Caulonia
by Gustavo Cannizzaro

Pacichelli print - 1703

By the decree of the 26^th of March 1863, Castelvetere changed its name to Caulonia and the city began a new era of its history. We were in post-Risorgimento Italy and our community was preparing to live the problems and hopes that new times would bring. This young kingdom through the works of  T. Mommsem and the poet G. Carducci the values and the charm of the classic world. During the same years H. Schliemann, with his admirable discoveries, gave a strong impetus to the archaeology which was coming into its golden age. To tell the truth our people have always been aware of their classical origins, reinforced by the continual discovery of objects over the entire territory. Over the course of centuries, as Prota tells us, the various Barrio, Marafioti, Nicolosi and Alberti always remembered that the inhabitants of the Greek colony built, on the high planes of the valley of the amusa and of the Allaro, Castelvetere and that the same Kaulon had to rise right after the banks of the allaro river, near the site of Focà. Inspired by this knowledge the Castelvetere citizens obtained the decree in 1863. Nearly three decades were to pass before the archaeological investigation, led by Paolo Orsi, established as a certainty that the original site had been near Punta Stilo. During this time, not only did the city change its name but also, in part, the internal toponomy to introduce references to the new regents: the Mese became Piazza Umberto I, Piazza Seggio became Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and the road which crosses the entire historical centre took on the first queen of Italy’s name: Margherita.
Caulonia did not only renew itself by changing its streets’ names, it also gave itself a more modern urban facade. The roads were restudied, work was begun on the new roads connecting, even today, the Marina to the centre. The aqueduct was built which brought drinking water to the inhabitants, the cemetary was built outside the town on the foundations of the ancient Cappuccini convent.Street lighting was put in,in the shape of petrol lamps. These were the years when thefirst transatlantic emigration took place.

Via Vincenzo Niutta

Since the beginning of the century, the archpriest Davide Prota had finished his work on the archives which he published in 1913 under the title: Ricerche Storiche Su Caulonia. It has been amply used in the creation of this guide. Our admiration and gratitude towards this great man, who with his meticulousness managed to gather a huge amount of information, is huge and enables us to have a serious knowledge of our history. Without Prota’s work, we would only have an extremely vague idea of our past.
Caulonia also gave the Great War its contribution in blood and many of its inhabitants received merits and medals for valour and the title of Cavalieri di Vittorio veneto.
The “ventennio” (20 years) passed Caulonia without strong social contrasts. Not even political violence was common. The way forward was taken by holding demonstrations and leading the same life as usual. With the end of the Second World War, Caulonia witnesses a strong social dynamism in the shape of the “Repubblica Rossa di Caulonia” (the red republic of Caulonia) before and with the subsequent land occupation. Lastly, the disastrous flooding of 1951 was the origin of the great change caused by a strong emigration flux and the birth of Caulonia Marina.