Caronia
Encyclopedia
Caronia is a town and comune
on the north coast of Sicily
, in the province of Messina
, about half way between Tyndaris (modern Tindari
) and Cephaloedium (modern Cefalù
). The town has 3,555 inhabitants.
and Milesians
(after the capture of Miletus by the Persians, 494 BCE) to establish themselves on this part of the Sicilian coast. Events, however, turned their attention elsewhere, and they ended with occupying Zancle itself. At a later period the project was resumed by the Sikel leader Ducetius
, who, after his expulsion from Sicily by Syracuse and his exile at Corinth
, returned at the head of a body of colonists from the Peloponnese; and having obtained much support from the neighbouring Siculi, especially from Archonides, dynast of Herbita
, according to Diodorus Siculus
founded a city on the coast, which was called Kalè Akté (The Fair Shore or Beautiful Coast). The date given by Diodorus is 446 BC, but in another passus the same author says that Ducetius colonised Kale Akte in 440 BCE, the same year he died. In addition, recent excavations at Caronia, which is clearly the site of the Hellenistic and Roman town Kale Akte, have revealed only very sparse remains from the 5th century BC, and show that a Sikel settlement already existed here in the early 5th century BCE. It is possible that Ducetius founded the colony on the site of this already existing Sikel settlement, just as he had done at Menai and Paliké.
Some scholars have hypothesised that Ducetius returned without the consensus of Syracuse, but this is very improbable. He must have had the permission of Syracuse to end the exile at Corinth (the mother city of Syracuse), and he brought according to Diodorus partly Corinthian settlers for the colonising project at Kale Akte. Syracuse would have had an interest of establishing an allied Sikel-Greek colony on the north coast, without risking too much in a potentially hostile Sikel-dominated area.
We have little subsequent account of its fortunes. It appears to have been in Cicero
's time a considerable municipal town. Silius Italicus
speaks of it as abounding in fish, litus piscosa Calacte and its name, though omitted by Pliny
, is found in Ptolemy
, as well as in the Antonine Itineraries
; but there is considerable difficulty in regard to its position. The distances given in the Tabula Peutingeriana
, however (12 M. P. from Alaesa, and 30 M. P. from Cephaloedium), coincide with the site of the modern town of Caronia, on the shore below which Fazello tells us that ruins and vestiges of an ancient city were still visible in his time. Cluverius, who visited Caronia, speaks with admiration of the beauty and pleasantness of this part of the coast, littoris excellens amoenitas et pulchritudo, which rendered it fully worthy of its ancient name.
The celebrated Greek rhetorician Caecilius of Caleacte, who flourished in the time of Augustus
, was a native of Caleacte, whence he derived the surname of Calactinus.
. The exact date that the problems began was likely January 21, but a few newspaper articles cast doubt on this date by claiming that Caronia's electrical
supply has been cut off since January 4.
Appliances, starting with a television and evidently including a cooker and vacuum cleaner, were reported to catch fire spontaneously. Fires also struck wedding presents and a piece of furniture, the type of which is unknown. One article also claimed that a water pipe caught fire, though this report seems dubious.
At least one person, either a police officer or, according to one report, a scientist, was said to have observed an unplugged electrical cable ignite while he was directly observing it. ENEL
, the Italian power utility, cut off the town's power supply, but the outbreaks continued.
The authorities ruled out arson
fairly early.
English news articles were mixed as to the reaction of the villagers: most pegged them as blaming demonic forces, while some others cast them as blaming the railroad or other man-made agencies. A Catholic exorcist
, Gabriele Amorth
, suggested that the causes are supernatural; others, such as (according to some sources) the mayor
, Pedro Spinnato, assume a natural cause.
