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{{About||the province|Province of Crotone|the genus of fungi|Crotone (fungus)|the neighborhood in the Bronx|Crotona Park East, Bronx}}
{{Infobox Italian comune
| name                = Crotone
| official_name       =
| native_name         ={{native name|el|Κρότων}} 
| image_skyline       = Crotone vista dal volo Ryanair FR5116 (BLQ-CRV).jpg
| imagesize           = 
| image_alt           = 
| image_caption       = 
| image_shield        = Crotone-Stemma.svg
| shield_alt          = 
| image_map           = 
| map_alt             = 
| map_caption         = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_alt     = 
| coordinates         = {{coord|39|05|N|17|07|E|region:IT_type:city(60157)|display=inline}}
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| region              = [[Calabria]]
| province            = [[Province of Crotone|Crotone]] (KR)
| frazioni            = Papanice, Apriglianello, Carpentieri, Cipolla, Farina, Gabella Grande, Iannello, Maiorano, Margherita
| mayor_party         = 
| mayor               = 
| area_footnotes      = 
| area_total_km2      = 179.8
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total    =
| population_as_of    = 
| pop_density_footnotes = 
| population_demonym  = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m         = 8
| twin1               = 
| twin1_country       = 
| saint               = [[Dionysius the Areopagite]]
| day                 = October 9
| postal_code         = 88900
| area_code           = 0962
| website             = {{official website|http://www.comune.crotone.it}}
| footnotes           = 
}}

'''Crotone''' ({{IPAc-en|k|r|oʊ|ˈ|t|oʊ|n|eɪ|,_|k|r|ə|ˈ|-}}; {{IPA|it|kroˈtoːne|lang|It-Crotone.ogg}}; {{langx|nap|label=[[Central-Southern Calabrian|Crotonese]]|Cutrone}} or {{lang|scn|Cutruni}}) is a city and ''[[comune]]'' in [[Calabria]], Italy. 

Founded {{circa|710&nbsp;BC}} as the [[Achaea (ancient region)|Achaean]] colony of '''Croton'''/'''Kroton''' ({{langx|grc|Κρότων}} or {{lang|grc|Ϙρότων}}; {{langx|la|Crotona}}), it became a great Greek city, home of the renowned mathematician-philosopher [[Pythagoras]] amongst other famous citizens, and one of the most important centres of [[Magna Graecia]]. 

It was known as '''Cotrone''' from the [[Middle Ages]] until 1928, when its name was changed to the current one. In 1992, it became the capital of the newly established [[Province of Crotone]].

==History==

The promontory of Kroton was inhabited by indigenous populations, perhaps [[Oenotrians]] and Japigi, in the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2019-10-03|author=Francesco Placco|date=2018-04-22|title=La leggenda di Melise|url=https://briganteggiando.it/2018/04/22/la-leggenda-di-melise/|website=Briganteggiando}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> 

===Foundation===

Kroton's ''[[oikistes]]'' (founder) was [[Myscellus]], from the city of [[Rhypes]] in [[Achaea (ancient region)|Achaea]] in the northern [[Peloponnese]], after consulting the [[Delphic Oracle]] who announced:<ref> Diod. 8. 17</ref><ref> Strabo 6. 262</ref>

:''Cross the vast sea and next to the Esaro (river) you will found Kroton.''

The Achaeans were motivated, like others of the [[Greek colonisation]], by the lack of cultivatable land in their mountainous region and by population pressure.

Although the Greek foundation of Kroton was thought to be 710 BC,<ref>Dionysius, Roman Antiquities 2.59</ref> it is likely that Myscellus made three founding expeditions to Kroton,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-17 |title=Lorenzo Braccesi - Miscello e le tre spedizioni a Crotone (1998) |url=https://www.gruppoarcheologicokr.it/biblioteca/lorenzo-braccesi-miscello-e-le-tre-spedizioni-a-crotone-1998/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Gruppo Archeologico Krotoniate (GAK) |language=it-IT}}</ref> the first in ca. 733 in the company of [[Archias of Corinth]] at the head of an Achaean-Spartan venture (when they founded [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]), but which did not result in a stable urban settlement. The second was in 720-709 at the head of an Achaean colonial expedition,<ref>Antiochus FGrHist 555 F 10</ref> hoping to settle in the Sybaris area. The third time in ca. 708 when, at the head of a similar expedition, he founded Kroton.

