Toponymy About the origins of the name given to Palmi is a constant tradition, followed over the centuries to its foundation, it has acquired its name because of the many
palm trees that stood in its territory, so much so that the indication
De Palmis,
Roger I Count
Calabria specified grant of the
Church of San Georgium, in 1085, the Church of St. Mary of the Twelve apostles and
Bagnara Calabra.
Dominus Palmae was called instead by Baron De Iacobus Roto of
Seminara in the records of the
Angevin barons of Calabria in 1333, while in the following centuries, the ancient
Civitas Palmarum notaries they used the expression to indicate Palmi. Which, in the 16th century, by Gabriel Barrio was called to
Parma while Lando Alberti was appointed as
Palma.
Carlopoli was also named in the aforesaid century, in honor of the Duke Carlo Spinelli, who rebuilt the fortress after a Saracen devastation, so much so that in 1567 are given the title of
oppidum (a confirmation of fortification) and
Palma nunc Carlopoli assuming that the new Carlopoli was built next to the old town. Only in 1669 it began to be written
Palmi, but with the start of the 18th century, the city was known as ordinarily
Palme, a name that always prevailed until the
unification of Italy (1860), where it settled as
Palmi.
Prehistory and antiquity The municipal area was already inhabited by the
Bronze Age, as evidenced by findings obtained in the excavations conducted in the "Cave of Pietrosa" or hut remains discovered in
Taureana of Palmi. From the 4th century BC and up to the 10th century, in the municipality developed on the city of
Tauriana before
Brettia and
Roman. The latter was in 951, which was destroyed by the troops of the Emir
Palermo Hasan Ibn Ali, for failure tribute owed by the Byzantines to which belonged the extreme southern Italy. Fleeing, the part of Taurianensi dedicated to traffic and the arts seamanship chose and planted the upper part of the coast, between
Monte Aulinas and the river Metaurus, in district
De Palmis where there were houses of the Tauriani.
Middle Ages The small town, hamlet of
Seminara and feudal lords of the latter, was hit again in the course of centuries by Saracen pirates until, in 1549, after the devastation of the last feudal lord Duke Charles Spinelli decided to fortify it. In this way, the city took on a rectangular shape and was surrounded by walls with four imposing towers which stood extremes. In that century, the city grew in importance attracting all the maritime trade of the southern coast of Calabria. Independent of Seminara in 1632 in the 17th century, the city developed urbanistically and economically thanks to the commercial activity of its inhabitants and the foresight of the Marquis Andrea Arena Concublet that instituted a "fair". The walls to the east fell gradually to allow the coupling to the new agglomerations were to be formed as a result of population growth. Also in the 17th century the urban fabric focused around a node formed by the new "Market Square".
Early modern In the 18th century Palmi crossed one of the most flourishing periods of its history, until 1783, when it was hit by an earthquake which resulted in 1,400 deaths. The reconstruction of the city took part following the plan prepared by Ing. G. De Cosiron. The city was placed in the capital of the district in 1806. In 1860 took the landing of
Giuseppe Garibaldi and his expedition of the Thousand to Marina di Palmi, and the event had put to flight the large garrison Bourbon in town. With '
Unification of Italy, the district was repealed and the city was placed at the head of the district of Palmi (abolished in 1927). In 1894, the city was the epicenter of an earthquake. Despite the power of the shock and the great ruins that produced, the number of deaths was only eight, of this was due to a condition referred to as miraculous, which coincided with the history of the
miracle of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Palmi. In 1908 Palmi was almost totally destroyed by the violent
earthquake of December 28, which resulted in about 600 deaths. The town was rebuilt. Pucci stavolgendo almost completely urban planning of the past centuries. The reconstruction, which involved the entire first half of the 20th century, gave the city a pleasant appearance, with the uniformity of the volumes, with the
neoclassical style of the new buildings and the construction of monuments and works of art.
World War II saw the urban development in the field of
tertiary putting Palmi as the main administrative center, office and school of the Tyrrhenian coast of the province through the establishment of secondary schools, facilities of the armed forces, health facilities and judicial offices and other public and private entities. In 1999 was established by the
Province of Reggio Calabria, the Environment of the Plain, renamed in 2008 district of Palmi. == Geography ==