Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.
NICASTRO, DIOCESE of. - City and diocese in the province of Catanzaro; it lies on the foothills of the Sila, at the edge of the plain of S. Eufemia, the ancient Clampetia, through which flows the Sabatum, now the Savuto.
It has a population of 117,500 inhabitants, all Catholics. It has 56 parishes, served by 62 diocesan priests and 11 regular clergy; it has a seminary, 3 male religious communities, and 20 female ones (Ann. Pont., 1951, p. 287).
It is not mentioned in classical antiquity, since there are no sufficient grounds for identifying it with the ancient places recalled by regional historians. Its very name indicates a medieval and Byzantine origin. Its strategic and fortified position attracted the attention of the Normans and the Swabians, especially Frederick II, who declared it part of the royal domain, exchanging with Nocera Terinese half of the city, subject to the Benedictines of S. Eufemia. Local historians trace the episcopal see back to the very earliest apostolic times, even giving it names of bishops, such as a Gugliemo in 44, a Landulfo of N. in 65, and a Giannantonio in the 5th year of Nero, which constitute an evident anachronism. Neither s. Gregory the Great, in his letters to the bishops of Bruttium, nor the earlier conciliar subscriptions
(from Reims. La France Illustrée, Parigi 1, d., pp. 2525)
Cite this article
“NICASTRO, DIOCESI DI.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII (1952), p. 1064. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/nicastro-diocesi-di.