Archaeology has shown that colonisation in the second half of the 8th century BC had an impact on the settlement organisation and on the economic and social structure of the indigenous communities: in the Kroton area most of the existing settlements disappeared, while grave goods from the Carrara necropolis highlight a widespread practice of mixed marriages between Greeks and indigenous women, since the first generation of settlers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Celsi |first=Giuseppe |date=2020-03-15 |title=Ercole, Miscello, Apollo Pizio e la fondazione di Crotone |url=https://www.gruppoarcheologicokr.it/ercole-miscello-apollo-pizio-e-la-fondazione-di-crotone/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Gruppo Archeologico Krotoniate (GAK) |language=it-IT}}</ref>

===Greek era===

It soon became one of the most flourishing cities of [[Magna Graecia]] reaching a population between 50,000 and 80,000 around 500 BC.<ref name="Jarde2013">{{cite book|author=Jarde, A.|title=The Formation of the Greek People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5aEWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA217 |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-19586-0 |page=217}}</ref> During its early history Croton expanded its influence over the [[Bruttian]] peninsula founding possibly [[Caulonia_(ancient_city)|Caulonia]] in the second half of the 7th century BC.<ref>Pseudo-Scymnus, Periodos to Nicomedes 318–319</ref>

The victory of [[Locri]] and [[Reggio Calabria|Rhegium]] over Croton in the [[battle of the Sagra]] in middle of the sixth century BC<ref>Wonder, John W. (2012). "The Italiote League: South Italian Alliances of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BC". Classical Antiquity. 31 (1). p 139 doi:10.1525/CA.2012.31.1.128 </ref> interrupted the expansion of the city.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vattuone|first=Riccardo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uU0bAAAAYAAJ&q=battaglia+della+sagra|title=Storici greci d'Occidente|date=2002|publisher=Il mulino|isbn=978-88-15-09098-0|language=it}}</ref>

The walls of the city were 12 miles long and enclosed a vast area.<ref>Livy 24.3</ref> 

Its inhabitants were famous for their physical strength and for the simple sobriety of their lives. From 588 BC onwards, Croton produced many generations of winners in the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympics]] and the other [[Panhellenic Games]], the most famous of whom was [[Milo of Croton]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=510}} The physicians of Croton were considered the foremost among the Greeks, and among them [[Democedes]], son of [[Calliphon of Croton|Calliphon]], was the most prominent in the 6th century BC. Accordingly, he travelled around Greece and ended up working in the court of [[Polycrates]], tyrant of Samos. After the tyrant was murdered, Democedes was captured by the Persians and brought to King Darius, curing him of a dislocated ankle. Democedes' fame was, according to Herodotus, the basis for the prestige of Croton's physicians.<ref>Herodotus, ''The Histories'', 3.131: p. 226, Penguin Classics</ref>

Croton formed a league with [[Sybaris]] against [[Siris, Magna Graecia|Siris]] and in the war that ensued after 550 BC Siris was destroyed.<ref>Justin. xx. 2</ref>

[[Pythagoras]] founded his [[Pythagoreanism|school]] at Croton c. 530 BC. Among his pupils were the early medical theorist [[Alcmaeon of Croton]] and the philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer [[Philolaus]]. The Pythagoreans acquired considerable influence with the supreme council of one thousand by which the city was ruled.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=510}} 

Sybaris started to become the rival of Croton under the influence of the Pythagoreans who disliked excess, until 510 BC when Sybaris was shaken by various political events leading to the rule of the tyrant Telys. Many aristocrats were forced to flee to Croton and when Telys asked them to hand over the Sybarite exiles, the Crotonians refused and Sybaris began the war. Croton sent an army of 100,000 men commanded by the wrestler [[Milo of Croton|Milo]] against Sybaris and destroyed it.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} As a consequence, Croton became the capital of a confederation including the 25 city-states<ref>Strabo, Geography, VI, 1, 13</ref> in the region of Sybaris, as shown by numerous coins minted between 480 and 460 BC.

