# Girifalco

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Comune in Calabria, Italy

Girifalco Comune Comune di Girifalco Girifalco Location of Girifalco in Italy Show map of Italy Girifalco Girifalco (Calabria) Show map of Calabria Coordinates: 38°49′25″N 16°26′25″E / 38.82361°N 16.44028°E / 38.82361; 16.44028 Country Italy Region Calabria Province Catanzaro (CZ) Government • Mayor Pietrantonio Cristofaro Area [1] • Total 43.1 km2 (16.6 sq mi) Elevation 456 m (1,496 ft) Population (31 December 2013)[2] • Total 5,945 • Density 138/km2 (357/sq mi) Demonym Girifalcesi Time zone UTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST) Postal code 88024 Dialing code 0968 Patron saint St. Roch Saint day 16 August Website Official website

**Girifalco** is a *[comune](/source/Comune)* and [town](/source/Town) in the [province of Catanzaro](/source/Province_of_Catanzaro) in the [Calabria](/source/Calabria) region of southern [Italy](/source/Italy).

## History

The first settlements in the area date back to prehistoric times, as evidenced by the archaeological finds discovered in the area and datable to the Neolithic age. It was founded by the inhabitants of Caria and Toco, who, in order to escape the devastating Saracen raids, decided to move to the heights. Possession, at the beginning of the 14th century, of Caterina Niceforo, daughter of the [despot of Epirus](/source/Nikephoros_I_Komnenos_Doukas), then made part of the county of Arena, in which it remained until the end of the fifteenth century. Among the noble families, who obtained their investiture, there were the Borgia of Squillace, the Carafa of Soriano, the Ravaschieri and the Caracciolo. These last two families gave birth to the Duchy of Girifalco which lasted from 1624 to 1806. The toponym has an uncertain etymology. Some scholars refer to the homonymous Italian term, indicating ‘a species of falcon (from the ancient northern word “geirfalk”), others make it derive from the Greek “kur Falkos”.[3] A minute of 1845 records a lodge called Fidelitas being founded at Girifalco in Calabria in 1723. In spite of the lack of earlier records, this is often cited as the first Masonic Lodge in Italy.[4]

## Notes and references

1. **[^](#cite_ref-wikidata-16139ca327c50d72c40d8c5fd3abe706b989650e-v20_1-0)** ["Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011"](https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/156224). Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-wikidata-6c4193b2686f905553042f4ae1ae4934aea078c8-v20_2-0)** ["Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018"](http://demo.istat.it/pop2018/index3.html). Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["ITALIAPEDIA | Comune di Girifalco - Storia"](http://www.italiapedia.it/comune-di-girifalco_Storia-079-059). *www.italiapedia.it*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Joomla: Environment Setup Incomplete"](http://www.ilredattore.it/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=988:la-prima-loggia-massonica-d-italia-e-nata-in-calabria&Itemid=953). *www.ilredattore.it*.

v t e Calabria · Comuni of the Province of Catanzaro Albi Amaroni Amato Andali Argusto Badolato Belcastro Borgia Botricello Caraffa di Catanzaro Cardinale Carlopoli Catanzaro Cenadi Centrache Cerva Chiaravalle Centrale Cicala Conflenti Cortale Cropani Curinga Davoli Decollatura Falerna Feroleto Antico Fossato Serralta Gagliato Gasperina Gimigliano Girifalco Gizzeria Guardavalle Isca sullo Ionio Jacurso Lamezia Terme Magisano Maida Marcedusa Marcellinara Martirano Martirano Lombardo Miglierina Montauro Montepaone Motta Santa Lucia Nocera Terinese Olivadi Palermiti Pentone Petrizzi Petronà Pianopoli Platania San Floro San Mango d'Aquino San Pietro Apostolo San Pietro a Maida San Sostene San Vito sullo Ionio Sant'Andrea Apostolo dello Ionio Santa Caterina dello Ionio Satriano Sellia Sellia Marina Serrastretta Sersale Settingiano Simeri Crichi Sorbo San Basile Soverato Soveria Mannelli Soveria Simeri Squillace Stalettì Taverna Tiriolo Torre di Ruggiero Vallefiorita Zagarise

Authority control databases VIAF GND

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Girifalco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girifalco) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girifalco?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.