Mongrassano
Mongrassano: a small town in Calabria
Hello everyone! Today I will talk about Mongrassano, a town in the province of Cosenza in Calabria. Mongrassano has a population of 1518 people and is located 540 meters above sea level on an area of 34.68 km² within the "Unione delle Valli" Mountain Community. The town borders Bisignano, Cerzeto, Fuscaldo, Guardia Piemontese, Acquappesa, Fagnano Castello, Cervicati, and San Marco Argentano.
The areas of Mongrassano
The territory of Mongrassano is divided into several areas that represent the various urban centers of the town. Some of these were established by Italians and others were added with the arrival of Albanians. Today, the inhabited center of Mongrassano is divided into five areas called "Li Romani," "La Costa," "Lo Piano," "La Sciuria," and "Serra di Leo." "Li Romani" is the oldest settlement and takes its name from the presence of Italians, like the Italian areas of "La Costa" and "Lo Piano." "La Sciuria" and "Serra di Leo," on the other hand, are the areas where Albanians settled.
The history of Mongrassano
Mongrassano already existed in the 12th century with various denominations such as "''monscrasanus," "''Mons Crasanus," "''Mocrasani," "''Mocrassano," "''Moncressano." In the territory, around the first half of the 12th century, a monastery dedicated to Santa Maria was built. Today, there is no trace of this monastery.
During the Middle Ages, the Santa Maria monastery was part of the castellanìa of San Marco Argentano and then of the County of Rinaldo del Guasto and Restaino de Agot. In 1334, the Sangineto family was involved and in 1421, it was granted to the emerging Sanseverino family with the title of baron.
In 1459, Sanseverino gave the civil jurisdiction of Mongrassano to Quintilio de Zenone, Diocese of San Marco Argentano-Scalea. After the death of Luca Sanseverino, the duchy of San Marco passed to his son Girolamo. We know that he favored the settlement of Albanians in his lands.
We do not know the exact date of the arrival of Albanians, but we know that according to an accounting book, they were already present in 1488 and had founded the neighborhood called "La Sciuria" for which they were taxed 20 ducats.
Conclusions
In this article, we have discovered that Mongrassano is a town in the province of Cosenza in Calabria. The territory of Mongrassano is divided into several areas and today the inhabited center is considered divided into five areas. The history of Mongrassano dates back to the 12th century when a monastery dedicated to Santa Maria was built in the territory. During the Middle Ages, the monastery was part of the castellanìa of San Marco Argentano and then of the County of Rinaldo del Guasto and Restaino de Agot. Finally, we know that Albanians settled in Mongrassano, although we do not know the exact date of their arrival.
