquered by the Bruzio people, southern part of the Sabellic macro-group together with the Sicilians of Locride, who made their capital of Cossa (or Cosa) in the Crati Valley, as it was considered strategic for the control of the area. The first toponym, Kos / Kosa, perhaps recalls the leather skinskin (from the Greek kuus, cut / jointed) with which the inhabitants probably took water in the two rivers of the city or sheltered from the elements {without source and paretymological}; subsequently, with the Bruzi Cosa or Cossa goes to represent a Sabellic outcome of an Indo-European base for 'cavern' or 'grotta' (city of 'caves' built in tuff), while the Romans, after the defeat suffered at the hands of the Bruzi allies of Hannibal (c. 201 BC) change the name to Co [n] sentia to divert attention from defeat and to remember the "consensus" of the two rivers (Livio: ubi consentiunt flumina), that is their join. The city developed rapidly and also came to exercise its control over Lucania and almost all the cities of Calabrian Magna Graecia, which fell one after the other under the continuous attacks of the Bruzi.

When the territory was subdued by the Romans, Cosentia became an important statio along the Via Capua-Rhegium. Under the empire of Augustus it assumed the characteristics of a commercial city which it maintained until the late imperial age. The 'king of the Visigoths', general of the Roman army, Alaric, after the sack of Rome in 410, died of illness in Cosenza, being buried near the Busento river.

Middle Ages and Modern Age

Transformed into a duchy in 568, from the 8th to the 9th century the city was under Byzantine rule and took the name of Constantia. Violently disputed by the Saracens and Lombards, the city was almost destroyed and rebuilt in 988. Unsuccessfully opposed to the Norman occupation of the eleventh century, it subsequently became the Duchy of the Swabians, one of the favorite cities of Frederick II. In the Angevin age, although it maintained a certain autonomy, the city went through a dark period, gripped by misery and banditry. Only in the fifteenth century was it chosen by Louis III of Anjou as a place of residence: in those years Cosenza was able to become the fulcrum of the Duchy of Calabria.

In the Aragonese period the city became the capital of Calabria Hither, which roughly included the current province of Cosenza. In this period the Cosentina Academy was born which, especially under the guidance of Bernardino Telesio, became one of the main cultural institutions of Southern Italy. The sixteenth century saw an impressive humanistic flowering and marked an intellectual rebirth for Cosenza: in those years the city obtained the nickname of "Athens of Calabria".

Contemporary age

During the Napoleonic age the city was marked by an anti-clerical and libertarian orientation, strongly anti-Bourbon. With the Restoration there was no shortage of liberal and patriotic initiatives that culminated in the revolt of March 15, 1844. It was inspired by the Flag Brothers who, at the head of a group of Venetian republicans, tried to help the "Calabrian brothers" to emancipate themselves from the yoke Bourbon.

In the Fascist era, the city was affected by an extensive process of urban redevelopment and expansion, and suffered repeated bombings during the Second World War. The uncontrolled building expansion also characterized the post-war period, hegemonized by the Christian Democratic ruling classes which were later joined by the Socialists. In 1971 the resident population exceeded 100,000 inhabitants, against just 57,000 twenty years earlier: those were the years of abandonment of the historic city center in favor of urban suburbs, often without services. In the following years Cosenza saw a sudden decline in population, to the advantage of the municipalities of the urban belt.

How to orient yourself

Corso Mazzini it is the largest pedestrian area in the region since 2002 and is home to the Bilotti open-air museum which extends over the entire course from Piazza Bilotti to Piazza dei Bruzi. Among the numerous crossbeams that intersect it, the steps of Via Arabia adorned with artistic fountains with plays of water and light.Telesio Course it is the main street of the historic center that extends over the entire course from piazza Valdesi to piazza XV Marzo.

Corso Mazzini
Telesio Course


How to get

Cosenza Vaglio Lise station

By plane

L' Lamezia Terme International Airport is the closest one.

By car

The urban area of ​​Cosenza is an important hub of arteries that have both regional and national importance:

  • E45;
  • A3 motorway, through the Cosenza Nord - Rende, Cosenza Sud and Settimo junctions;
  • E846 or SS 107;
  • State road 19 of the Calabrie.

On the train

The city has several railway stations:

  • Cosenza Vaglio Lise station, with links for Catanzaro, Paola is Sybaris;
  • Cosenza Centro Station, with links for Catanzaro Lido;
  • Castiglione Cosentino station, with connections to Paola and Sibari.


How to get around

Artistic fountains of via Arabia

By public transport

  • HAMMOCK, Via Torrevecchia. It is the company that manages the Cosenza bus lines. 

By taxi


What see

  • National Gallery of Cosenza

  • Brettii and Enotri Museum

  • "San Giorgio and the Dragon" by Salvador Dalì (in the MAB)

  • Swabian Castle

  • Cosenza Cathedral

  • Church of Santa Teresa

  • Interior of the church of San Francesco d'Assisi

  • Interior of the church of the Santissimo Crocifisso

  • Chapel of the Rosary in the church of San Domenico

  • Former Post Office Building

  • Villa Rendano

  • Planetary

  • San Francesco da Paola bridge

  • Sant'Agostino monumental complex

  • Ara of the Bandiera Brothers in the Rovito Valley

  • BoCs Art - Art residences


Events and parties

Panorama of the historic center from Corso Plebiscito
  • Fair of San Giuseppe. Simple icon time.svgMarch. 
  • Cosentino New Year. Simple icon time.svgDecember 31st. 
  • St. Joseph Rock. Simple icon time.svgMarch. 
  • The Spring of Italian Cinema - Federico II Award. Simple icon time.svgApril. 
  • Bleachers on stage. Simple icon time.svgSeptember. 
  • Calabria film festival. Simple icon time.svgOctober. 
  • Wine Festival D.O.C.. Simple icon time.svgOctober. 


What to do

  • Discover Cosenza (Seven city itineraries between art and culture). It is a service offered to tourists to experience the city either on foot or by bus, accompanied by specialized guides. THE five walking itineraries are: Classic; Beyond the Crati; In the heart of the ancient city; The chord of the two semicircles - The Crati river; The places of art between yesterday and today. THE two itineraries on the bus: by day and by night. 
  • Five Sense of March. It is an urban trekking itinerary that takes place on the third Saturday of each month to discover the historic center of Cosenza. 
  • Itinera agrees, Via Triglio, 21. Multimedia itineraries in the history of the city of Cosenza divided into seven rooms. 
  • Multimedia museum, Piazza Carlo F. Bilotti. The space where culture and technology are produced and meet. 
  • Planetarium Giovan Battista Amico, Via Sant'Antonio dell'Orto, 32 (scientific-informative events). 


Shopping

In the historic center, on Corso Plebiscito, at the foot of Colle Triglio, there are shops and small shops where you can find objects and artifacts of local and non-local crafts. Two shopping centers in the city are: "I Due Fiumi" and "La City Shopping Center ".

How to have fun

View of Piazza XV Marzo with the Rendano Theater in the background

Shows


Where to eat

Moderate prices

Average prices


Where stay

Average prices


Safety


How to keep in touch

Keep informed

Local newspapers (Editions of Cosenza):

Local TV channels:

  • Canvas Cosenza
  • Telestars
  • Metrosat

Local radios:


Around


Other projects

  • Collaborate on WikipediaWikipedia contains an entry concerning Cosenza
  • Collaborate on CommonsCommons contains images or other files on Cosenza
  • Collaborate on WikiquoteWikiquote contains quotes from or about Cosenza
  • Collaborate on WikinewsWikinews contains current news on Cosenza
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