In 480 BC, Croton sent a ship led by the famous athlete [[Phayllos of Croton|Phayllos]] and armed at his own expense in support of the Greeks at the [[Battle of Salamis]], the only one from the Italian coast.<ref>Herodotus 8.47</ref> Half of a stone anchor block bearing his name was found at Capo Cimiti and currently preserved in the Museum of Capo Colonna.<ref> {{Cite web |last=Celsi |first=Giuseppe |date=2019-11-12 |title=Faillo (Phayllos) di Crotone |url=https://www.gruppoarcheologicokr.it/faillo-di-crotone/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Gruppo Archeologico Krotoniate (GAK) |language=it-IT}}</ref>

It founded the colony of [[Terina (ancient city)|Terina]]<ref>Cerchiai, Luca; Jannelli, Lorena; Longo, Fausto, eds. (2004). The Greek Cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily. Translated from Italian by the J. Paul Getty Trust. Los Angeles, California: Getty Publications. p 13 ISBN 978-0-89236-751-1</ref> on the Tyrrhenian coast in 480–470 BC. 

Shortly afterwards, however, a bloody revolt led by the oligarch [[Cylon of Croton|Cylon]], during which many Pythagoreans were massacred and Pythagoras himself had to flee to Metapontum, led to the Pythagoreans being driven out and a democracy established.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=510–511}} At the same time, other similar governments also fell and there were massacres and persecutions of Pythagoreans in all the Italian ''poleis''.

Croton then experienced a period of decline. Around this time the [[Italiote league]] was founded to defend itself from the expansionist aims of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] and from attacks by the Lucanians, with Croton as the hegemon of the league. The meeting place for the league was the [[Temple of Juno Lacinia (Crotone)|Sanctuary of Hera Lacinia]] at Capo Collone 10 km away, which was also used as the federal treasury of the league.<ref>Lomas, K. (1993) Rome and the Western Greeks 350 BC-AD 200: Conquest and Acculteration in Southern Italy (London: Routledge). p 31</ref> The decline was followed by general anarchy, not only in Croton but also in other cities. The intervention of Achaeans brought a truce to the anarchy and the colonies adopted the laws of their original homeland. This calm lasted until [[Dionysius I of Syracuse|Dionysius]], the tyrant of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], aiming at hegemony in Magna Graecia, captured Croton in 379 BC and held it for twelve years. Croton was then occupied by the [[Bruttians|Bruttii]], with the exception of the citadel, in which the chief inhabitants had taken refuge; these soon after surrendered and were allowed to withdraw to Locri.<ref> Francesco Costantino Marmocchi, Corso di geografia storica antica, del Medioevo e moderna esposto in 24 studi da F. C. Marmocchi con atlante, V. Batelli e Company, 1845</ref>

In 295 BC, Croton fell to another Syracusan tyrant, [[Agathocles]]. When [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]] invaded Italy (280–278, 275 BC), it was still a considerable city, with twelve miles ({{convert|12|mi|abbr=out|disp=output only}}) of walls, but after the [[Pyrrhic War]], half the town was deserted.<ref>Livy 24.3</ref>

===Roman era===

What was left of its population submitted to [[Roman Republic|Rome]] in 277 BC. After the [[Battle of Cannae]] in the [[Second Punic War]] (216 BC), Croton was betrayed to the Brutii by a democratic leader named [[Aristomachus of Croton|Aristomachus]], who defected to the Roman side. [[Hannibal]] made it his winter quarters for three years,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=511}} and the city was not recaptured until 205 or 204 BC after the [[Battle of Crotona|Battles of Croton]].{{cn|date=November 2025}}

In 194 BC, it became the site of a Roman colony. Little more is heard of it during the Republican and [[Roman Empire|Imperial]] periods, though the action of one of the more significant surviving fragments of the ''[[Satyricon]]'' of [[Petronius]] is set in Croton, where he mentions the corrupt morals of its inhabitants.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=511}}

===Post-Roman era===
[[File:Castello di Carlo V di Crotone 08.jpg|thumb|right|The castle of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]].]]

