Calabria
Καλαβρία (Greek) | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 39°00′N 16°30′E / 39.0°N 16.5°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Capital | Catanzaro |
| Government | |
| • President | Roberto Occhiuto (FI) |
| Area | |
• Total | 15,222 km2 (5,877 sq mi) |
| Population (1 January 2021) | |
• Total | 1,877,527 |
| • Density | 120/km2 (320/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | English: Calabrian Italian: Calabrese |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €32.787 billion (2021) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | IT-78 |
| HDI (2021) | 0.848[2] very high · 20th of 21 |
| NUTS Region | ITF |
| Website | www.regione.calabria.it |
Calabria[a] is a region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. It has almost 2 million residents across a total area of 15,222 km2 (5,877 sq mi). Catanzaro is the region's capital.
Calabria is the birthplace of the name of Italy,[6] given to it by the Ancient Greeks who settled in this land starting from the 8th century BC. They established the first cities, mainly on the coast, as Greek colonies and during this period Calabria became the home of key figures in history such as Pythagoras, Herodotus and Milo.
In Roman times, it was part of the Regio III Lucania et Bruttii, a region of Augustan Italy. After the Gothic War, it became and remained for five centuries a Byzantine dominion, fully recovering its Greek character. Cenobitism flourished, with the rise throughout the peninsula of numerous churches, hermitages and monasteries in which Basilian monks were dedicated to transcription. The Byzantines introduced the art of silk in Calabria and made it the main silk production area in Europe. In the 11th century, the Norman conquest started a slow process of Latinization.
In Calabria there are three historical ethnolinguistics minorities: the Grecanici, speaking Calabrian Greek; the Arbëreshë people; and the Occitans of Guardia Piemontese. This extraordinary linguistic diversity makes the region an object of study for linguists from all over the world.
Calabria is famous for its crystal clear sea waters and is dotted with ancient villages, castles and archaeological parks. Three national parks are found in the region: the Pollino National Park (which is the largest in Italy), the Sila National Park and the Aspromonte National Park.
- ^ "Population on 1 January by age, sex and NUTS 2 region", www.ec.europa.eu, archived from the original on 25 December 2023, retrieved 29 December 2023
- ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ "Calabria". Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. n.d. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Calabria". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Calabria". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Guillotining, M., History of Earliest Italy, trans. Ryle, M & Soper, K. in Jerome Lectures, Diciassettesima serie, p.50
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