A Bit of History

Un po' di storia...

Tarsia old norman village  Ferramonti:its history  San Francis of Paola

Hellenic Age, during the Fifth century BC., Greek civilization was established in Italy. The commercial traffic between the Jonian Sea and the Tirrenian Sea also took advantage of the fluvial routes, that is the river Crati. The inhabitants of Sibari used this route to establish contact with the inland. Often some new occasional artifacts of the time are brought to surface to confirm the past presence of the Greek civilization in Tarsia and vicinity.

Another document that proves the influence that Tarsia had on Sabari, Greek city, is the emblem on the old Tarsia city Seal. It, in fact, shows the Sibari Horse with the motto "Is Tarsia" 3000 BC.

In the vicinity of Tarsia, excavations have brought to the light a well polished stone ax, estimated to be of 3000 years BC, plus other artifacts, like vases of terracotta and utensils for various uses.

The primitive man chose, without doubt, as fix residence, the hill where Tarsia is now built. The numerous caves in the vicinity must have furnished him a safe shelter. His presence in the area would go as far as the Paleolithic Age.

The findings prove the continuity of the settlements of the prehistoric man along the Mazzolino-Caselle axis. An ancient tale places the first houses across from the present cemetery, along the left shore of the Crati River, but overlooking the valley below.

In 212 BC, most certainly a tribe of Ausoni-Tauriani shepherds stopped on the top of the Tarsia hill, decided to stop their nomad life and there they built the first permanent huts.

These tribes had emigrated from Asia Minor and spread over most of southern Italy, according to historians. Livio wrote of contingents of Taurian soldiers allaying themselves with Cosenza against Rome in the year 212 BC. Logic tells us that they were from the town of Tarsia and the nearby Torano.

Roman Era 132 BC: (Caprasia Station of Popilia Rd.) a new stretch of highway of 161 miles from Capua to Reggio was built by the Consul Publio Popilio, of whom the road took the name.

Every 20 miles of the road had a supplying station for travelers, with large silos able to preserve food for considerably long time. According to the Roman method of road building, the site of Caprasia must have been located far away from Cosenza and 41.29 km. from Morano. Along the axis Mazolino-Caselle-Cona. Remains of travelers' supply station have been found there. Obviously, Popilia Road could not have passed through a different location.

September 1^st, 1860 Garibaldi was travelling in couch for several hours parallel to the Crati Valley, which was, then a thick swamp woods, deserted in day time and infested by highway bandits in the night. After about several hours of travelling, he arrived at Tarsia cemetery. He then descended from his couch and started walking through the short cut path to Torretta. On the outskirts of the town, he encountered a woman walking toward him. She stopped with some unexplainable fear, but then, having realized that man was Garibaldi, she joyously welcomed him with a "Hail". Garibaldi, smiling, asked: "Who goes there?" She replied: "Garlumbardu" Garibaldi. The leader, still smiling, exclaimed: "We are in friendly territory!"

Garibaldi entered the town of Tarsia from the side of the Rossi building, and directed himself to the city hall, while the announcer, playing his trumpet, called the attention of the inhabitants.

The City Hall Mayor of Tarsia of the time was Luigi Santoro, who immediately liked Garibaldi, so much so to ask him to become godfather of his newborn daughter. Garibaldi named her Anita, like his wife. Since then, most of the newborn baby girls in Tarsia were named Anita.

Umberto Boulevard : in the heart of the town, during excavation work to build a new underground sewer web, many ancient tombs and ceramic containers and amphorae were found. Contrada Mazzolina: the location was inhabited for a long period of time, as the discovery of stone axes of the Neolithic Era, two bronze warrior's helmets and fragments of "Skiphoy" varnished in black of the IV and III Century b. C. testify; bricks and amphorae of the Roman times and even, among other things, lead pipes of the late imperial times. Locality Mandoleto: in this neighborhood, one century ago, an enormous amphora decorated with the image of Phallus and Hercules and a bronze statue of the same hero where found, which reflect the Greek Era. Also of Hellenic era of the IV and II Century BC. are the archeological findings in Contrada Lauro-Macchione del Bruco.

While in Contrada Le Caselle there are traces of the "Statio Caprasiae".

In substance, all the area shows remnants of artifacts comprising the Iron Era to the Roman Era.

During these last 50 years, however, many of these findings have been destroyed by work of modernization of the area. Nevertheless, it can be said that all the territory between the present town and torrent Follone has witnessed a very dense transit of population between Century IV BC, to the V century AC.

Translation by Fidelio Tarzia

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