Fiumara (Italy) - Fiumara (Italia)

Fiumara is a city of Calabria.

To know

Geographical notes

The municipality is divided into hamlets, of which the main one is San Nicola, the municipal seat. The Rione Terra, perched on the hill where it overlooks the cemetery, is the historic nucleus of Fiumara, where the ancient church of the Immaculate Conception, the Palazzo dei Catalani and the ruins of the Ruffo di Calabria Castle stand. Currently, the district is semi-rocky, but redevelopment phases of the architectural heritage are underway. Another large district is San Rocco, located in a dominant position in San Nicola, and in which stands the church of the homonymous saint, now a parish church. In the surroundings of the district stands the Capuchin convent, now in disuse. The hamlet of Croce is contiguous to the San Rocco district, from which the road to the cemetery starts, from whose square it is possible to enjoy a panoramic view of the valley and the Strait of Messina.

From San Rocco it is possible to reach the provincial Campo Calabro - Melia, passing through the districts of Baglio, Adorno, Matiniti and Acquamurata, belonging to the municipality of Fiumara. From provincial 6, before reaching the historic center of Fiumara, you pass through the hamlet of San Pietro where the churches of San Pietro and Madonna delle Grazie stand. It is in this hamlet that the famous singer-songwriter Mino Reitano was born on 7 December 1944, who died on 27 January 2009 in Agrate Brianza, where he resided. In recent times, a square dedicated to him has been inaugurated, right next to his birthplace.

Background

Fiumara was founded between the 9th and 10th centuries by refugees from the city of Cene, at the current Villa San Giovanni, who had fled from the coast due to the increasingly frequent and violent raids of Saracen pirates. Initially, this settlement was named Cenisio (Kenision, Κηνίσιον in Greek-Byzantine), in memory of the ancient Cene. Then, towards the thirteenth century, it began to be called Fiumara dei Mori, alluding to the Saracens, or Fiumara delle Mura, as it was the only fortified settlement in the area beyond Reggio. The name later changed into Fiumara di Muro.

Fiumara di Muro was from the Middle Ages the center of the feudal administration (with the title of University) of the area between Cannitello and Catona along the coast and up to San Roberto and the Piani d'Aspromonte in the hinterland. Until the end of the eighteenth century it was one of the largest and most developed centers in the whole of Reggino. It was also the center of the ecclesiastical administration of the area, having its archpriesthood jurisdiction over all the parishes and churches in its territory. For all these reasons it was also the most important commercial and agricultural center of the district, beyond Catona.

From the 13th century the lords of the fiefdom were the Ruffo. In 1391 it was attacked by the Moors, who took 440 prisoners on that occasion, but were destroyed by Genoese ships passing through the Strait. In 1411 it passed from the Ruffo to the Sanseverino, but in 1422 it came under the dominion of the Count of Terranova.

In 1443 the king Alfonso I of Naples commissioned the captain Nicola Melissari to conquer Bagnara. Melissari left with 500 fellow citizens, conquered it and there his men became 700; he left for Scilla and took it after three days of resistance. The city was therefore fined with the sum of 3,000 royals. From Scilla he passed to Reggio, where he was welcomed triumphantly and, having other 3 200 men, he also took Motta San Giovanni, which he submitted to a contribution of 440 royals. From there I pass to Pentedattilo, who offered a long resistance, but Melissari also occupied this country, to which he made the opposition pay dearly by confiscating the assets of the nobles, killing men, plundering cattle and destroying everything. He then conquered San Lorenzo, forcing him to redeem himself with a bounty of 3,000 royals. Ten days later she was in Bova, a city that was spared thanks to the intercession of the bishop, but was forced to pay a bounty of 5,000 scudi. Then he lodged at the Amendolea river. King Alfonso gave all the assets he confiscated as a gift to Melissari, calling this fief De Proditoribus. After this successful enterprise, Melissari settled in Reggio with his whole family.

In 1474 the fiefdom passed under the dominion of Bertoldo Carafa. In 1509 there was a strong earthquake that destroyed the town of Fiumara and also Reggio, which was followed by another five. In August 1532 the Turks landed at Catona, Fiumara's outlet to the marina, but were soon rejected by the fiumarese captain Paolo Ruffo, who properly armed many employees of his fief. They returned in 1543, with much greater forces, under the command of Barbarossa, who sacked Fiumara, destroying much of the town and killing the inhabitants. In that period, strong defense towers began to be built along the southern coasts: in the territory of the Cenidéo, Torre Cavallo, Torre di Pirgo and Torre di Pezzo were erected (the first two, however, could have much older origins). From a note by Domenico Spanò Bolani it emerges that the University of Fiumara paid an annual sum of 291.60 ducats for the maintenance of the two guardians and the horse of Torre Cavallo.

