:''Croton may also refer to a plant genus. See
Croton (genus). Or to the NY village
Croton-on-Hudson''.
'Crotone' is a city in
Calabria, southern
Italy, on the
Ionian Sea. Founded circa
710 BC as the
Achaean colony of 'Croton' (
Greek: 'Κρότων';
Modern Greek: 'Κρότωνας';
Latin: 'Crotona'), it was known as 'Cotrone' from the
Middle Ages until
1928, when its name was changed to 'Crotone'. In
1994 it became the capital of the newly established
Province of Crotone. As of
December 31,
2004, its population was 60,517.
History
Croton was long one of the most flourishing cities of
Magna Graecia. Its inhabitants were famous for their physical strength and for the simple sobriety of their lives. From
588 BC onwards, Croton produced many generations of victors in the
Olympics and the other
Panhellenic Games, the most famous of whom was
Milo of Croton. According to
Herodotus (3.131), the physicians of Croton were considered the foremost among the Greeks.
Pythagoras founded his school, the
Pythagoreans, at Croton circa 530 BC. Among his pupils were the early medical theorist
Alcmaeon of Croton and the philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer
Philolaus. The Pythagoreans acquired considerable influence with the supreme council of one thousand by which the city was ruled.
Sybaris was the rival of Croton until 510 BC, when Croton sent an army of one hundred thousand men, commanded by the boxer
Milo, against Sybaris and destroyed it. Shortly afterwards, however, an insurrection took place, by which the Pythagoreans were driven out and a democracy established.
In
480 BC, Croton sent a ship in support of the Greeks at the
Battle of Salamis (Herodotus 8.47), but the victory of
Locri and
Rhegium over Croton in the same year marked the beginning of its decline. It was replaced by
Heraclea as headquarters of the
Italiote League.
Dionysius, the tyrant of
Syracuse, aiming at hegemony in Magna Graecia, captured Croton in 379 BC and held it for twelve years. Croton was then occupied by the
Bruttii, with the exception of the citadel, in which the chief inhabitants had taken refuge; these, being unable to defend the place against a
Carthaginian force, soon after surrendered, and were allowed to withdraw to Locri.
In 295 BC, Croton fell to another Syracusan tyrant,
Agathocles. When
Pyrrhus invaded Italy (280-278, 275 BC), Croton was still a considerable city, with twelve miles of walls, but after the
Pyrrhic War, half the city was deserted (Livy 24.3). What was left of its population submitted to
Rome in 277 BC. After the
Battle of Cannae in the
Second Punic War (216 BC), Croton revolted from Rome, and
Hannibal made it his winter quarters for three years; it was not recaptured until 205 or 204 BC. In 194 BC, it became the site of a Roman colony. Little more is heard of it during the Republican and
Imperial periods, though
Petronius mentions the corrupt morals of its inhabitants.
Around 550, the city was unsuccessfully besieged by
Totila, king of the
Ostrogoths. At a later date it became a part of the
Byzantine Empire. About 870 it was taken and sacked by the
Saracens, who put to death the bishop and many people who had taken refuge in the cathedral. Over a hundred years later,
Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor, mounted a campaign in southern Italy to drive them out and reduce the power of the Byzantines, but was
defeated by a
Kalbid army near Cotrone on
July 13,
982. Later on Cotrone was conquered by the
Normans. Thereafter it shared the fate of the
Kingdom of Naples—including the period of Spanish rule of which the 16th-century castle of
Charles V, overlooking modern Crotone, serves as a reminder—and its successor, the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was conquered by the
Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860 and incorporated into the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Crotone's location between the ports of
Taranto and
Messina, as well as its proximity to a source of hydroelectric power, favored industrial development during the period between the two World Wars. In the 1930s its population doubled. Unfortunately, the two main employers,
Pertusola Sud and
Montedison, collapsed. By the late 1980s Crotone was in economic crisis, with many residents losing their jobs and leaving to find work elsewhere. In 1996, a flood dealt a further blow to the city's morale. Since that low point, the city has undergone urban renewal and risen in quality-of-life rankings.
Main sights
★ the ''Cathedral'', originally from the 9th-11th century, but largely rebuilt. It has a neo-classical façade, while the interior has a nave with two aisles, with Baroque decorations. Noteworthy are a baptismal font (12th century) and the ''Madonna di Capo Colonna'', the icon of the Black Madonna which, according to the tradition, was brought from East in the first years of the Christian era.
★ The 16th century ''Castle of Charles V''. It houses the Town Museum, with findings excavated in the ancient site of ''Kroton''. Notables are also the remnants of the walls, of the same century, and of various watchtowers.
★ The ancient castle built on an island, with accessibility on foot limited to a narrow strip of land, is referred to as ''Le Castella''.
Transportation
Crotone Airport (Sant'Anna Airport) is served by
Air One and charter airlines. Crotone has also a railway station, although much of the tourism is served by the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway.
In recent time Crotone Port has been used by visitors on
yacht charter cruising vacations.
Religion
According to local legend the Gospel was preached there by St.
Dionysius the Areopagite. Its first known bishop was
Flavianus, during whose episcopate occurred the siege of the city by Totila. Other bishops were: Theodosios (642); Petrus (680); Theotimus (790); and
Nicephorus (870). Worthy of note are:
Antonio Sebastiano Minturno (1565), a polished writer and poet; Juan López (1595), a Spanish
Dominican;
Tommaso dai Monti (1599), a
Theatine famous for his zeal; and Niceforo Melisseno Comneno (1628), who had previously rendered signal service to the
Holy See in the Orient and in France.
Museums
Croton hosts a national archaeological museum, a municipal museum, a municipal art gallery, and a provincial museum of contemporary art, as well as the Antiquarium di Torre Nao.
Sport
F.C. Crotone is a
football club in
Serie C1.
External links
★
Harry Thurston Peck, ''Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquity'' 1898: "Croton"
★
ItalianVisits.com
References
★
★
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