Squillace

History

Medieval and early modern history

• The modern town was founded as a Byzantine fortress during the Byzantine reconquest of Italy.
• During the Middle Ages it was subject to frequent raids by Saracens, who made it for a short time a strong military base.
• After the brief Arab rule, the city fell under Norman hegemony. Its strategic military role, already recognised by the Greeks, was also recognised by the Normans who in 1044 built a castle and transformed the settlement into a county.
• During the Kingdom of Sicily, with the lordship of Roger of Lauria, Squillace passed first to Robert of Anjou and to the counts of Monfort, then for one hundred and fifty years the city was ruled by the counts of Marzano.
• In 1445, it reverted to the Aragonese Kings of Naples but passed by marriage to the infamous House of Borgia, who ruled the city as Princes of Squillace from 1494 to 1735.
• Gioffre Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI and younger brother of Cesare Borgia and Lucrezia Borgia, married Sancia of Aragon, daughter of Alfonso II of Naples. Gioffre thereby obtained both the Principality of Squillace and the Duchy of Alvito as his wife's dowry.
• Although Gioffre was deprived of Alvito after the death of Sancia in 1506, he managed to retain Squillace. He subsequently married Maria de Mila, and passed it on to their son Francesco Borgia.
• The Borgia Princes were: Gioffre, Francesco, Giovanni, Pietro and, finally, Anna that on whose death, paed to Francisco de Borja y Aragón and last to his brother Fernando de Borja y Aragón. Living either in Naples or in Spain, the Borgias ruled their fief through governors.
• Under the Bourbons, Squillace was downgraded to a Marquisate and granted in 1755 to the Marquis Leopoldo De Gregorio, a noble from Messina who was to be the last feudal Lord of Squillace.

  Ceramics

Notable people

• Cassiodorus
• Florestano Pepe
• Guglielmo Pepe