Around 550 AD, the city was unsuccessfully besieged by [[Totila]], king of the [[Ostrogoths]]. At a later date it became a part of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Around 841, the [[Republic of Venice]] sent a fleet of 60 galleys (each carrying 200 men) to assist the Byzantines in driving the Arabs from Crotone, but it failed.<ref name="Norwich32">J. Norwich, ''A History of Venice'', 32</ref> 

About 870, it was sacked by the [[Saracen]]s, who put to death the bishop and many people who had taken refuge in the cathedral but were not able to occupy the city. Over a hundred years later, [[Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor]], mounted a campaign in southern Italy to reduce the power of the Byzantines. Later, Crotone was conquered by the [[Normans]]. 

In 1806, it was occupied and sacked by the British, and later by the French. Thereafter it shared the fate of the [[Kingdom of Naples]], including the period of Spanish rule of which the 16th-century castle of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], overlooking modern Crotone, serves as a reminder. Its successor, the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] was conquered by the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] in 1860 and incorporated into the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

===Modern era===
{{unreferencedsect|date=November 2025}}
Crotone's location between the ports of [[Taranto]] and [[Messina]], as well as its proximity to a source of hydroelectric power, favoured industrial development during the period between the two World Wars. In the 1930s its population doubled. However, after the two main employers, [[Pertusola Sud]] and [[Edison (company)|Montedison]], collapsed by the late 1980s, Crotone was in economic crisis, with many residents losing their jobs and leaving to find work elsewhere.  In 1996, the river [[Esaro (Crotone)|Esaro]] flooded the city, which dealt a further blow to the city's morale. Since that low point, the city has undergone urban renewal and risen in quality-of-life rankings.

==Archaeology==
===The city walls===
{{unreferencedsect|date=November 2025}}
The overall layout of the ancient wall circuit of Kroton was reconstructed by archaeology in recent decades. It descends from the St. Lucia hill to the nearby Carrara hill from where it headed north-west towards the Cimone Rapignese on which, at 40 m above sea level, traces of wall have been found, and from here it crossed the Esaro river. On St. Lucia hill material had been reused which confirms that it had been built or rebuilt after of Dionysius' siege. The archaeological data give a city area of at least 617 hectares which may not have been entirely occupied by buildings and may not originally have been entirely surrounded by walls. 

A stretch near the river brought to light in 1978 was also described by Paolo Orsi at the beginning of the century. Also of notable importance are the sections on the "Vigna Nuova" hill and in the water collector of the industrial area of the Papaniciaro stream, where a large fragment was found with a double facing in [[opus quadratum]] and emplecton, dating to the mid-4th century BC.

From excavations carried out from 1975 the line of the Hellenistic walls was completed going up Battery hill and descending by the Pertusola factory towards the sea.

===Urban excavations===

Urban excavations between from 1975 have considerably expanded knowledge of the history of the settlement.{{cn|date=November 2025}} As on all sites where modern cities are built over ancient towns, archaeological research is limited. The data seems to confirm the contemporary occupation of the whole walled area by reasonably close nuclei, between the hill of the Castle and that of the Battery, and northwards beyond the river Esaro, in an area still unoccupied by the modern town. The urban layout has emerged with a sequence of superimpositions throughout the life of the colony, datable between the end of the 7th and start of the 6th century BC.{{cn|date=November 2025}} Three large urban blocks have been identified, organised with an orthogonal network of narrow streets (stenopoi) and streets between individual houses (ambitus). Numerous houses, both of residential nature and mixed house-artisan workshops, have been excavated, as have furnaces and shops specialising in pottery products, areas of necropolis of Hellenistic date. The construction techniques were functional and economical, generally using roughly cut stone, typical of the archaic age. To prevent the deterioration of the lower part of the walls due to rain water, stone footings were additionally protected by tiles or pieces of pithoi (large pottery vessels).{{cn|date=November 2025}} 

Prior to the construction of a new school in Acquabona di Crotone an excavation over a larger area has recently been possible. Two [[stenopoi]] about 5 m wide run across it on an alignment of + 30° E.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FASTI - Record View Page: AIAC_2940 |url=https://fastionline-org.translate.goog/excavation/micro_view.php?fst_cd=AIAC_2940&curcol=sea_cd-AIAC_4374&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=fastionline-org.translate.goog}}</ref>

