MARTIRANO. - An ancient diocese in the province of Catanzaro, in Calabria. The small town lies on the slopes of the Sila, in the valley of the Savuto (Sabatum), which opens into the Plain of S. Eufemia, ancient Clampetia. It is highly doubtful that it is the Roman Mamertum of Strabo. As a diocese, it was a Latin foundation, and its existence is attested only from the middle of the 11th century.
Consequently, the bishops prior to the year 1000, mentioned by Ughelli, Lucenzio, Fiore, and Gams, refer to Marturianum in southern Tuscia. The earliest mention of M. is in the bull of Stefano IX, dated 6 March 1058, where it appears among the suffragans of Salerno. Shortly afterwards, however, it is listed as the sole suffragan of Cosenza, which at about that time was raised to metropolitan rank. It remained so until its suppression in 1818, when it was united to Nicastro.
The diocese of M. was very small: besides the episcopal see, it included Conflenti, Motta S. Lucia, and Scigliano, altogether with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. Within its territory stood the Cistercian monastery of Corazzo, of which Gioacchino da Fiore was abbot.
Among its prelates deserving mention are: Filippo di Matera of Cosenza, grand chancellor of Federico II; Rinaldo d'Aquino, man of letters and jurist of the second half of the 13th century; Angelo Greco, humanist; the Milanese Aurelio Bienato; and Giacomo Palamolla.