Cassano all'Ionio

Comune in Calabria, Italy

Coat of arms

Location of Cassano all'Ionio

39°47′N 16°19′E / 39.783°N 16.317°E / 39.783; 16.317CountryItalyRegionCalabriaProvinceCosenza (CS)FrazioniDoria, Lauropoli, SibariGovernment

• MayorNone (commissars)Area

^[1]

• Total159.07 km² (61.42 sq mi)Elevation

250 m (820 ft)Population

(December 2013)^[2]

• Total18,652 • Density120/km² (300/sq mi)DemonymCassanesiTime zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

87011

Dialing code0981Patron saintHoly CrucifixSaint dayFirst Friday in MarchWebsiteOfficial website

Cassano all'Ionio, also named Cassano allo Ionio, is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in Calabria, southern Italy, known in Roman times as Cassanum. It lies in a fertile region in the concave recess of a steep mountain, 60 km northeast of the town of Cosenza, 10 km west of the archaeological site of Sybaris.

History

Cassano was the site of great Saracen defeat of the Byzantine forces in Italy under Pothos in 1031.

The diocese of Cassano was first mentioned in 1059.

Main sites

The rock above the city is crowned by a medieval castle commanding beautiful views. Its tower was believed to be that from which the stone was thrown that killed Milo, but that may be due to an erroneous identification of the town. There are warm sulfurous springs here, which have been used for baths.^[3]

The archaeological site of Sybaris, located near the modern town of Sibari, is part of the comune of Cassano allo Ionio.

People

Frank Costello (1891-1973), gangster

References

^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cassano all' Ionio". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 457.