Paola, Calabria

Paola
Comune
Città di Paola

Panoramic view
Paola

Location of Paola in Italy

Coordinates: 39°22′N 16°2′E / 39.367°N 16.033°E / 39.367; 16.033Coordinates: 39°22′N 16°2′E / 39.367°N 16.033°E / 39.367; 16.033
Country Italy
Region Calabria
Province / Metropolitan city Cosenza (CS)
Government
  Mayor Basilio Ferrari (PdL)
Area
  Total 42 km2 (16 sq mi)
Elevation 94 m (308 ft)
Population (December 31, 2014)
   7,805 men and 8,409 women
  Total 16,914
  Density 400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Paolani
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 87027
Dialing code 0982
Patron saint St. Francis of Paola
Saint day April 2 and May 4
Website Official website

Paola is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.

Geography

Paola is on the eastern shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Nearby towns include Fuscaldo to the north, San Lucido to the south, and (beyond a ridge) Montalto Uffugo to the east and San Benedetto Ullano to the northeast.

History

In July 1555, the Beylerbey of the Mediterranean, Turgut Reis, captured the city.

In August 1943, the middle of World War II, while almost all the citizens of the city were hiding from the air raids by Allied bombers inside the Monastery of St. Francis of Paola, an 80 kg (176 lb) iron-core bomb fell right in the middle of the agglomeration, but did not detonate, a fact widely reported as a miracle. The reason behind the bombing was the presence of Carlo Scorza, secretary of the National Fascist Party, second only to Mussolini.[1][2][3]

Main sights

Saint Francis Sanctuary, Del'Annunziata church dome, S. S. Rosario church, Ipogeo di Sotterra church. Feast of Saint Francis, May 1–4.[4]

Personalities

Paola is the home of St. Francis of Paola and houses a world-famous Catholic sanctuary dedicated to the saint.

Transport

Paola railway station, opened in 1895, forms part of the Battipaglia–Reggio di Calabria railway, and is also a terminus of a secondary line, the Paola–Cosenza railway.

Twin towns

See also

References

Media related to Paola at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/24/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.