The discovery of a building in 2010 dating to the Republican age in Via Discesa Fosso indicated the possibility of locating of the Roman colony in the acropolis. The building had painted plaster in Pompeian style with tiled and marble floors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Celsi |first=Giuseppe |date=2022-03-27 |title=La colonia romana di Croto e la statio di Lacenium |url=https://www.gruppoarcheologicokr.it/la-colonia-romana-di-croto/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Gruppo Archeologico Krotoniate (GAK) |language=it-IT}}</ref>

An important ''domus'' found in Discesa Fosso includes baths and indicates a Roman-era "neighbourhood" which may have been distinguished from the rest of the Roman town by its secluded position of absolute prestige.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-18 |title=Margherita Corrado - Memorie e realtà di una Crotone ipogea (2013) |url=https://www.gruppoarcheologicokr.it/biblioteca/margherita-corrado-memorie-e-realta-di-una-crotone-ipogea-2013/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Gruppo Archeologico Krotoniate (GAK) |language=it-IT}}</ref> It seems that it also had a small service port for the domus,<ref>Marino D., Corrado M., Ruga A., Crotone, via Discesa Fosso. 2009, in Arch. Med., XXXVI, 2009a, p. 173</ref> perhaps a breakwater built to protect the port from which the Krotonian aristocrats during the second Punic war, having descended from the upper part of the city, embarked for Locri.<ref>Livy: Ab Urbe Condita XXIV, 3, 15</ref> Perhaps it is the Krotonian port mentioned by Cicero that determined the location of the colony as overlapping with the Greek polis.<ref>Cicero, Att., IX, 19,3</ref>

