Siderno
Encyclopedia
Siderno is a town and comune
located in Calabria
, Italy
about 3 kilometres from Locri
.
Siderno Marina is the newer town located on the Ionian coast
. It is popular with both Italian and foreign tourists
and has a bathing beach.
Siderno Superiore is the old town, higher up on the flank of the coastal mountain range. It has historic palaces, old buildings and very narrow streets. It has now become a ghost town because most of the old population has moved to the more modern Siderno which is the new city and offers more job opportunities and services.
, who had fled to the area to defend themselves from Saracen incursions, in the following century it became a hamlet of the county of Grotteria
and was home to various feudal lords. Siderno Marina was built along the coast after the 1783 earthquake
.
Many moving to Canada settled in Schreiber, Ontario
, because of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway
and many played a major part in its completion. One of them was Cosimo Figliomeni. His good fortune and letters home lured many of his villagers to jobs in Schreiber. Half of Schreiber’s 2,000 residents trace their roots to the Italian city of Siderno.
The Siderno area is famous for the production of bergamot orange
, a valuable and unique citrus fruit that is used as an essence and fundamental ingredient in cosmetics, for its wound healing properties in the pharmaceutical industry, and for flavouring in the food industry.
-type criminal organisation based in Calabria. Several powerful criminal clans originate from the town. Siderno was the fiefdom of Antonio Macrì
, the undisputed local boss until his demise in January 1975. Several of the criminal clans are sometimes involved in bloody feuds. The town is home to one of the 'Ndrangheta's biggest and most important clans, the Commisso 'ndrina
, heavily involved in the global cocaine business and money laundering.
Several clans moved to Canada
, in particular the Greater Toronto Area
, home to what Canadian law enforcement call the Siderno Group
, which has been here since at least the 1950s. "The criminal minds of Siderno are in Canada", according to the Siderno police force. One of them, Antonio Commisso
, was arrested in June 2005.
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:...
located in 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....
, 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...
about 3 kilometres from Locri
Locri
Locri is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. The name derives from the ancient Greek town Locris.-History:...
.
Siderno Marina is the newer town located on the Ionian coast
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
. It is popular with both Italian and foreign tourists
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and has a bathing beach.
Siderno Superiore is the old town, higher up on the flank of the coastal mountain range. It has historic palaces, old buildings and very narrow streets. It has now become a ghost town because most of the old population has moved to the more modern Siderno which is the new city and offers more job opportunities and services.
History
The early history of the town is unknown. The old town in the hilly inland was probably founded in the 10th century AD by some people from LocriLocri
Locri is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. The name derives from the ancient Greek town Locris.-History:...
, who had fled to the area to defend themselves from Saracen incursions, in the following century it became a hamlet of the county of Grotteria
Grotteria
Grotteria is a comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 70 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 60 km northeast of Reggio Calabria....
and was home to various feudal lords. Siderno Marina was built along the coast after the 1783 earthquake
1783 Calabrian earthquakes
The 1783 Calabrian earthquakes were a sequence of five strong earthquakes that hit the region of Calabria in southern Italy , the first two of which produced significant tsunamis. The epicenters form a clear alignment extending nearly 100 km from the Straits of Messina to about 18 km SSW...
.
Emigration
Large-scale emigration abroad as well as to Northern Italy, which began to diminish only in the 1970s, has had a lasting effect on the demographic situation in the region. Emigrants from Siderno emigrated to the United States, Canada and Australia since the end of the 19th century to find employment.Many moving to Canada settled in Schreiber, Ontario
Schreiber, Ontario
Schreiber is a municipal township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on the northernmost point of Lake Superior along Highway 17. The town, with a population of approximately 900 people, is almost completely located inside the geographic township of Priske, with a small western portion of...
, because of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
and many played a major part in its completion. One of them was Cosimo Figliomeni. His good fortune and letters home lured many of his villagers to jobs in Schreiber. Half of Schreiber’s 2,000 residents trace their roots to the Italian city of Siderno.
Economy
Siderno, also known as the "pearl" of the "Jasmine Riviera", is one of the most well-equipped tourist resorts on the Ionian coast of the Province of Reggio Calabria, with wide, sandy beaches, clear sea and a magnificently-coloured seabed.The Siderno area is famous for the production of bergamot orange
Bergamot orange
Citrus bergamia, the Bergamot orange, is a fragrant fruit the size of an orange, with a yellow colour similar to a lemon. Genetic research into the ancestral origins of extant citrus cultivars recently matched the bergamot as a likely hybrid of Citrus limetta and Citrus aurantium...
, a valuable and unique citrus fruit that is used as an essence and fundamental ingredient in cosmetics, for its wound healing properties in the pharmaceutical industry, and for flavouring in the food industry.
Crime
The town is home to the 'Ndrangheta, a MafiaMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
-type criminal organisation based in Calabria. Several powerful criminal clans originate from the town. Siderno was the fiefdom of Antonio Macrì
Antonio Macrì
Antonio Macrì , popularly known as Zzi 'ntoni, was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy...
, the undisputed local boss until his demise in January 1975. Several of the criminal clans are sometimes involved in bloody feuds. The town is home to one of the 'Ndrangheta's biggest and most important clans, the Commisso 'ndrina
Commisso 'ndrina
The Commisso 'ndrina is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Siderno, but has an important branch in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada.-In Siderno:...
, heavily involved in the global cocaine business and money laundering.
Several clans moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, in particular the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
, home to what Canadian law enforcement call the Siderno Group
Siderno Group
The Siderno Group is a criminal association in Canada and Australia related to the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. The association is labelled the "Siderno Group" because its members primarily came from the town of Siderno on the Ionian coast in Calabria and migrated to Canada...
, which has been here since at least the 1950s. "The criminal minds of Siderno are in Canada", according to the Siderno police force. One of them, Antonio Commisso
Antonio Commisso
Antonio Commisso is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. He was a fugitive since 2005 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture on June 28, 2005, near Toronto, Canada...
, was arrested in June 2005.
Notable people
- Antonio CommissoAntonio CommissoAntonio Commisso is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. He was a fugitive since 2005 and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture on June 28, 2005, near Toronto, Canada...
(born 1956), 'Ndrangheta boss - Antonio MacrìAntonio MacrìAntonio Macrì , popularly known as Zzi 'ntoni, was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy...
(1902–1975), historical 'Ndrangheta boss - Francesco PanettaFrancesco PanettaFrancesco Panetta is a former Italian long-distance runner, who won several medals at international championships in the 1980s. His greatest achievement was the victory at the World Championships' final over 3000m steeplechase in Rome 1987...
(born 1963), former long-distance runner - Nicola Zitara (born 1927), historian
Frazioni
Donisi , Vennerello, Mirto , Campo, Lucis, Zammariti, Pellegrina, Arona, San Filippo, Leone, Grappidaro, Gonia , Pergola, Lamia.External links
- Italian Wikipedia article on Siderno