Martone
Martone is a comune in the former province of Reggio Calabria, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The town was founded between the 7th and 8th centuries by Greek Christian monks from the Byzantine Empire, particularly from the regions around the Aegean Sea and the Levant.
Martone, like many communes in the Locride area, was part of a larger group of comuni, all founded by Greek monks.
Within the Grotto territory are small monastic churches that still preserve traces of Byzantine art. In addition to preserving historical relics, these monasteries were instrumental in promoting agriculture and trades. They were involved in reforestation, land reclamation, and cultivation, which helped establish the first artisanal activities during the Byzantine period.''''
Early History & Naming (9th-15th century)
The name Bucito appears in several 12th-century documents. It is recorded in a 1119 act signed by Nicola, son of Leone, a presbyter and protopope of Bucito, and again in a 1139 document referring to the church of the Theotokos. A later reference occurs in a 1181 deed of sale involving members of a family from the area of Bucita, which also mentions a notary from Buceto.There is also a reference to an ancient village of Basilian origin named Santa Maria di Bùcita. According to Ottaviano Pasqua, in his Life of Nicola II, Bishop of Gerace from 1219 to 1229, Nicola II claimed the rights of the Mensa vescovile over the Cerchietto property: "quod circum locos, quibus a S. Johannis oppido, et S. Maria di Bucita, Martonem hodie vacant, continetur".
Presence of monks
In the bios of San Nicodemo, Codex Messanensis XXX, folio 247 r-v, it states: "There is, therefore, in the area of Bucito a temple dedicated to the Mother of God, very famous, and the site is very suitable for us." However, when the monks arrived, they found the local inhabitants celebrating the Feast of the Ascension of Saint Mary. Unable to find the tranquility they sought, the monks returned to Kellerano.Another finding that could confirm the presence of Greek monks in the proximity of Martone is perhaps a small church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, where excavations have revealed a Byzantine necropolis. Furthermore, in the locality of Gujune, the remains of the Basilian monastery of S. Anania are still visible, which has a cell isolated from the rest of the grotto by a wall that most certainly was used as a dormitory for the monks.
Proof of the presence of Greek monks in Martone is the Signum Pacis, which is now in the church of Maria SS. Assunta. It consists of a metallic tablet with a handle depicting the resurrection of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The Signum Pacis was offered to newlywed couples to kiss at the end of the nuptial ceremony as part of an ancient Byzantine ritual.
defined Martone as a very ancient town in his treaty on "Grotteria with two thousand inhabitants, with the jurisdiction of two very ancient villages, Martoni and S. Giovanni". In his contribution, Abbot thus writes: "Martone, one of the lands of the Area called in the past S. Maria di Bucita; the other is named S. Giovanni."
According to certain testimonies, the history of Martone was related to a 12-volume opus, which got lost in the transfer from the old to the new municipal building. Parlà and Cutrone must have written something about Martone, but their manuscripts have also been lost.
The origin of Martone is unclear, as with other adjacent centers. Martone must have also undergone notable development at the time of the Saracen invasions in Calabria. Fiore, on page 174 of his Calabria illustrates, calls it a "'very ancient village' together with S. Giovanni".
Aragon domination period (1442–1503)
In the 1400s, Martone, although continuing to belong administratively to Grotteria and the diocese of Gerace, became a feudal domain of various families. The first known family is the Spanish Aragona de Ajerbis, under whose possession it remained from 1431 to 1450. At that time, Martone was one of the four "castles of the Baronage of Grotteria" together with S. Giovanni, Mammola, and Gioiosa.From 1450 to 1458, the commune was ruled by Tommaso Caracciolo, who held the title of First Marquis. Caracciolo’s usurpation of authority at the expense of the Episcopal Curia led to royal intervention, which curtailed several abuses of power and local conflicts. The Marquis Caracciolo was accused of being an 'offender of the person of the King'. By order of King Alfonso V, Caracciolo was deposed and imprisoned in 1445. In 1447, he was condemned to death but was able to escape and find refuge in Rome.
On 1 January 1458, King Alfonso invested his Councillor Marino Correale as Master of Arms for the Baronage of Grotteria, "cum Terris and Casalibus infrascriptis Moctǽ Jojosǽ, Mammulǽ, Sancti Johannis a Giraci, Salvi, Sideroni, Oiccoloni, Martoni, et Baptipedoni…" Martone was administered on behalf of the Royal House, first by Marino Correale and subsequently by his brother Raimondo, nobles of Sorrento, with the title of Governor.