== Geography ==
=== Climate ===
Crotone enjoys a [[Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Csa'').
{{Weather box
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
|location= Crotone (1981–2010)
<!-- Record high temperatures -->
<!-- Note that record temperatures should be used sparingly in main city articles, and should only be used when the data period is of the greatest length possible. -->
|Jan record high C=21.0
|Feb record high C=22.0
|Mar record high C=25.2
|Apr record high C=26.2
|May record high C=33.0
|Jun record high C=43.0
|Jul record high C=42.2
|Aug record high C=42.0
|Sep record high C=38.6
|Oct record high C=31.8
|Nov record high C=25.4
|Dec record high C=22.4
|Jan high C = 12.7
|Feb high C = 12.8
|Mar high C = 14.9
|Apr high C = 17.7
|May high C = 22.9
|Jun high C = 27.9
|Jul high C = 30.9
|Aug high C = 30.9
|Sep high C = 26.3
|Oct high C = 21.9
|Nov high C = 17.2
|Dec high C = 13.6
| year high C = 
|Jan mean C = 10.3
|Feb mean C = 10.1
|Mar mean C = 12.0
|Apr mean C = 14.8
|May mean C = 19.2
|Jun mean C = 23.4
|Jul mean C = 26.3
|Aug mean C = 26.5
|Sep mean C = 22.9
|Oct mean C = 19.3
|Nov mean C = 14.8
|Dec mean C = 11.5
| year mean C = 
|Jan low C = 6.8
|Feb low C = 6.3
|Mar low C = 8.0
|Apr low C = 10.4
|May low C = 14.7
|Jun low C = 18.5
|Jul low C = 21.3
|Aug low C = 21.7
|Sep low C = 18.7
|Oct low C = 15.5
|Nov low C = 11.3
|Dec low C = 8.1
| year low C = 
<!-- Record low temperatures -->
<!-- Note that record temperatures should be used sparingly in main city articles, and should only be used when the data period is of the greatest length possible. -->
|Jan record low C=−6.2
|Feb record low C=−2.8
|Mar record low C=−1.6
|Apr record low C=0.8
|May record low C=3.6
|Jun record low C=8.2
|Jul record low C=10.0
|Aug record low C=11.6
|Sep record low C=9.0
|Oct record low C=4.0
|Nov record low C=1.0
|Dec record low C=−1.4
<!-- Total precipitation, this should include rain and snow. -->
|precipitation colour=green <!-- Enter "green" for green precipitation colours, "none" for no colours, remove this line for blue colouring. -->
<!-- IMPORTANT: use mm or cm but NOT both! -->
|Jan precipitation mm=96.2
|Feb precipitation mm=87.1
|Mar precipitation mm=94.1
|Apr precipitation mm=52.7
|May precipitation mm=24.7
|Jun precipitation mm=5.2
|Jul precipitation mm=11.9
|Aug precipitation mm=24.0
|Sep precipitation mm=53.9
|Oct precipitation mm=115.8
|Nov precipitation mm=116.2
|Dec precipitation mm=109.8
<!-- Average daily % humidity -->
<!-- If entering the average daily % humidity, then the humidex table should be used. As of December 2009, few if any countries other than Canada use the Humidex. -->
|humidity colour= <!-- Enter "green" for green humidity colors, "pastel" for pastel humidity colours, "none" for no colours, remove this line for blue coloring. -->
|Jan humidity=75
|Feb humidity=73
|Mar humidity=72
|Apr humidity=72
|May humidity=68
|Jun humidity=62
|Jul humidity=57
|Aug humidity=62
|Sep humidity=64
|Oct humidity=74
|Nov humidity=78
|Dec humidity=75
<!-- Average number of precipitation days -->
|unit precipitation days=1 mm <!-- If entering the average number of days, then the unit requirement should be used, because this varies between countries. E.g. 0.2 cm, 0.2 mm. -->
|precip days colour= <!-- Enter "green" for green colors, "pastel" for pastel colours, "none" for no colours, remove this line for blue coloring. Affects rain and snow days as well -->
|Jan precipitation days=8.0
|Feb precipitation days=7.4
|Mar precipitation days=7.0
|Apr precipitation days=5.8
|May precipitation days=4.0
|Jun precipitation days=1.3
|Jul precipitation days=1.1
|Aug precipitation days=2.2
|Sep precipitation days=3.8
|Oct precipitation days=6.5
|Nov precipitation days=7.4
|Dec precipitation days=8.5
<!-- Average monthly sunshine hours, monthly totals are preferred, and will produce colors, but percentages are accepted. Use either the monthly or daily sunshine (depending on the source) but not both. -->
|Jan sun=130.2
|Feb sun=138.3
|Mar sun=170.5
|Apr sun=195.0
|May sun=251.1
|Jun sun=279.0
|Jul sun=313.1
|Aug sun=291.4
|Sep sun=231.0
|Oct sun=189.1
|Nov sun=144.0
|Dec sun=117.8
<!-- Mandatory fields, source -->
|source 1 = Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale<ref name = ISPRA>{{cite web
| url = https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files/pubblicazioni/SA_55_14_Valori_climatici_normali.pdf
| title = Valori climatici normali di temperatura e precipitazione in Italia
| publisher=Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale
| access-date = 26 November 2024}}</ref>
|source 2= [[Servizio Meteorologico]] (precipitation 1971–2000, sun and humidity 1961–1990)<ref name=seme1>{{cite web |url=http://clima.meteoam.it/AtlanteClim2/pdf/%28350%29Crotone.pdf |title=Crotone (KR) 161 m. s.l.m. (a.s.l.) |publisher=Servizio Meteorologico |access-date=7 September 2013}}</ref> Servizio Meteorologico<ref name=seme2>{{cite web |url=http://clima.meteoam.it/viewClino.php?type=File&station=350&name_station=Crotone |title=Stazione 350 Crotone medie mensili periodo 61 - 90 |publisher=Servizio Meteorologico |access-date=7 September 2013}}</ref>
}}

===Main sights===
[[File:Crotone, duomo, esterno, facciata 01.jpg|thumb|right|The Cathedral.]]
*The Cathedral, originally from the 9th to 11th centuries, but largely rebuilt. It has a neo-classical façade, while the interior has a nave with two aisles, with Baroque decorations. Noteworthy are a baptismal font (12th century) and the ''Madonna di Capo Colonna'', the icon of the Black Madonna which, according to the tradition, was brought from East in the first years of the Christian era.
*The 16th-century Castle of Charles V. It houses the Town Museum, with findings excavated in the ancient site of Croton. Notable are also the remnants of the walls, of the same century, and of various watchtowers.
*The ancient castle built on an island, with accessibility on foot limited to a narrow strip of land, is referred to as ''[[Le Castella]]''.

