Cosenza (; local dialect: Cusenza, ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a population of more than 700,000. The demonym of Cosenza in English is Cosentian.
The ancient town is the seat of the Cosentian Academy, one of the oldest academies of philosophical and literary studies in Italy and Europe. To this day, Cosenza remains a cultural hub, with several museums, monuments, theatres and libraries. The modern city is the centre of an urban agglomeration including, among others, the municipality of Rende, where the University of Calabria is located.
Geography and climate
Situated at the confluence of two historical rivers, the Busento and the Crati, Cosenza stands 238 m above sea level in a valley between the Sila and the coastal range of mountains. The old town, overshadowed by its Swabian castle, descends to the river Crati. The modern city lies to the north, beyond the Busento, on level ground.
Almost completely surrounded by mountains, Cosenza is subject to a microclimate scarcely influenced by the effects of the Mediterranean Sea. It experiences cold winters and hot summers.
History
Origins
The ancient Consentia (), capital of the Italic tribe of the Brettii, was a bulwark of the Italic people against the Hellenic influences of the Ionian colonies. It was in this province that the Battle of Pandosia was fought, in which a small Italic army composed of Brettii and Lucanians defeated the uncle of Alexander the Great, who was known as Alexander of Epirus. Over the centuries, Cosenza maintained a distinctive character, that marked it out among the cities of the region. Under Emperor Augustus, it became an important stopover on the Roman route via Popilia, which connected Calabria to Sicily. During the Roman Empire, the town benefited from municipal privileges.
Alaric's legendary tomb
In 410 AD, Alaric I, king of the Visigoths, sacked the city of Rome, becoming the first foreign enemy to capture the city in more than 800 years. Alaric amassed a great amount of treasure during his conquest of Rome. According to the historian Jordanes, after sacking Rome Alaric headed south with his troops, advancing easily until reaching the area of Cosenza, where he died. No one is certain how this happened: Some believe he contracted a disease that took his life, while others feel that his death came from an attack by enemy forces. In any case, his troops honored their king by burying him in a tomb in Cosenza. His burial place is said to have been at the confluence of the Busento and Crathis rivers. A horde of slaves were used to divert the water from the Busento, allowing them to dig a tomb large enough for Alaric, his horse, and all of the treasure amassed from his conquests in Rome. Once the tomb was completed, the river was returned to its bed and the tomb covered with water. Then, to ensure that no one would reveal this location to anyone, Alaric's troops killed all of the slaves.
In the centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, several towns in the province of Cosenza, most notably Rossano, refused to acknowledge the new governments of the Ostrogoths. Instead, they used their good fortune of having strong city walls and small Roman garrisons to hold out for centuries as semi-independent enclaves of the still existent Eastern Roman Empire in Italy.
Norman, Hohenstaufen, and Angevin period
Bitterly disputed between the Saracens and the Lombards, the town was destroyed, then rebuilt around 988; only to be ravaged again in the early eleventh century. In the attempt to escape the devastation, the population left the town and sheltered on the surrounding hills where they built some small hamlets (still denominated as, casali).
By the first half of the eleventh century, Lombard Calabria became a feudal dukedom of the Normans, with Cosenza as the capital. The town soon rebelled against the rule of Roger Guiscard and was recaptured only after a long siege. Subsequently, under the Hohenstaufen rule, the town became the seat of the Court of Calabria (Curia Generale). Emperor Frederick II had a particular interest in the town: he promoted construction and economic activities, organising an important annual fair.
