Catanzaro, Diocese of
The city of CATANZARO, capital of the homonymous province in Calabria, lies between the gulfs of Squillace and Sant’Eufemia. It is of Byzantine origin and, because of its position, has held considerable importance since the Norman period.
The origins of the diocese of Catanzaro are a matter of controversy among historians. Many contest any objective value of the *Chronica Trium Tabernarum*, considering it a forgery from the 13th century attributed to the canon Ruggero of Loritello, while others accept its substantial truth. According to this source, Catanzaro is the successor of the see of Tres Tabernae, corresponding to present-day Taverna. Evidence of this diocese appears in a Greek diploma of 1091, in which Theodorus Mesimeros subscribes as bishop of Squillace, Stilo, and Taverna. Pope Callistus II, during his visit to Calabria to meet with the Norman princes, is said to have transferred the see to Catanzaro, consecrating its cathedral and donating the relics of Saint Vitalian, who became its patron. In more recent times, the *Chronica Trium Tabernarum* has gained ground through the work of Caspar, Jaffé, and Fabre. The latter notes that in the *Liber Censuum*, among the sees subject to the Holy See, Tres Tabernae is listed, with references to the bulls of Callistus II published by Jaffé, concluding: «This foundation and these documents have been contested, but they withstand criticism, and our book provides them with solid support.»
The see of Tres Tabernae, transferred to Catanzaro in the 12th century, lost its exemption and became a suffragan of Reggio, as recorded in the *Provinciale Vetus* of Albino (PL 98, 474), remaining so until 5 June 1927, when it was elevated to an archiepiscopal see.
The territory of the diocese comprises 5 vicariates, 46 parishes, and over 90,000 souls, served by 63 secular and 12 regular priests (1948). Catanzaro is home to one of Italy’s earliest regional seminaries, dedicated to Pius X and inaugurated in 1914, though a serious fire has recently rendered it unusable. The cathedral, of good classical form, was restored in 1665 by Bishop Consalvo Caputo.