Authorities seemed to agree that some sort of electrical anomaly was responsible, and many experts traveled to Caronia to investigate. A few people have blamed volcanic oddities, others speculate that someone was intentionally creating an electrical phenomenon for nefarious ends, possibly including a con
on the villagers, with a Tesla
-type Magnifying Transmitter
or similar device. (Although this raises the question of why the villagers have not heard the thunderous noise produced by it, unless it is very well hidden indeed, and the fact that no attempt at extortion has yet been reported seems odd.) Many aspects of the case were typical of poltergeist
phenomena
The phenomenon abated, but began again in April 2004. By August, it appeared to be gone for good. The cause remains unknown, but some electrical improvements were apparently made to the village's power system.
A subsequent investigation led the then head of Sicily's Civil Protection Agency, Tullio Martella, to offer: "The cause of the fires seems to have been static electric charges. What we don't understand is why there were these static electric charges." The report went on to suggest that the fires could have been caused by "high power electro magnetic emissions which were not man made and reached a power of between 12 and 15 gigawatts".
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
on the north coast of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, in the province of Messina
Province of Messina
Messina is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Messina.-Geography and demography :...
, about half way between Tyndaris (modern Tindari
Tindari
Tindari, anciently Tyndaris or Tyndarion is a small city in the comune of Patti, in the Province of Messina in Sicily, between Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto and Cefalù....
) and Cephaloedium (modern Cefalù
Cefalù
Cefalù is a city and comune in the province of Palermo, located on the northern coast of Sicily, Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea about 70 km east from the provincial capital and 185 km west of Messina...
). The town has 3,555 inhabitants.
History
Kale Akte (or Caleacte, Calacta, Calacte) derived its name from the beauty of the neighboring country; the whole of this strip of coast between the Montes Heraei and the sea being called by the Greek settlers from an early period, the Fair Shore ( – he Kale Akte). Its beauty and fertility had attracted the particular attention of the Zanclaeans, who in consequence invited the SamiansSamos Island
Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...
and Milesians
Miletus
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
(after the capture of Miletus by the Persians, 494 BCE) to establish themselves on this part of the Sicilian coast. Events, however, turned their attention elsewhere, and they ended with occupying Zancle itself. At a later period the project was resumed by the Sikel leader Ducetius
Ducetius
Ducetius was a Hellenized leader of the Sicels and founder of a united Sicilian state and numerous cities. It is thought he may have been born around the town of Mineo. His story is told through the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BCE, who drew on the work of Timaeus...
, who, after his expulsion from Sicily by Syracuse and his exile at Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, returned at the head of a body of colonists from the Peloponnese; and having obtained much support from the neighbouring Siculi, especially from Archonides, dynast of Herbita
Herbita
Herbita is a genus of moth in the family Geometridae.-References:*...
, according to Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
founded a city on the coast, which was called Kalè Akté (The Fair Shore or Beautiful Coast). The date given by Diodorus is 446 BC, but in another passus the same author says that Ducetius colonised Kale Akte in 440 BCE, the same year he died. In addition, recent excavations at Caronia, which is clearly the site of the Hellenistic and Roman town Kale Akte, have revealed only very sparse remains from the 5th century BC, and show that a Sikel settlement already existed here in the early 5th century BCE. It is possible that Ducetius founded the colony on the site of this already existing Sikel settlement, just as he had done at Menai and Paliké.
Some scholars have hypothesised that Ducetius returned without the consensus of Syracuse, but this is very improbable. He must have had the permission of Syracuse to end the exile at Corinth (the mother city of Syracuse), and he brought according to Diodorus partly Corinthian settlers for the colonising project at Kale Akte. Syracuse would have had an interest of establishing an allied Sikel-Greek colony on the north coast, without risking too much in a potentially hostile Sikel-dominated area.
We have little subsequent account of its fortunes. It appears to have been in Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's time a considerable municipal town. Silius Italicus
Silius Italicus
Silius Italicus, in full Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus , was a Roman consul, orator, and Latin epic poet of the 1st century CE,...
speaks of it as abounding in fish, litus piscosa Calacte and its name, though omitted by Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, is found in Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
, as well as in the Antonine Itineraries
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
; but there is considerable difficulty in regard to its position. The distances given in the Tabula Peutingeriana
Tabula Peutingeriana
The Tabula Peutingeriana is an itinerarium showing the cursus publicus, the road network in the Roman Empire. The original map of which this is a unique copy was last revised in the fourth or early fifth century. It covers Europe, parts of Asia and North Africa...
