Messignadi

Messignadi
Location of Messignadi
Messignadi is located in Italy Messignadi Location of Messignadi in Italy Messignadi is located in Calabria Messignadi Messignadi (Calabria)
Coordinates: 38°17′51.36″N 15°59′46.32″E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed.
Country	Italy
Region	Calabria
Province	Reggio Calabria
Elevation	326 m (1,070 ft)
Population (2018)
• Total	1,000
Demonym(s)	messignadesi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	89014
Patron saint	Saint Nicholas of Myra Saint Vincent Ferrer

Messignadi is a small inhabited center, part of the municipality of Oppido Mamertina, in the province of Reggio Calabria.

File:Campagna Messignadi.jpg

The Aspromonte seen from Messignadi

Geography

Located in the expanse of centuries-old olive trees that surrounds the plain of Gioia Tauro, at the foot of the Aspromonte, it stands at 326 m a.s.l. and is 66 km from the provincial capital. It can be reached by taking the A3 from Palmi or Gioia Tauro, following the signs for Oppido Mamertina and Varapodio. Neighboring centers: north Varapodio, Terranova Sappo Minulio and Taurianova; east Molochio and Monte Trepitò; south Piminoro; west Oppido Mamertina and Tresilico.

History

File:Messignadi Magini.jpg

Calabria Ultra, cartography of 1602 by Giovanni Antonio Magini, detail.

The origins of Messignadi date back, with relative certainty, to Magna Graecia. Over time the name has undergone some variations; among those noted: Massinado, Messiniade, Mesoignadi, Mesignade. The etymology probably derives from the Greek word Μεσσηνίάδoς (of Messenia), so it could be hypothesized that the first nucleus was founded by the ancient Messenians, coming from Messenia, region of the Peloponnese, and initially settled in Zancle (ancient name of Messina) around the 5th century BC. It is also possible that the name Messignadi derives from the union of the Greek verb μεσόω with the noun ναιαδi, literally translated: which is in the midst of the Naiads, mythological divinities, nymphs of the springs. In fact, Messignadi in ancient times was surrounded by river courses. Only fragile memories remain of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods. Between the years 1050 and 1064 Messignadi is mentioned in some sales and donation contracts stipulated in the territory of Oppido. The historian friar Giovanni Fiore da Cropani (1622-1683) in his "Calabria Illustrata" writes that Mesignade originated from the fugitive colonies of the cities destroyed by the Moors. In the thirteenth century, under the reign of Charles I of Anjou, Messignadi was part of the fiefdom of Oppido, with Boemondo baron (who died around 1290, who was a knight and lord of Oppido, of Barapodo, of Papanico, of Lecodrapano, of Massinado, of Verminico and San Vito; confirmed in his power by King Charles I of Anjou in 1273). In 1513 Cardinal Bandinello Sauli, bishop of Oppido and Gerace from 1509 to 1517, founded the Dominican convent there, whose ruins are still visible today in the Filesi district (or Spilinga) and whose church was dedicated to Santa Maria della Palomba. In the cartography of the 16th and 17th centuries, Messignadi appears as a strategic location at the center of important crossroads. With the earthquake of 1783, known as the scourge, it was largely destroyed, but its rebirth took place in a short time. In 1799, when the Parthenopean Republic was established, it was part of the department of the Sagra, based in Seminara. From 1588 Messignadi boasted the title of universitas and then municipality until 1854 when, from a municipality of the Kingdom of Naples, it became a hamlet of Oppido. The town suffered serious damage in the 1908 earthquake, which caused two deaths and thirty-four injuries; the two tallest buildings in the town, one of the Lando family and the other of the archpriest Schiava, collapsed in ruins. In the reconstruction following the earthquake, the new houses were built in the Nucari region, east of the town, and in the flat areas towards Varapodio; we also saw the rise of new historical buildings, such as the parish church of San Nicola di Mira and Piazza Salvatore Rosa, where previously there was a small temple dedicated to the Madonna, which was destroyed.

Monuments

The church

Dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, it was built in 1927. Consisting of a single nave which is accessed through the large wooden door on the front facade, it presents inside the main altar in the shape of a ciborium, with the center the aedicule that houses the ancient wooden statue of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra. On the sides of the main altar there are: on the left the altar of the Blessed Sacrament; on the right the image of the "Divine Mercy". Along the nave there are six minor altars, three on each side, with their respective aedicules: from the left, starting from the central altar, the altar of the Heart of Jesus, of St. Vincent Ferreri, of the Holy Virgin of Carmel; from the right the altar of Saint Anthony of Padua, of the Immaculate Conception, of Saint Paul the Apostle. At the entrance: on the left, a wooden statue of the sixteenth century depicting the Archangel Michael in the act of crushing Satan; followed by the statues of St. Joseph and St. Teresa of the Child Jesus; on the right the statue of Santa Rita da Cascia. The church has a large sacristy, attached externally to the right wall of the main building, and a bell tower with a quadrangular base set against the rear wall.

