Map - Province of Catanzaro (Provincia di Catanzaro)

Province of Catanzaro (Provincia di Catanzaro)
The province of Catanzaro (provincia di Catanzaro; Catanzarese: pruvincia e Catanzaru) is a province of the Calabria region of Italy. The city Catanzaro is both capital of the province and capital of the region of Calabria. The province contains a total of 80 municipalities (comuni). Its provincial president is Sergio Abramo.

It contains the Isthmus of Catanzaro between Sant'Eufemia and the Gulf of Squillace. It borders the provinces of Crotone (formed from it in 1996), Cosenza, Reggio Calabria, and Vibo Valentia, and it also borders the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas to the east and west, respectively.

After the last ice age, stone age hunter-gatherers lived in this area. By about 3,500 BC they had turned to farming and started settling in villages. In the ninth and eighth centuries BC, Greeks began colonising the coastal regions of Calabria, calling the area Magna Graecia. They brought with them their Hellenic civilization and the olives, figs and vines that are cultivated in the province today.

By the third century BC, the Greeks were conquered by tribes from northern Italy, including a branch of the Samnites called the Bruttii. They established their sovereignty over present day Calabria and founded new cities, including their own capital "Consentia", now known as Cosenza. After their victory in the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC), the Romans occupied Calabria, and the region remained under their control until the fifth century AD.

After the Visigoths overthrew the Romans, there followed an unsettled period for Calabria. However, by the middle of the sixth century, the Byzantine Empire was in control of southern Italy. The city of Catanzaro was founded by the Byzantines during the tenth century. The city, atop a hill above the Gulf of Squilis, was named Katanrzarion or Catasarion as these derive from the Greek words for "terrace" and "under"; terrace farming took place in the province. The city was fortified in 1055 and a castle was constructed; this allowed it to resist French invasion attempts lasting four months in 1528.

The area of the plateau of La Sila towards the Ionian Sea was settled by immigrants from Albania in the period 1448–1535. They formed an ethnic minority and created the communities known as Sila Greca (Greek Sila).

 
Map - Province of Catanzaro (Provincia di Catanzaro)
Country - Italy
Flag of Italy
Italy (Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, it consists of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands; its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region. Italy shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. It has a territorial exclave in Switzerland, Campione. Italy covers an area of 301230 km2, with a population of about 60 million. It is the third-most populous member state of the European Union, the sixth-most populous country in Europe, and the tenth-largest country in the continent by land area. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome.

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.
Map - ItalyItaly_12.68449E_42.33265N.jpg
Italy_12.68449E_42.3...
1280x958
freemapviewer.org
Map - Italy1200px-Italy_regions.svg.png
1200px-Italy_regions...
1200x1500
freemapviewer.org
Map - ItalySatellite_image_of_Italy_in_March_2003.jpg
Satellite_image_of_I...
4800x6000
freemapviewer.org
Map - Italy831px-Italy_map-blank.svg.png
831px-Italy_map-blan...
831x1024
freemapviewer.org
Map - Italy1200px-Languages_spoken_in_Italy.svg.png
1200px-Languages_spo...
1200x1500
freemapviewer.org
Currency / Language  
ISO Currency Symbol Significant figures
EUR Euro € 2
Neighbourhood - Country  
  •  Austria 
  •  France 
  •  San Marino 
  •  Slovenia 
  •  Switzerland 
  •  Vatican City