, however (12 M. P. from Alaesa, and 30 M. P. from Cephaloedium), coincide with the site of the modern town of Caronia, on the shore below which Fazello tells us that ruins and vestiges of an ancient city were still visible in his time. Cluverius, who visited Caronia, speaks with admiration of the beauty and pleasantness of this part of the coast, littoris excellens amoenitas et pulchritudo, which rendered it fully worthy of its ancient name.
The celebrated Greek rhetorician Caecilius of Caleacte, who flourished in the time of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, was a native of Caleacte, whence he derived the surname of Calactinus.
Canneto di Caronia fires
Starting sometime in January 2004, unusual fires were reported in Caronia, precisely in the village of CannetoCanneto (Caronia)
Canneto is a village and civil parish of the Italian municipality of Caronia, in the Province of Messina, Sicily. In Italian language its name means reed bed.-Geography:...
. The exact date that the problems began was likely January 21, but a few newspaper articles cast doubt on this date by claiming that Caronia's electrical
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
supply has been cut off since January 4.
Appliances, starting with a television and evidently including a cooker and vacuum cleaner, were reported to catch fire spontaneously. Fires also struck wedding presents and a piece of furniture, the type of which is unknown. One article also claimed that a water pipe caught fire, though this report seems dubious.
At least one person, either a police officer or, according to one report, a scientist, was said to have observed an unplugged electrical cable ignite while he was directly observing it. ENEL
Enel
Enel may refer to:*Enel SpA, an Italian electricity company*Enel , a fictional villain in the One Piece manga and anime series*Enel, meaning third in the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, cf. Awakening of the Elves...
, the Italian power utility, cut off the town's power supply, but the outbreaks continued.
The authorities ruled out arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
fairly early.
English news articles were mixed as to the reaction of the villagers: most pegged them as blaming demonic forces, while some others cast them as blaming the railroad or other man-made agencies. A Catholic exorcist
Exorcist
In some religions an exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or other demons. A priest, a nun, a monk, a healer, a shaman or other specially prepared or instructed person can be an exorcist...
, Gabriele Amorth
Gabriele Amorth
Gabriele Amorth is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome who claims to have cleansed tens of thousands of people of evil spirits. Controversially, he believes that practising yoga is satanic and leads to evil just like reading JK Rowling’s Harry Potter...
, suggested that the causes are supernatural; others, such as (according to some sources) the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, Pedro Spinnato, assume a natural cause.
Authorities seemed to agree that some sort of electrical anomaly was responsible, and many experts traveled to Caronia to investigate. A few people have blamed volcanic oddities, others speculate that someone was intentionally creating an electrical phenomenon for nefarious ends, possibly including a con
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
on the villagers, with a Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
-type Magnifying Transmitter
Magnifying transmitter
The magnifying transmitter is an advanced version of Tesla coil transmitter. It is a high power harmonic oscillator that Nikola Tesla intended for the wireless transmission of electrical energy...
or similar device. (Although this raises the question of why the villagers have not heard the thunderous noise produced by it, unless it is very well hidden indeed, and the fact that no attempt at extortion has yet been reported seems odd.) Many aspects of the case were typical of poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
phenomena
The phenomenon abated, but began again in April 2004. By August, it appeared to be gone for good. The cause remains unknown, but some electrical improvements were apparently made to the village's power system.
A subsequent investigation led the then head of Sicily's Civil Protection Agency, Tullio Martella, to offer: "The cause of the fires seems to have been static electric charges. What we don't understand is why there were these static electric charges." The report went on to suggest that the fires could have been caused by "high power electro magnetic emissions which were not man made and reached a power of between 12 and 15 gigawatts".