Marano Marchesato Explained

Marano Marchesato
Official Name:Comune di Marano Marchesato
Coordinates:39.3167°N 26°W
Province: (CS)
Mayor:Edoardo Vivacqua
Area Total Km2:5.04
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:3065
Population As Of:2007
Population Demonym:Maranesi
Elevation M:550
Saint:Madonna del Carmine
Day:15 July
Postal Code:87040
Area Code:0984
Istat:078076

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

The origins of the town's name are widely disputed. One claim is that the name derives from the medieval Marano family, who, throughout the course of the Saracen occupation of the nearby emirate of Amantea, provided refuge to those fleeing the Muslim conquest. A second hypothesis is that Marano refers to the Spanish word "marrano", a derogatory term given to Iberian Jews who had converted to Christianity before the Spanish Inquisition. Many of these early converts, or "conversos", fled to southern Italy given the region's climate and linguistic similarity. This theory is furthered by the existence of a thriving silk trade in the town's history.

Notes and References

  1. All demographics and other statistics from the Italian statistical institute (Istat)