Longobucco
Encyclopedia
Longobucco is a town and comune
in the province of Cosenza
, in the Calabria
region of southern Italy
.
Longobucco's name derives from longburg (meaning "far away borough", or "simply long borough"); in the past it was associated with Temesa, or Tempsa, the ancient town Homer
was referring to in his Odyssey and famous for its mining fields, from which the Sybarites derived silver to coin their coins, as well as Kroton and the Romans. The first documents about the Argentera date to the 12th century. In 1197 Emperor Henry VI sent to oppido nostro Longoburgi (our town Longburg) his relative Pietro di Livonia to supervise the precious mineral extraction. Even Gioacchino da Fiore went there for the manufacturing of some goblets.
In the 16th century ‘the Argentera‘ was the most important mine in the area, where people continued working until 1783. Between 1806 and 1808 Longobucco was thrice invaded by the French. From 1861 on, the town was involved in the phenomenon of Brigantaggio, which was hardly repressed. It turned into the land of famous bandit-chiefs, among whom was Domenico Strafaci known as Palma. Emigration to the United States and Argentina reached its peak at this time as Longobucchesi such as the Gammuto
family sought to escape poverty and the brigantaggio to find opportunity in the new world.
At the beginning of the 19th century the first power stations started working. After World War II the Longobucchesi took part in a massive working-class and farm-labourers rebellion. In the 1950s a reforestation process was started by reclaiming areas, as well as in the 1960s and the 1970s many services too. Today’s projects are relying on tourism, natural resources, typical products, craftsmanship and cooperation for the development of the town.
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:...
in the province of Cosenza
Province of Cosenza
The Province of Cosenza is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza.It has an area of 6,650 km², and a total population of 733,797 . It is the biggest Calabrian Province...
, in the Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
region of southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Longobucco's name derives from longburg (meaning "far away borough", or "simply long borough"); in the past it was associated with Temesa, or Tempsa, the ancient town Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
was referring to in his Odyssey and famous for its mining fields, from which the Sybarites derived silver to coin their coins, as well as Kroton and the Romans. The first documents about the Argentera date to the 12th century. In 1197 Emperor Henry VI sent to oppido nostro Longoburgi (our town Longburg) his relative Pietro di Livonia to supervise the precious mineral extraction. Even Gioacchino da Fiore went there for the manufacturing of some goblets.
In the 16th century ‘the Argentera‘ was the most important mine in the area, where people continued working until 1783. Between 1806 and 1808 Longobucco was thrice invaded by the French. From 1861 on, the town was involved in the phenomenon of Brigantaggio, which was hardly repressed. It turned into the land of famous bandit-chiefs, among whom was Domenico Strafaci known as Palma. Emigration to the United States and Argentina reached its peak at this time as Longobucchesi such as the Gammuto
Gammuto
Gammuto is an Italian surname. It originated in the village of Longobucco, which is in the Province of Cosenza. The origins or meaning of the name are not known...
family sought to escape poverty and the brigantaggio to find opportunity in the new world.
At the beginning of the 19th century the first power stations started working. After World War II the Longobucchesi took part in a massive working-class and farm-labourers rebellion. In the 1950s a reforestation process was started by reclaiming areas, as well as in the 1960s and the 1970s many services too. Today’s projects are relying on tourism, natural resources, typical products, craftsmanship and cooperation for the development of the town.