In the following years the pirate Dragut also came twice: the first succeeded in plundering Fiumara, while the second (1563) was rejected by the same population, summoned by the strict surveillance system of the coastal towers. In 1586 Mrs. Eleonora Furnari di Fiumara ceded part of her farms in the town to the Franciscan friars; they erected a church and a convent, which became one of the largest in Calabria and in it there was a pharmacy and an iron mechanical loom to weave raw wool. The building survived until the twentieth century and until a few decades ago there were still some monks, and the construction is still visible today. In 1595 the Turks reappeared on the marina of Catona: the locals were overwhelmed and stripped of all their boats and those who tried to oppose were massacred or taken prisoner. Other raids in Reggio and surrounding territories were attempted by the renegade Scipione Cicala.

From the end of the sixteenth century more and more people from Rijeka began to move along the coast, especially after the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, which had made the Italian coasts safer from Turkish assaults. The navy thus resumed life, and the first villages on the sea were formed, such as Cannitello. In 1582 Donna Diana Carafa was mistress of the fiefdom, when it was bought by Don Vincenzo Ruffo, prince of Scilla, for the sum of one hundred thousand ducats. The various branches of the Ruffo family maintained the fiefdom for the following centuries.

Starting from the seventeenth century many towns of the Lordship of Fiumara began to ask for autonomy for their parishes, and the first to obtain it were San Roberto and Rosalì around 1620. During the eighteenth century Campo Calabro, Catona, Salìce also became autonomous parishes. , Cannitello, Fossa (the current Villa San Giovanni) and all the surrounding villages. And the same countries gradually obtained administrative autonomy, some already at the end of the same century under the Bourbons (such as Villa in 1797) with the ancient title of University, others at the beginning of the 19th century under Napoleonic rule, such as San Roberto, Campo, Salìce, Rosalì and the others.

In 1806 by decree of Giuseppe Bonaparte all feudal administrations were definitively abolished, and so after more than six centuries of history the Lordship of Fiumara di Muro and the nearby motte ended. The last feudal lord was Francesco Ruffo, brother of Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, then Intendente of Reggio in 1822.

Having lost its predominance over the area, Fiumara accelerated its decline, which became inexorable along the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, up to the present day, in which Fiumara is the smallest town in the Villese district both for municipal area and for inhabitants. In 1927 the municipality was merged with that of Reggio Calabria as part of the Grande Reggio, but in 1933, following the renewed autonomy of Villa San Giovanni, it became a fraction of the latter together with Campo Calabro. He regained autonomy in 1947.

How to orient yourself

How to get

By plane

The nearest airport is at Reggio Calabria; other airports to consider are those of Lamezia Terme and of Catania (in the latter case you will have to go back up to Messina and embark on one of the naval vessels that lead to Calabria).

By car

The city can be reached via the A2 motorway junction of Campo Calabro, from there you will have to continue through the provincial road to San Roberto.

On boat

The closest ports are those of Villa San Giovanni and Reggio Calabria (both mandatory landing points for those coming from Sicily), from there you will have to continue by other means

On the train

The closest railway stations are those of Villa San Giovanni and Reggio Calabria, from there you will have to continue by other means.

How to get around

What see

• Church of the Immaculate Conception. 
• Church of San Rocco. 
• Church of the Carmine. 
• Church of the Infant Jesus. 
• Church of San Pietro. 
• Church of the Graces. 

Events and parties

• Feast of the Madonna del Carmine, San Nicola hamlet. 
• Feast of San Rocco, San Rocco hamlet. The Monday following August 16th. 
• Processions of the Madonna del Rosario and San Vincenzo Ferrer, Croce hamlet. The processions alternate with each other from year to year 
• Feast of St. Peter, San Pietro hamlet. 
• Feast of Our Lady of Grace, San Pietro hamlet. 
• Procession of the Immaculate Conception. December 8. Procession of the patron saint 
• Way of the cross. 
• Procession of Saint Lucia. 
• Corpus Christi procession. 
• Procession of the baby Jesus. 
• Procession of St. Joseph. Carried out occasionally 

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Where stay

Safety

The town is rarely mentioned in the chronicles and almost never for crimes.

How to keep in touch

Post office

• 38.21165415.692181 Post Office, Via Tobruk, 44, ☎ 39 0965 750013, fax: 39 0965 750134. Mon, Wed, Fri 8: 20-13: 45. 

Around

Interesting tourist destinations in the surroundings are certainly Reggio Calabria and the Mount Gambarie, while the proximity to Villa San Giovanni is more useful for infrastructure, unless you want to continue your journey in Sicily.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Fiumara (Italy)
• Commons contains images or other files on Fiumara (Italy)

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