History of San Ferdinando
Marquis Vito Nunziante had two rows of buildings designed and built in line, with a wide street in the middle; and at the two ends of it, in one the church, in the other a palace for itself.
Each row then composed of many houses; and between one and the other, a viella; and all the houses with doors on the main street, and large courtyards in the middle. Two miles away then the cemetery. And he named this town San Ferdinando, and established a curate there: and then a doctor, and the necessary artifices; taking them, with the permission of the King, among the condemned of the majesty, of whom there were many at that time"
This is the historical testimony found on page 85 of Francesco Palermo's book, Vita e fatti di Vito Nunziante, published by the “Dai Tipi della Galileiana” publishing house in Florence in 1839.
In ancient times the territory of today's San Ferdinando was part of the county of Borrello, governed by the Pignatelli family, and followed its events.
The area around San Ferdinando is within the boundaries of the historic town of Rosarno, which is the site of the Greek city of Medma. Rosarno and its surroundings arose during the Byzantine era and appeared for the first time in history in a document in 1037. The rule of Rosarno was very controversial, due to its strategic importance in taking over the fertile valley of the Mesima river and was controlled by various feudal lords, including the Ruffo and Pignatelli families. Located along the sea, San Ferdinando was a community planned to support a major nineteenth-century public works project to transform the malarial Mesima Valley into a commercial agricultural town. Following a strong earthquake in 1783 the Mesima river valley of the Rosarno plain was said to have sunk almost a meter creating significant changes in water flow and the creation of lakes and swamps. This change in the geology and ecology of the area provided an environment for malaria to breed. This resulted in deaths that halved the population by the start of the nineteenth century. This cataclysm left roads unpassable and the destruction of most buildings in the area.
In response to these calamities the government decided to rebuild to alleviate the unemployment, poverty and backwardness that reigned in the southern provinces. This included a plan for improved access if roads and bridges and the reclamation of unhealthy swamps and lakes. In 1818, King Ferdinand I authorized a government-funded project for the reclamation of wetlands in Rosarno, as proposed by General Vito Nunziante. The general was familiar with the local farmers, who were experts in the cultivation of hemp, cereals, flax and the breeding of silkworms and proposed the development of an agricultural country employing the latest best practices in agriculture. After the wetlands were drained and suitable for cultivation, a plan for small houses and a church was created and families from the Tropea area and surrounding villages settled there.
In 1823, the 35-year-old woman Pasquale Barbalace came from nearby Carciadi, the first settler, with his wife and five children - Antonia (née Punturiero), Francesco, Pietro, Carlo, Giacomo and Antonio. He later settled with his family in San Ferdinando, his father having eight children older than him and was known for his extraordinary work ethic and dynamism in various community building efforts. The country he is said to have founded was called Romulus, after one of Rome's legendary twin founders who were raised by the she-wolf. After 30 years (in 1853), working hard in San Ferdinando, Mr. Barbalace died at the ripe old age of 96.
Over the next few years (1823-1825) the families who followed Mr. Barbalace were: Pantano and Tavella from S. Nicolò di Ricadi, Loiacono, Celi and Polimeni from S. Nicolò; Morano from Preitoni, Petracca from Lampazone, Rizzo, Taccone, and Naso from Spilinga, Tripodi from Brivadi; Loiacono from Orsigliadi; Punturiero from Carciadi and Falduti from Caroniti. As the financial and social prospects were proving positive in this new venture, subsequent years brought the families of: Pulella from Ricadi, Zungri and Mumoli from Lampazone; Wet by Comerconi and Rombola by Brattirò.
The original six houses, today remembered as the "Prince's case", were built away from the Mesima River and near the beach in the current area of Via Bologna and Via Como and near a modest palace that General Nunziante built for himself itself (Recently the house of the heirs of Pasquale Loiacono). As more and more families came houses were built along Via Bologna, Via Salerno, Via Rosarno, and on the corner of Via Magazzini, as well as the Chiesa del Perdono (Chiesa del Perdono). The small one-story houses, which were organized around a courtyard, included a bedroom, kitchen, pantry and toilets and were made of volcanic stone sent by boat from the island of Lipari by the marquis, Don Francesco Barresi, father of General Nunziante. Some of these are still standing, despite the progress of reconstruction in the city centre.
As the city grew in size and citizens prospered, the city which was locally known as Casette, due to the typical small and low dwellings, was renamed San Ferdinando in honor of the King, who sponsored the development of the area. With royal decree nº 597 of 28 October 1831 the village of San Ferdinando was erected as a village of the Municipality of Rosarno. While the archive documents record houses being built since 1823, the first record of rents paid for farmhouses was in 1840 and a contract dating back to 1842 recording the lease of houses of Don Paul DeLauretis (heir of Nunziante) for a period of two years for Pantano, Loiacono, and others of the original families of San Ferdinando. The basic rate was 4 ducats, with 6 ducats for those with single rooms. In addition to taxes, tenants were forced to clear land and improve their property.
Despite the influx of families from the surrounding villages, in 1842 General Nunziante wanted to hire more skilled labor to build more houses to grow the city's commercial enterprise. He turned to the Bourbon government to enlist the labor of men convicted of common crimes, who had demonstrated good behavior and had served less than four years of their sentence. The government agreed and Nunziante paid them a salary, to ensure that they were able to be housed and pay the government the penalty associated with their crime. Many men, intending to rehabilitate themselves rather than remain in prison accepted the offer and worked side by side with the other settlers. This practice of employing petty criminals lasted for a few decades until 1862.
Below is a list of these men from parish registers and court documents during these 20 years: Del Vecchio da Ioppolo; Contartese from Ricadi, Tambaro from Scafati; Naccarato from Cosenza, from Pantano Brivadi; Megna from Coccorino, Russo and Falcone from S. Maria Capua Vetere; Bailiff from Potenza; Bovolo di Torre del Greco; Zavaglia from Polistina; Porretti from Monteleone, and Faggiano, Ferraro, Pignatelli, Cusano and from various other parts of the kingdom. Most came from the countryside, Sicily and Basilicata.
In 1891, during the construction of the Gioia Tauro-Nicotera railway section, it was initially planned that the railway would pass through San Ferdinando which would thus have a station; subsequently the project was modified and the station moved to Rosarno.
It remained a fraction of Rosarno until 28 November 1977 when with regional law nº 28 San Ferdinando was declared an autonomous municipality.
20/01/2024