Cortale in Catanzaro Province

Cortale is the village of my grandmother, Caterina Maiuolo. It is located near the comuni of Maida and Jacurso. Cortale is divided into two sections Upper Cortale (also called Donnafiore) and lower Cortale also called Cortale Inferiore. Pronounced Cortala, this comune has a proud heritage of art. Cortale's most famous citizens are The Cefaly's. The Cortalesi are proud of their heritage and this small comune has roots going back to the days of the Roman Empire. The Patron Saint of Cortale is St. John, the Baptist.

About Cortale

The road to "Upper Cortale" is a long winding treacherous road. As you approach the top a small shrine appears on the roadside containing a small statue of the Madonna. This is called "Donnafiore" but no one knows how it got that name. Speculation that it was the name of the woman who built the shrine cannot be confirmed. "Donna" in Italian is not a name but a title meaning "lady". Fiore is a man's name and possibly a surname. No one will ever know for sure, but at one time this shrine was important in the town. Beyond the statue is a beautiful panoramic view of "upper Cortale" and the Mother Church amidst the lush green hills. As you can see in the picture a beautiful view. Lower Cortale consists of fertile farm land and several churches.

Cortale was especially hard hit by the mass emigration from about 1880 through the 1920's. Once a large bustling town with a population close to 6,000 it now has 2,772 citizens. My grandmother's family came from this comune. Most of her family left Cortale during the mass immigration. They continued to leave Cortale for the United States up until 1920. Many of my grandparents neighbors in the Chicago area came from Cortale. Nellie Bilotta a good friend of my grandmother and great aunt was a neighbor in Cicero, Illinois and Cortale. A list of immigrants from Cortale(in Excel spreadsheet format) can be accessed here.

Cortale Legends

Panorama of Upper Cortale from the road into town

The Holy cross

The inhabitants of Cortale tell a story that explains their devotion to the Holy Cross. It is said that while ploughing the land, something very strange happened to a peasant. He realized that his oxen were kneeling at a certain spot on his land, and decided to find out why. In the very spot where the animals were stopping he found a strange stone cross with miraculous properties. For this reason the Church of Santa Croce was built there.

Poor Betta's Oak

Another Cortale legend says that years ago in Cortale a violent gang of bandits lay in hiding in the Spano area and robbed and hanged travelers. One day the gang leader’s mother, who was deeply saddened by her son’s cruelty, thought it better to have a son who was dead rather than one who was a bandit. So she decided to poison him. At dinnertime she served an omelet made of poisonous herbs. But the wrongdoer, becoming suspicious, made his dog taste it. After a few moments the animal dropped dead. The bandit ordered his mother to be hanged from the highest oak tree in the village. And to this day it has been called "Poor Betta's oak" (after the woman).

Mayors of Cortale

Here is a list of Cortale's mayors from 1809 through the present.

• 1808-1811 Gennaro Cefali
• 1811-13 Vincenzo Cefalì De Caria
• 1814 Antonio Pallegrini
• 1815-16 Flaminio Malta
• 1817-19 Pasquale Venuti
• 1820-21 Annibale Pellegrini
• 1821 Francesco Pellegrini
• 1822-23 Annibale Pellegrini
• 1824-28 Pasquale Venuti
• 1828 Flaminio Malta
• 1829-32 Pietro Cristofari
• 1832-34 Francesco Vallone
• 1835-37 Pietro Bilotta
• 1838 Fortunato Cefalì
• 1839-41 Domenico Pellegrini
• 1842 Pietrantonio Cefalì De Rinaldis (royal delegate)
• 1843-44 Domenico Pellegrini
• 1845-47 Francesco Parisi
• 1848-51 Domenico Pellegrini
• 1852-54 Antonio Cristofari
• 1854-58 Antonio Cefalì
• 1859 Giovanni Malta
• 1860 Fortunato Venuti
• 1861 Giovanni Provenzano
• 1862-64 Domenico Pellegrini
• 1864-68 Giovanni Provenzano
• 1868 Giuseppe Vallone
• 1868-69 Ortensio De Jozzi (royal delegate)
• 1870-72 Domenico Pellegrino
• 1873-78 Antonio Cefaly
• 1878 Fortunato Venuti
• 1879-83 Antonio Cefaly
• 1884 Giovanni Provenzano
• 1885-88 Francesco Cinque
• 1889-91 Giuseppe Vallone
• 1892-98 Francesco Pellegrini Rhao
• 1899-1900 Perfetto Cefaly
• 1901-05 Francesco Pellegrini Venuti
• 1905 Francesco Pellegrini Rhao
• 1906-08 Raffaele Barilà
• 1909 Giuseppe Bertone (royal commissioner)
• 1909-14 Francesco Pellegrini Venuti
• 1914-15 Vincenzo Bonelli
• 1916-20 Giovanni Pellegrini Rhao
• 1920-23 Francesco Pellegrini Venuti
• 1923-28 Francesco Mangani
• 1929 Pirrò Pirozzi (commissioner)
• 1930-32 Giovanni Migliaccio
• 1932 Francesco Riga (commissioner)
• 1933-34 Giovanni Migliaccio (commissioner)
• 1934 Michele Galatà (commissioner)
• 1935-37 Giovanni Pellegrini Rhao
• 1938-43 Carlo Cefaly
• 1943 Carlo Cefaly
• 1944 Fortunato Cefaly
• 1945 Michele Silipo
• 1945-48 Giuseppe Sgotto
• 1949 Amedeo Cappelli
• 1949 Cosimo Saraceno
• 1950-52 Domenico Majolo
• 1952-56 Francesco Cefaly
• 1956-60 Giovanni Riga
• 1960-70 Domenico Todaro
• 1970-80 Tommaso Mungo
• 1980-83 Paolo Scalfaro
• 1983-84 Antonio Ciliberti
• 1984-85 Antonio De Marco
• 1985-90 Domenico Siclar
• 1990-95 Domenico Simonetta
• 1995-99 Raffaele Muraca
• 1999-present Domenico Melandro

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Churches Of Cortale

Santa Maria Cattolica Maggiore church (pictured) boasts a statue done by Andrea Cefaly around 1870 called Italia. The statue of a woman represents Italy and you will notice her back is to the church. This was a political statement representing the separation of politics from faith. It was a strong and popular sentiment around the time of the unification of Italy. At one time there were a number of churches in Cortale. Today only 3 are in use. They are:

• Santa Maria Cattolica Maggiore
• Chiesa Matrice di Santa Maria Cattolica
• Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista

Pictured is Santa Maria Cattolica Maggiore which is located in upper Cortale.

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