Information AboutBelmonte |
|
The town of Belmonte is perched on a hilltop on the coast of Calabria in Southern Italy . The town is known today as Belmonte Calabro. Belmonte was founded in about 1270, under the reign of Charles I Of Sicily (also Charles of Anjou, and King of Naples 1282-1285), with the construction of a castle by Drogone di Beaumont, the marshal responsible for new fortification in Calabria. The castle at Belmonte was intended to provide resistance against partisans fighting for the Duke Of Swabia . It was constructed in the territory of Amantea in order to maintain control over the citizen body, which was supportive of Conrad V, last of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. During the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282), Belmonte was conquered by Sicilian-Aragonese troops. Belmonte was elevated to the status of county, and assigned to Peter Salvacossa. In 1360 the county was awarded by Queen Giovanna to a family of Amantea, which maintained it until 1443. In that year the Aragonese transformed Belmonte into a barony and assigned it to the Tarsia family, who maintained it until 1578. During the feudal tenure of this family the petrarchan poet Galeazzo di Tarsia composed his canzoniere or Book of Songs in the castle of Belmonte. Under the Tarsia lordship, Belmonte was besieged several times: during the invasions of Charles VIII of Valois and Louis XII, by the French between 1495 and 1503, and again in 1528 under the French marshal Odet De Foix, Vicomte De Lautrec . The Tarsia were succeeded by the Ravaschieri Fieschi, of the Counts Fieschi di Lavagna, an ancient family of powerful Genovese bankers. Feudal tenure of Belmonte is recorded to have been purchased from the Tarsia for 28,220 ducats. Under the Ravaschieri churches were constructed in Belmonte, fortifications built and palaces laid out. In 1619 the title of Prince was granted to the Ravaschieri by King Philip III of Spain. The Principate of Belmonte was further enlarged in 1630 with the purchase of the town of Amantea and the manor of Saint Peter. In 1647, during the revolt of Masaniello, the Prince provided 200 of his armed Belmontese vassals to Naples to assist the Viceroy. In 1685, the Ravaschieri family had no male heir, and the principate of Belmonte passed first to the Pinelli by marriage and then in 1722 again by marriage to the Pignatelli Princes. HSH (His Serene Highness) Prince Antonio Pignatelli, also the 6th Prince of Belmonte by marriage, possessed great power- minting his own coinage among which was the famous "zecchino of Belmonte", a gold coin on which appears both the Prince's head and coat of arms. In 1806 and 1807 Belmonte memorably supported Amantea and Fiumefreddo while under siege by French troops commanded by General Peyri. Belmonte's castle was the last to surrender. Under the French, Belmonte became the centre of the admininistrative area of Crati, comprising the territory that reaches from Amantea to Guardia Piemontese and including the cities of Aiello, Altilia, Mangone and Rogliano. With the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, Belmonte gained the additional name of Calabro, to distinguish it from other Italian places of the same name. The coat of arms of Belmonte itself is a palm between two towers under a princely crown. The two towers represent the fortifications of Verri and Barbarise, with the palm symbolizing the countryside between. |