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Nicotera

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Nicotera
Comune di Nicotera
Coat of arms of Nicotera
Location of Nicotera
Map
CountryItaly
RegionCalabria
ProvinceVibo Valentia (VV)
FrazioniComèrconi, Marina, Preìtoni, Badia di Nicotera
Government
 • MayorFrancesco Pagano
Area
 • Total32 km2 (12 sq mi)
Elevation
220 m (720 ft)
Population
 (2007)[2]
 • Total6,487
 • Density200/km2 (530/sq mi)
DemonymNicoteresi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
89844
Dialing code0963
Patron saintSaint Joseph; Assumption of Mary
Saint day21 March; 15 August
WebsiteOfficial website

Nicotera (Greek: Nikoptera, Medma) is a comune (municipality) in the province of Vibo Valentia, Calabria, southern Italy.

History

Nicòtera origins lie with the ancient Greek city of Medma which was founded by the Locresis of Locri Epizephyris.

During the period of Roman domination it partially survived only through the emporium (port), near today’s Nicotera Marina. A Christian bishopric see is attested in Nicotera during the Middle Ages.[3]

View of the upper town with the castle on the left.

In 1065 Robert Guiscard -enlarging his Principate of Salerno- conquered it from the Byzantine Empire, and the town grew around the castle and the cathedral built under the Normans. In 1122, Nicotera was attacked by an Almoravid fleet, some of the populace were killed while the rest were taken and sold into slavery.[4]

Under Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Nicotera attained economic wealth. To encourage commerce and industry, Frederick promoted Jewish settlement in the area called "Giudecca", in which Jews of this ghetto inhabited the area near the castle, enjoy protection from Christian persecution by the Bishop of Nicotera.

In the 15th century, under the rule of Alfonso of Aragon, it passed under the yoke of feudalism and it decayed. In 1806 the French Revolution swept away the feudal system in Nicotera. After the restoration of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Nicotera continued to be chief town of the district, with what are now the modern communes of Joppolo and Limbadi as its dependencies.

Notes

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11072a.htm
  4. ^ Hubert Houben, Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler Between East and West, (Cambridge University Press, 2002), 38.

Media related to Nicotera at Wikimedia Commons