Being part of the territory of Grotteria, it followed its feudal events, passing from a possession of the Correale family to the Carafas and, then, to the Loffresos, to the Ruffos, to Elias, to the Aragonas, and again to the Carafas until the abolition of feudalism.
In 1501, Martone passed together with Grotteria, of which it was part, to the Neapolitan family Carafa, a branch of the Caracciolos, and in 1503, obtained the Principality of Roccella.
An exponent of this family, namely Don Carlo Maria Carafa, gave some laws to his lands; one was prompted by "an iniquity" committed very often in Martone, where trees were being cut and burnt. For this crime, innocent persons were prosecuted. To prevent such an occurrence, Don Antonio ordered that, before being able to request compensation for the damages, it was necessary to bring a certain number of witnesses in front of the judge.
During this period, Martone underwent three severe earthquakes: one in 1659, another in 1663, in which the chapel of SS. Salvatore was destroyed, and one more in 1668, which destroyed the Church of San Nicola.
The Habsburgs of Austria (1707–1738)
From 1707, after Spanish rule ended, the South of Italy came under the rule of the Habsburgs of Austria, who remained until 1738. During this period, internal fighting continued, causing unrest in the country.In 1723, a territorial boundary was drawn between the municipalities of Martone and Gioiosa Jonica, and a slab of local granite was placed at the entrance of the town as a border marker. It has the date inscribed and the borders mapped, which no longer apply due to the continuous expansion of the residential area towards Gioiosa Jonica.
Period under the Bourbons (1738–1806)
Following the 1738 Treaty of Vienna, the Bourbons ruled the Kingdom of Naples. Under their rule, there was a half-century of peace. This period was not altogether tranquil, however, because of both internal fighting and natural disasters.In the administrative ordinance set up at the time of the Partenopean Republic in 1799, Martone was a municipality in the canton of Roccella. The Bourbons enacted the law on 1 May 1816, by which it was transferred into the domain of Giosa Jonica.
1783 earthquake
The Calabrian earthquakes of 1783 struck Martone and nearby villages on 5 February 1783. The earthquake, which lasted about 15 minutes, caused a significant amount of damage to Martone as well as destroying the majority of Calabrian villages resulting in around 30,000 casualties.The residential center located in the low zone was destroyed and was relocated to higher ground on the hill, where it still exists today. A Calabrese writer of that time described the violent earthquake, stating:
"Around midday, a dense fog enveloped the entire region; the clouds remained stationary for lack of wind. The animals, restless, were running from place to place. Suddenly, we heard a confused noise in the air, then came a strong wind, and the earth began to tremble. At first, it produced light shakes, then a very violent one. The houses were torn from their foundations, and stones and bricks were catapulted into enormous distances. Another most potent wave uprooted secular trees, which splintered and shattered as they fell. Deep crevices opened up in which men and things were swallowed. Several chasms opened and quickly closed, like monstrous jaws, that later on, when digging, people and houses were found almost bonded into terrifying mush. The sea also precipitated onto the shore with furious waves, overthrowing hundreds of people that had gathered there to seek safety".
French domination (1806–1815)
At the beginning of the French occupation, with an edict by Joseph Napoleone Bonaparte dated 2 August 1806, the feudal system was abolished, after which the territory was subdivided into 13 provinces, each one into districts and municipalities.Return and End of Bourbon rule (1815 - 1861)
In 1815, following the downfall of Joachim Murat, Bourbon rule was re-established. They maintained, in general lines, the stable administrative structure of the French, and Gerace was confirmed as the capital of the district. The profound civil and social transformation of the brief innovative French period had prepared an atmosphere not altogether ready to accept the Bourbons' absolutism, which was to follow the beginning of the 1847 insurrection and, in the District of Gerace, had a quick and unfortunate conclusion with the execution of the Five Martyrs in the Piana di Gerace, who had fought for liberty, as Vittorio Visalli writes in Lotta e Martirio del popolo Calabrese. Ruffo and Pier Domenico Mazzone, two of the Five Martyrs of Gerace, in their flight in order to avoid being caught, sought refuge in the territory of Martone, in one of Mazzone's properties, but soon departed as they realized that both the local and S. Giovanni's di Gerace's Civic Guards were searching for them.The Bourbons' rule ended with the arrival of Garibaldi's troops, which were welcomed with jubilation in the whole of the South of the Peninsula. The pro-Bourbons were trembling with fear, displaying the tricolour cockade and Italian-style beards. Many citizens of Martone formed part of Giuseppe Garibaldi's army.