Famous Calabrian People

Giacchino da Fiore

With the Norman invasion the Church was renewed: Latin Liturgy was restablished and the ecclesiastical hierarchies that were under the Byzantine control, were subdued to Rome. Western religious orders were consolidated all over the territory: The Benedectines built monasteries at Cetraro and Rossano, the Cistercians at Corigliano, while at Acri they built the very famous monastery of Sambucina, favouring this way the artistic and economic development in all the province.
A new mysticism spread everywere and from it spread the very singular figure of Gioacchino da Fiore who was born at Celico in 1130. He predicted the advent of a new age during which man, made aware about the real and unique spiritual values of life, might have been really happy.
When he was young, he had undertaken a long voyage to the Holy Land. When he came back from there, he was full of mystical zeal and entered the Cistercian monastery of Sambucina and Corazzo where he got a reputation as an orator and there he was appreciated for the novelty and the originality of his arguments.
Around him gathered people from all parts of the world and in order to welcome them, he built a new Monastery in Sila on a hillock callede "Fiore", from which derived the name to Gioacchino and to his order that was called "Florense". He died in 1202 in a monastery at Pietrafitta and there he was wept and venerated by people. The epitaph on is grave reminds us him as "DECUS ET VIRTUS CALABRIAE".


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