Calabria

Calabria

Calabria is a region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. It has almost 2 million residents across a total area of approximately 15,222 km2 (5,877 sq mi). Catanzaro is the region's capital. Calabria is the birthplace of the name Italy, given to it by the Ancient Greeks who settled in this land starting from the 8th century BC. Thanks to its strategic position in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, the region became the center of Magna Grecia (Greater Greece), with the foundation along its coasts of many Greek city-states (póleis) that remained for centuries among the richest and most culturally advanced of their time. During this period, Calabria was home of key figures in history such as Pythagoras, Herodotus and Milo. In Roman times it was part of the Regio III Lucania et Bruttii, a region of Augustan Italy. After the Gothic War, it became and remained for five centuries a Byzantine dominion, fully recovering its Greek character. Cenobitism flourished, with the rise in the whole peninsula of countless churches, hermitages and monasteries in which Basilian monks were dedicated to transcription. The Byzantines introduced the art of silk in Calabria and made it the main silk production area in Europe. In the 11th century, the Norman conquest started a slow process of Latinization. In Calabria there are three historical ethnic and linguistic minorities: the Griko people, speaking Calabrian Greek; the Arbëreshë people; the Occitans of Guardia Piemontese. This extraordinary linguistic diversity makes the region an object of study for linguists from all over the world. Calabria is famous for its crystal clear sea waters and it's dotted with ancient villages, castles and archaeological parks. Three national parks are found in the region: the Pollino National Park (which is the largest in Italy), the Sila National Park and the Aspromonte National Park.

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