Belcastro
Belcastro (Bellicastrum; Calabrian: Bercashru) is a comune in the province of Catanzaro, in the Calabria region of southern Italy.
The small town of Belcastro is situated on a rocky spur crowned by a Norman-style castle that belonged to the counts of Aquino. Some propose it as the birthplace of Saint Thomas Aquinas, more commonly taken to have been born in the castle of Roccasecca, not far from Aquino. Feudo for some centuries of the Lords of Aquino, in 1330 by decree of the King of Naples, Robert of Anjou, became a county and changed its name from Geneocastro to Belcastro (Bellicastrum), as a tribute to the beauty of the place and gratification to Thomas 'Aquino, first count of the city and nephew of the saint. In the 15th century it was given the title of city. The historian Lutio d'Orsi (16th and 17th centuries) and jurist Giuseppe Poerio (1775-1843), patriot of the Italian Risorgimento and father of the poet Alessandro Poerio, also a patriot, were born in Belcastro.
Its population is now reduced to about 1400 (2017).
The small town of Belcastro is situated on a rocky spur crowned by a Norman-style castle that belonged to the counts of Aquino. Some propose it as the birthplace of Saint Thomas Aquinas, more commonly taken to have been born in the castle of Roccasecca, not far from Aquino. Feudo for some centuries of the Lords of Aquino, in 1330 by decree of the King of Naples, Robert of Anjou, became a county and changed its name from Geneocastro to Belcastro (Bellicastrum), as a tribute to the beauty of the place and gratification to Thomas 'Aquino, first count of the city and nephew of the saint. In the 15th century it was given the title of city. The historian Lutio d'Orsi (16th and 17th centuries) and jurist Giuseppe Poerio (1775-1843), patriot of the Italian Risorgimento and father of the poet Alessandro Poerio, also a patriot, were born in Belcastro.
Its population is now reduced to about 1400 (2017).
Map - Belcastro
Map
Country - Italy
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Italy was the native place of many civilizations such as the Italic peoples and the Etruscans, while due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the country has also historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures, who immigrated to the peninsula throughout history. The Latins, native of central Italy, formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC, which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People. The Roman Republic initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula, eventually expanding and conquering a large part of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. By the first century BC, the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became a leading cultural, political and religious centre, inaugurating the Pax Romana, a period of more than 200 years during which Italy's law, technology, economy, art, and literature developed.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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CA | Catalan language |
CO | Corsican language |
FR | French language |
DE | German language |
IT | Italian language |
SC | Sardinian language |
SL | Slovene language |