Catona

Catona (in the local dialect A Catùna) is an urban district (independent municipality until 1927) of Reggio Calabria, Italy, as part of the 8th district with neighborhoods Salice, Villa San Giuseppe and Rosalì. The area is home to 15,000 inhabitants.

Saint Francis of Paola church, in Catona.

History

Dante Alghieri, in singing VIII of Paradise from the Divine Comedy, says of district:

...e quel corno d'Ausonia che s'imborga
di Bari, di Gaeta e di Catona
da ove Tronto e Verde in mare sgorga...

— Dante Alighieri

Through the story of Charles Martel of Anjou, Dante describes the kingdom as a triangle between Bari East, West and Gaeta Catona South.

In the Middle Ages, Catona was a fortress and was the theater of a war between the Angevins and Aragonese. For Dante, "Ausonia" is synonymous with Italy.

Events

Catonateatro is important in the cultural landscape of Reggio Calabria, offering theatrical and musical events each year at "Arena Bianchi" on the "Catona promenade".

Tourism

The local beach has medium-grained white sand. The sea is characterized by cold, clear waters.

Legend

In 1464 St. Francis of Paula was refused passage by a boatman while trying to cross the Strait of Messina to Sicily. He reportedly laid his cloak on the water, tied one end to his staff as a sail, and sailed across the strait with his companions following in the boat.[1] A description of the event is known nell'arazzo Edward Steinle, is preserved in the Vatican, in the gallery of the maps.

The Convent of the Minims, built in 1629, after several reconstructions, is found in Catona. "The miracle of St. Francis" is remembered in Catona promenade with a monument of considerable size (about 15 m) of G. Polimeni. Another sandstone monument represents the saint. Sculpted in 1702 it was initially placed where the miracle happened. After the extension of the promenade, the monumental work was moved a hundred meters from the water line on private property and is no longer available for visitors.

Notables
  • Servant of God Sister Brigida Maria Postorino, who founded the Religious Institute of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, which inspired the birth of the movement of the Church of the Friends of Mary Immaculate.
  • Antonino Barillà, football player for the Reggina Calcio.

Places of worship
  • St. Denis Church
  • St. Francis of Paola Basilica (within which is shown a picture of the contemporary Calabrian painter Giuseppe Mainieri)
  • St. Aurelius Bishop and Martyr Church (Arghillà)
  • St. Mary of Good Counsel Church (Concessa)

References
  1. ""The Vision of Saint Francis of Paola", The J.Paul Getty Museum". Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2013-05-13.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.