Vibo Valentia

The splendid feudal capital of the Pignatelli

Vibo stands on the slope of a hill facing the gulf of Sant'Eufemia. In a strategic position, the city and its port are a nexus between the plain of Sant'Eufemia, the plain of Gioia Tauro and the Serre Calabresi. It was also crossed by the consular road, known as Popilia-Annia, which ran from the Appia to Capua and continued to Reggio Calabria, and which remained an important artery during the Middle Ages.

The first settlement in the area was the Locrian colony of Hipponion, later replaced by the Roman Valentia. It was also known as Vibo/Vibona, which is probably an Oscan derivation. Between the 9th and 10th centuries, following the Saracen incursions, some of the population abandoned the narrow coastal strip and sought refuge on the hill behind. 

The "rebirth" of the city is usually traced to the intercession of Frederick II of Swabia, who renamed it Monteleone.

In the fifteenth century the city was not particularly prosperous despite its favorable position, but during the sixteenth century, following the rise of the feudal lordship of the Neapolitan Pignatelli family, there was a progressive increase in the population and rapid economic development.

A key figure is certainly Ettore Pignatelli, who gained dominion over the city at the beginning of the sixteenth century initially with the title of count and later as duke. Prior to that it had been part of the royal estate. 

He was the powerful viceroy of Sicily under Charles V of Habsburg, but had an exceptional artistic sensitivity and a solid humanistic education, he made Monteleone his "feudal capital", renovating or erecting buildings, such as the convent complex of Santa Maria di Gesù or San Dominico, in synergy with the religious orders. 

He also hired artists of the caliber of Antonello Gagini, owned a rich library and brought together several intellectuals in his court, such as Antonio Sebastiano, known as Minturno.

In this stimulating cultural climate, Monteleone also experienced an early phenomenon of private collecting in the extraordinary figure of Galeazzo Capiabi, who in 1514 had set up a substantial number of antiquities (sculptures and epigraphs) outside his palace, probably from ancient Valentia.