Belcastro

Last updated
Belcastro
Comune
Comune di Belcastro
Italy provincial location map 2015.svg
Red pog.svg
Belcastro
Location of Belcastro in Italy
Coordinates: 39°1′N16°47′E / 39.017°N 16.783°E / 39.017; 16.783 Coordinates: 39°1′N16°47′E / 39.017°N 16.783°E / 39.017; 16.783
Country Italy
Region Calabria
Province Catanzaro (CZ)
Frazioni Fieri di Belcastro
Area
 • Total 52 km2 (20 sq mi)
Elevation 535 m (1,755 ft)
Population (31 December 2013)
 • Total 1,397
 • Density 27/km2 (70/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Belcastresi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code88050
Dialing code 0961
Patron saint Thomas Aquinas
Saint day 21 March

Belcastro (Latin : Bellicastrum; Calabrian: Bercastru) is a comune , former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the province of Catanzaro, in the Calabria region of southern Italy.

<i>Comune</i> third-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic

The comune is a basic administrative division in Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality.

The Diocese of Belcastro in the town of Belcastro in the province of Catanzaro, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. In 1828, it was suppressed to the Archdiocese of Santa Severina.

A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese".

Contents

History

The small town of Belcastro is situated on a rocky spur crowned by a Norman-style castle that belonged to the counts of Aquino and that some propose 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. [1] [2] [3] The historic Lutio d'Orsi [4] (16th and 17th centuries) and the great jurist Giuseppe Poerio (1775-1843), patriot of the Italian Risorgimento and father of the poet Alessandro Poerio, also a great patriot, were born in Belcastro. Its population is now reduced to about 1400 (2013).

Aquino, Italy Comune in Lazio, Italy

Aquino is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, 12 kilometres (7 mi) northwest of Cassino.

Thomas Aquinas Dominican scholastic philosopher of the Roman Catholic Church

Saint Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. He was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis. The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio, Italy.

Roccasecca Comune in Lazio, Italy

Roccasecca is a town and comune in the Province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is the birthplace of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Ecclesiastical History

Bishopric

The town was the seat of a [Roman Catholic Diocese of Belcastro|diocese of Belcastro]] from at least 1122, suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Severina, but the earliest bishop whose name is known is of the early 13th century. By the papal bull De utiliori of Pope Pius VII of 27 June 1828, the diocese was suppressed, its territory being incorporated (without its title) into its Metropolitan's archdiocese of Santa Severina. [5] [6] [7] [8]

The archdiocese of Santa Severina was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Calabria, southern Italy, that existed until 1986. In that year it was united into the diocese of Crotone, forming the Archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina.

Papal bull type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church

A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by a pope of the Roman Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) that was traditionally appended to the end in order to authenticate it.

Pope Pius VII pope of the catholic church 1800–1823

Pope Pius VII, born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in 1823. Chiaramonti was also a monk of the Order of Saint Benedict in addition to being a well-known theologian and bishop throughout his life.

Titular see

No longer a bishop's residence, the diocese, known in Latin as Bellicastrum, is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see [9] since its nominal restoration as a titular bishopric in 1968.

Latin Indo-European language of the Italic family

Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, and ultimately from the Phoenician alphabet.

Catholic Church Christian church led by the Bishop of Rome

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2017. As the world's "oldest continuously functioning international institution", it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope. Its central administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, an enclave within the city of Rome in Italy.

It has had the following incumbents of the lowest (episcopal) and intermediary (archiepiscopal) ranks :

Julien Ries Belgian cardinal and historian

Julien Ries was a Belgian religious historian, titular archbishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. Prior to his death, Ries was described as "the greatest living religions scholar".

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Articles by Ivan Ciacci in Calabria Letteraria 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006;
  2. ↑ Cesare Sinopoli, La Calabria, Storia, Geografia, Arte (Catanzaro 1925);
  3. ↑ Girolamo Marafioti, Cronache e Antichità di Calabria (Padova 1601);
  4. ↑ Lutio d'Orsi..., I terremoti delle due Calavrie..., NA 1640 - New edition on line 2500 a cura di Ivan Ciacci.
  5. ↑ Bolla De utiliori, in Bullarii romani continuatio, Vol. XV, Rome 1853, pp. 56-61
  6. ↑ Giuseppe Cappelletti, Le Chiese d'Italia della loro origine sino ai nostri giorni, vol. XIX, Venezia 1864, pp. 44-83
  7. ↑ Taccone-Gallucci, Vescovi di Cal. in Regesti dei Pontefici, Roma 1902
  8. ↑ Giovanni Minasi, Le chiese di Calabria dal V al XII secolo: cenni storici. Napoli: Lanciano e Pinto, 1896, Cap. XVI, ad indicem; Ristampa anastatica: Oppido Mamertina: Barbaro, 1987
  9. ↑ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN   978-88-209-9070-1), p. 848


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