Economy and Tradition

The main activity consists in the cultivation of the olive tree and the production of good quality olive oil; there are in fact several oil mills. The olive harvest, which generally begins in November, takes place mainly with the manual harvesting method: the olives are harvested when they have fallen spontaneously and end up on the nets that remain stretched throughout the harvest period.

Festivals

The patron saint is Saint Nicholas of Myra (feast day 6th of December), whose devotion has been replaced over time, according to popular traditions, by that for the patron saint, Saint Vincent Ferrer. The latter, unlike the first, is celebrated with a solemn procession and large participation of the faithful on the second Sunday of August. Since 2015, according to the new norms promulgated by the Diocese, the feast of San Vincenzo has been held on April 5th. The wooden statue of San Vincenzo was found intact among the ruins of the old Dominican convent located near the town, in the Filesi district. This event, considered miraculous, was followed by numerous prodigies attributed to the intercession of St. Vincent in the course of the following centuries, and this certainly contributed to overshadowing the ancient devotion to St. Nicholas. The sacred effigy of St. Vincent is venerated inside the parish church of Saint Nicholas of Myra, located on an altar-shrine on the left wall, recently restored. A note of folklore that characterizes the celebrations in honor of the saint is the wandering through the streets of the village of the Giants, two papier-mâché puppets, depicting a Moor warrior and a noble girl, about three meters high, preceded by the sound of drums and a small donkey also made of papier-mâché. The giants are part of an ancient Calabrian tradition, parade through the streets during the village festivals to cheer with their dances and to mark the path of the country with a festive mood. The street thus becomes a ritual place full of symbolic magic and religiosity. The street thus becomes a ritual place full of symbolic magic and religiosity.

Another important religious event for the people of Messignadi is the feast of the Madonna della Montagna di Polsi, which is celebrated on the 2nd of September each year. On the night preceding the feast, the devotees walk, in religious pilgrimage, along the winding mountain roads, to reach the longed-for destination of the sanctuary of the Madonna di Polsi, in the heart of the Aspromonte in the morning. Great significance for the people of Messina also takes on the feast in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua, on June 13, when the statue of the saint is carried in procession through the streets of the town; on this occasion there is the characteristic distribution of the blessed loaves to the whole population after Mass. Again, on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, an ancient wooden statue of the Madonna, probably dating back to the seventeenth century, preserved in one of the side aedicules of the church, is led in procession through the town between music, songs and prayers. Finally, no less noteworthy, the procession of the blessing Child Jesus on the day of the Epiphany.

Image gallery

• Cartography from the sixteenth century.
  Cartography from the sixteenth century.
• Cartography from 1790
  Cartography from 1790
• Cartography by Giovanni Antonio Rizzi-Zannoni, 1793
  Cartography by Giovanni Antonio Rizzi-Zannoni, 1793
• Cardinal Bandinello Sauli bishop of Oppido and Gerace
  Cardinal Bandinello Sauli bishop of Oppido and Gerace
• Piazza Santa Rosa
  Piazza Santa Rosa
• Corso G.N.Muratore
  Corso G.N.Muratore
• Procession of Our Lady of Fatima pilgrim, 30 May 2008
  Procession of Our Lady of Fatima pilgrim, 30 May 2008
• Feast of San Vincenzo, 10 August 2008
  Feast of San Vincenzo, 10 August 2008
• Messignadi at night
  Messignadi at night
• Parish church of San Nicola di Mira
  Parish church of San Nicola di Mira
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  Statue of St. Nicholas of Mira
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  Statue of St. Vincenzo Ferreri
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  Statue of the archangel Michael
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  Immaculate Conception statue
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  Casa del podestà
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  Ruins of an old farmhouse from the 16th century.
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  Snowfall on February 13, 2009
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  Corpus Domini Procession, 2009
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  Entrance of Messignadi
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  Piazza Santa Rosa with the fountain of the Madonnina
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  Christmas time
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  Reliquary of St. Vincenzo Ferreri
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  Feast of the Immaculate Conception
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  Procession of the Bambinello
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  Feast of Corpus Domini, June 6, 2010
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  The bagpipe, feast of St. Vincent
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  Feast of St. Vincenzo Ferreri, 8 August 2010
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  Procession of Our Lady of Carmel, 31/10/2010
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  La figurella: detail of the Annunciation
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  Corpus Domini, June 26, 2011
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  Night walk
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  Feast of St. Vincent, 14 August 2011.
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  Campanile

Bibliography

• Rocco Liberti: "Quaderni Mamertini - Messignadi".
• Giovanni Fiore da Cropani: "Della Calabria Illustrata", Tomo I, page. 323, Rubbettino Ed.
• Mario Battaglini: "Il Monitore Napoletano", page. 183, Alfredo Guida Editore
• Rocco Liberti: "Il Quotidiano della Calabria", 23 dic 2008, Testimonianze sotto le macerie, page. 38
• Isabella Loschiavo Prete: "Il terremoto del 1908 nel circondario di Palmi", pages. 22,24,47, Ed. Città del Sole
• Da Internet: https://messignadineltempo.blogspot.com/ by Filippo Tucci

Other projects

• Wikimedia Commons contains images or other files on Messignadi

This article "Messignadi" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Messignadi. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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