Palmi

This article is about the comune in Italy. For the Icelandic name, see Pálmi.

Palmi
—  Comune  —
Comune di Palmi
Coat of arms
Palmi Location of Palmi in Italy
Coordinates: 38°22′N 15°51′E
Country	Italy
Region	Calabria
Province	Reggio Calabria (RC)
Government
• Mayor	Ennio Gaudio
Area
• Total	31.8 km2 (12.3 sq mi)
Elevation	228 m (748 ft)
Population (January 2009)
• Total	19,569
• Density	620/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Demonym	Palmesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	89015
Dialing code	0966
Website	Official website

Palmi is a comune (municipality) of about 19.303 inhabitants in the province of Reggio Calabria in Calabria. It is the second largest municipality by population in the province and the seat of the district which includes 33 municipalities with a population of about 170,000 inhabitants.

With the nearby beaches of Marina di Palmi and and Lido di Palmi, the seaside resort town is a fast growing tourist thanks to its beautiful scenery that brought writers and poets to define the Terrace of the Strait. In light of this, a large part of the area (including the entire coastal area and the Mount Sant'Elia), are bound by the Ministerial Decree of 22 July 1968, Law 1497/39, as a "recognized that the area above has significant public interest because, for its beautiful and varied views, for the incomparable scenic beauty surrounded by olive trees and the beautiful cliffs degrading stretches of sea, is a natural setting of outstanding beauty enjoyable along the coastal area."

In addition to being the main administrative center, office and school of the Tyrrhenian coast of the province, Palmi was also an important agricultural and commercial center and a bishopric.

For centuries, the city is also one of the most important cultural centers of Calabria in the literary, musical, historical and archaeological giving birth, among other things, the famous composer Francesco Cilea, and the writer Leonida Repaci and hosting on its municipal the museum complex of the "Casa della Cultura" and the "Archaeological Park of Tauriani" on the ruins of the ancient city of "Taureanum".

Geography

Palmi is located close to the slopes of Monte Sant'Elia(582 m) and overlooks a stretch of the Costa Viola. Not far from the center of Palmi is the village of Taureana scenic and touristic resort, a small town that is spread over an area wedged between the sea and the mountain peak. Its territory, with a system of beaches, cliffs and terraces, is entirely falls within the Costa Viola, which extends to Punta Pezzo.

Tourism

One of the main attractions is "Rock of the olive" and not far away the Marinella beach. In the neighborhoods of "Lido di Palmi" there is an area of archaeological interest, that was found with the remains of the Taurianum.

History

The settlement of housing Palms was built, probably around the tenth century by refugees of Taurianum, destroyed by the Saracen raids. In 1549 it suffered the invasion of pirate Draught Rais was rebuilt, fortified walls and towers of the same place, by the Count Carlo Spinelli which later took the name of Carlisle. Palms, with its plant century, the walls and the three main gates, were razed by the earthquake of 1783, rebuilt with a new design and new urban ambitions was damaged by an earthquake in 1894 and again destroyed by the earthquake of 1908; one of the few buildings that survived the Church of the Crucifixion, with a rectangular apse with a single nave, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1908, connected to the monastery with a cloister, and which recently, in a place under the main altar, is was found a burial chamber of the monks who retain the original stone seats.

Demographic evolution

Points of interest

Palmi, the historical center

One of the special attractions is the "rock of the olive," with its distinctive olive tree at the top of the rock in the sea.

The Museum of Ethnology and Folklore of Calabria, in this palm tree in the House of Culture "Leonida Repaci", contains a rich collection of traditional objects and use common, traditional costumes and handicrafts. Important for the number and variety of exhibits, the Museum of Palmi is definitely a milestone for the world to know of the Shepherds and peasants Calabrian culture, traditional religion, beliefs associated with magic and folk art of this land.

The place of honor in the museum is for the unique collection of over 750 "shrimp", tools for spinning wool, which were offered to young brides.
Moreover, there are the Antiquarian Hall with exhibits from the V century BC to eleventh century, the Gipsoteca Michele Guerrisi, Francesco Cilea Museum and Art Gallery, with works by major Italian artists and foreign donations to the birthplace of the writer Leonida Repaci.

The War Memorial in Piazza Matteotti, in marble and bronze by Michele Guerrisi and reliefs, the same sculptor, decorating the Mausoleum of Francesco Cilea.

Of interest are the environmental landscape and Lido di Palmi, the fraction Taureana, where surviving eighteenth-century rural buildings and the remains of a watchtower of the sixteenth century, the town Mount Sant'Elia with a pine forest, 7 km (4 mi) from the center of Palmi, where you can admire the Tyrrhenian coast from Capo Vaticano Nicotera in Stretto di Messina, including Isole Eolie and Vulcan Etna.

Economy

Beach Palmi, Scoglio dell'Ulivo

The economy Palmes is active mainly in the tertiary sector. A Palmi has established a Court of Assize, courts, prosecution, prison, Commissioner of Police, Carabinieri Command, Control Company of the Financial Police, Local Police and Municipal Police Command, Subsection Highway Traffic Police, Judiciary Police, Prison Police , Detachment Fire Department, Inland Revenue, State Archives section, seats INAIL, INPS, ASL, general hospital, railway station and a station of the State Railways of Calabria, home of ENEL, SNAM. ANAS, TELECOM, including several banks, several offices and several schools, a high school science, a grammar school, a high school language, a School of Social Sciences, a socio-psycho-educational secondary school, a vocational school, a Technical and Commercial Institute, Agricultural Technical Institute and Institute of Arts, making it one of the leading educational centers of the province, with a high rate of commuting by municipalities in Palmi.

Climate

Climate data for Palmi
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	23.0 (73.4)	28.1 (82.6)	32.0 (89.6)	33.0 (91.4)	34.8 (94.6)	38.0 (100.4)	41.3 (106.3)	40.5 (104.9)	38.0 (100.4)	34.0 (93.2)	29.3 (84.7)	26.0 (78.8)	41.3 (106.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	9.9 (49.8)	10.4 (50.7)	11.8 (53.2)	14.5 (58.1)	17.9 (64.2)	21.9 (71.4)	24.3 (75.7)	24.7 (76.5)	22.4 (72.3)	18.6 (65.5)	15.0 (59.0)	11.7 (53.1)	17.6 (63.7)
Record low °C (°F)	−4 (24.8)	−3 (26.6)	−0.4 (31.3)	3.0 (37.4)	6.0 (42.8)	2.5 (36.5)	10.0 (50.0)	12.0 (53.6)	9.2 (48.6)	6.5 (43.7)	3.6 (38.5)	0.0 (32.0)	−4 (24.8)
Precipitation mm (inches)	119.4 (4.701)	107.4 (4.228)	87.8 (3.457)	72.0 (2.835)	54.9 (2.161)	32.4 (1.276)	16.9 (0.665)	22.5 (0.886)	62.8 (2.472)	123.7 (4.87)	130.4 (5.134)	147.7 (5.815)	977.9 (38.5)
Avg. precipitation days	12	10	9	7	5	3	2	2	5	9	10	13	88
Source: Centro Funzionale Multirischi della Calabria

Twin towns

• Viareggio, Italy
• Varazze, Italy

Infrastructure and Transport

Roads and highways

• Autostrada A3 (Salerno-Reggio Calabria), through the junctions of Palmi and Sant'Elia.
• Strada Statale 18 Tirrena Inferiore across the entire municipality and the city center.

External links

• Official website