TAURIANO. — An ancient episcopal see of Calabria, incorporated into Mileto in 1086.
It was a maritime city, between Medma and Palmi, near present-day Gioia Tauro. In all probability it took its name from the nearby river Metauro, now called the Petrace. It does not appear among the colonies of Magna Graecia, but it is mentioned in the Roman period by Pliny, Mela, and Stephanus of Byzantium. Nevertheless, inscriptions discovered recently demonstrate that in the imperial period the population of T. was mixed, Greek and Latin.
The faith was preached early at T.; an inscription from the Constantinian period mentions a bishop Leucosius, a Greek name given a Latin form. In the fifth century s. Fantino (v.) lived there; a Basilian monastery was built over his tomb, as recorded by Nilo Doxapatrino around 1140. His life was written by Bishop Pietro in the eighth century.
T. is mentioned in the Regesto of s. Gregorio Magno. In 591 the Pope recommended to its bishop Paolino that he gather at Messina his monks, dispersed by a barbarian, perhaps Lombard, incursion. They were not, however, monks, as some maintain, but clerics living in community, following the example of those who lived near s. Eusebio, s. Martino, s. Agostino, and others. A bishop named Lorenzo took part in the Synod of s. Martino in 649. He is the last Latin name to appear in the catalogue of the bishops of T. In 680 Bishop Giorgio signed in Greek, as did all his successors. During Byzantine rule, T. became an important monastic centre: the ss. Elia d'Enna, lo Speleota, and Filarete lived there. The last bishop whose name is authentically recorded is Paolo, who attended the Ecumenical Council of 870. Nevertheless, it appears from the Bios of s. Elia Speleota that at the time of his death, around 960, he was assisted by Bishop Vitale. The episcopal see therefore still existed at that time, perhaps having been transferred to Seminara, since the city seems to have been destroyed by the Saracen raids of Hasan ebd All in 950–51. Count Ruggero il Normanno, who in 1073 had founded the bishopric of Mileto with the remains of Vibona, incorporated the territory of T. into it in 1086, obtaining the canonical sanction of Urbano II in 1093.