COSENZA, ARCHDIOCESE of. — C., the ancient metropolis
of Brutium, on the far northern spurs
of the Sila, at the confluence of the Crati and the Busento,
dominates the historic valley of the Crati, the scene of memorable
events.
Before the Roman conquest it maintained its original character against Greek predominance, which prevailed in the coastal cities. In the Roman period, although
it was a very important station on the Via Popilia, it had little
importance. In the Middle Ages it was long disputed by the
Byzantines and the Lombards; but it succeeded in safeguarding
its Latin character. With the Normans its
upward progress began. The Hohenstaufen built there
the imposing Frederickian fortress on the hill of S. Pancrazio. From the Angevins it received significant privileges,
which were increased by the Aragonese.
In the sixteenth century it took part in the European cultural movement
through the impetus that some of its men gave to Humanism. Indeed, at that time there lived Aulo Giano Parrasio,
founder of the Accademia cosentina, Bernardino Telesio,
Bernardino and Coriolano Martirano, Cardinal Paolo Parisio,
Sertorio Quattromani, and others.
As a diocese, C. is certainly among the oldest in the
region, although there are no grounds for tracing it back
to the apostolic age or for substantiating the assertions of
regional writers, who assign as its first bishop
Suera, companion of St. Stefano of Nicea, left by St.
Paolo at Reggio. Nor are there grounds
for identifying it with one of the two bishops, Massimo and Severo,
«episcopos per Bruttios», to whom Innocent I wrote in
416. The first bishop whose name is authentically recorded
toward the end of the sixth century is Palumbo, mentioned three
times by St. Gregorio Magno.
In the 12th century, especially in the Provinciale vetus of Albino, it appears as a metropolitan see, with the bishopric of Martirano, suppressed in 1818, under its authority; since then C. has had no suffragans.
Among its prelates, C. has counted men distinguished for piety, zeal, and learning. The following deserve mention: the Cistercian Luca Campano (1203–24), who wrote the life of Gioacchino da Fiore and rebuilt the Cathedral; Bartolomeo Pignatelli (1254–67), the “shepherd of C.” remembered by Dante; Pirro Caracciolo (1452–81), who approved and supported the Order of Minims; Nicola Gaddi (1533–35), later a cardinal; Taddeo Gaddi (1561–66), the preceding prelate’s nephew and also a cardinal, like Evangelista Pallotta, who founded the seminary in 1587; Giovan Battista Costanzo (1591–1617), a benefactor of C. on account of the impetus he gave to the Academy; the canonist Antonio Ricciullo (1641–42); Giuseppe Maria Sanfelice (1650–52), a cardinal; and Gennaro Sanfelice (1661–94).
C. was the birthplace of the two cardinals Paolo Parisio, a distinguished jurist, and Giovan Battista Salerno, a Jesuit; Daniele Sersale, general abbot of the Vallombrosans; Tommaso Sersale and Francesco Antonio Cavalcanti, superior generals of the Theatines, the latter of whom was also archbishop of C. (1744–48); and Bruno Guzzolini, general of the Minims, in the second half of the 18th century. It was also the birthplace FIORE, IL (v.), from the hamlet of Celico, immortalized by Dante in canto XII of the Paradiso (vv. 140–41); the hermit Telesforo, who lived in the 14th century; the bb. Matteo Vitari, Gerardo, Pellegrino, and Bonazio of the Florense Congregation; the bb. Angelo and Zaccheo, Observants; and the Jesuits Fulvio Caputo, killed by the Indians, and Francesco Sembiese, apostle of China, etc.
Many illustrious men were born in the diocese, among them: s. Ugolino da Cerisano, one of the seven Franciscans martyred at Ceuta in 1227; s. Francesco di Paola (v.), founder of the Order of Minims, canonized by Leo X in 1519; the b. Bernardo Milizia da Bogliano, founder of the Augustinian Congregation of Collereta; the b. Francesco da Zumpano, founder of another Augustinian Congregation known as that of the “Zumpani”; Gaspare del Fosso da Bogliano, general of the Minims, who died archbishop of Reggio in 1592; the venn. Francesco L’ambo da Paola, Paolo Rendace da Paterno, and Bernardo Maria Clausi da S. Sisto, Minims, whose beatification processes are extant; Sertorio Caputo da Paterno, a Jesuit, who died in the odor of sanctity at Aquila in 1608; Bernardino Plastina da Fuscaldo, general of the Minims and subsequently bishop of Oppido in 1696, etc.
C. preserves a magnificent cathedral, with naves in the Romanesque-Norman style and apses in the Cistercian Gothic style, built by Archbishop Luca Campano and solemnly inaugurated in 1222 in the presence of Federico II, who on that occasion presented it with a precious and artistically executed Byzantine enamelled staurotheke; it was largely rebuilt in 1750. The churches of S. Domenico, with its dome and Gothic portico, recently restored to their original forms; S. Francesco d’Assisi, with a 15th-century cloister; S. Agostino, S. Francesco di Paola, S. Gaetano, etc., also deserve mention. In the diocese one may admire the Florense archicenobium of S. Giovanni in Fiore, contemporary with and in the same style as the Cathedral; the sanctuary of S. Francesco di Paola, with a Renaissance façade from the 16th century; the sanctuary of the Madonna della Catena at Laurignano, with a modern renovation in polychrome marble; etc.
The archdiocese of C., covering an area of 1000, 1100, has 120 parishes, 185 diocesan priests and 71 religious priests, and 340,656 inhabitants, of whom 306 are non-Catholic (1948). – Vedi inv. XXXVII.