== Government ==
{{See also|List of mayors of Crotone}}

==Transportation==

[[Crotone Airport]] (Sant'Anna Airport) is served by Italiatour.it and other charter airlines. Crotone also has a railway station, although much of the tourism traffic is served by the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway and the National Road (called 106 Ionica) leading all the Jonic (eastern) coast from [[Taranto]] to [[Reggio Calabria]].
In recent times,{{When?|date=July 2022}} Crotone Port has been used by visitors on [[yacht charter]] cruising vacations.

== Culture ==
===Museums===
[[File:Museo archeologico nazionale Crotone - Wikigita Calabria 2022 - f00.jpg|right|thumb|The National Archaeological Museum]]
Crotone hosts a national archaeological museum, a municipal museum, a municipal art gallery, and a provincial museum of contemporary art, as well as the Antiquarium di Torre Nao.
*National Archaeological Museum: founded in 1968, it is located on Risorgimento street, in the heart of the historic city center. The building consists of two floors and contains all of the most significant finds from the archaeological sites of the entire territory Crotone. In particular rich archaeological finds come from the [[Temple of Juno Lacinia (Crotone)|Sanctuary of Hera Lacinia]] site in [[Capo Colonna]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Comune di Crotone - Archaeology and Cultural Heritage| url=http://www.comune.crotone.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/4713#:~:text=National%20Archaeological%20Museum%3A%20founded%20in%201968%2C%20is%20located,the%20archaeological%20sites%20of%20the%20entire%20territory%20Crotone.|access-date=26 November 2020}}</ref>

===Sport===
[[F.C. Crotone]] is a [[Association football|football]] club in [[Serie C]]. The team was promoted to top flight Serie A for the first time in its history for the [[2016–17 Serie A|2016–17 season]], and after one year in [[Serie B]], was again promoted to play in Serie A for the [[2020–21 Serie A|2020–21 season]].

[[Achei Crotone]] is an [[American football]] club in Italy's 3rd division. It was established in 1989 and is considered one of the most storied teams in Italy.

===Сhurches===
'''Church of the Immaculate Conception''': the original construction of the [[Cathedral]] dates back to the 9th century. Initially it was dedicated to St. Dionysius, and later, around 1462–1463, to the Assumption of Saint Mary into heaven. During the centuries, the church was subject to various restoration, although in the 16th century the bishop A. Lucifero undertook its complete reconstruction, using materials removed from the ancient temple of Hera Lacinia. The interior of the church has three naves divided by pillars.<ref>{{cite web |title= Comune Crotone| url=http://www.comune.crotone.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/331|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref>

The '''Cathedral''': in 1686, as attested by an existing marble plaque in the current church, on the old oratory a church was built and dedicated to the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Blessed Virgin Mary]] by a group of lay people who had decided to give birth to a lay congregation in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the [[Purgatory|Souls in Purgatory]], which was also called {{Lang|it|La Congregazione dei Plebei}} ("The Congregation of the Plebeians").
The [[façade]], which recalls in its features the sober and austere [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] style setting,  is a harmonious and unifying element. It has a portal with a single [[architrave]], surmounted by a stained glass window, depicting the Virgin, and two niches with statues, all topped by a [[Triangle|triangular]] gable and side [[Pinnacle|pinnacles]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Association "Itinerari" - Crotone, Church of the Immaculate Conception| url=http://crotone.itineraritaly.it/en/p512/church_of_the_immacolata|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref>

===Literary reference===
Crotone appears in the [[List of Tagalog literary works|Philippine]] [[national epic]] ''[[Florante at Laura]]'' as the Kingdom of ''Krotona''. The poem narrates this as the homeland of the protagonist Florante's mother, Princess Floresca.

In Petronius' [[Satyricon]], which survives in fragments, the narrator and his friends arrive at Croton, famous for its legacy hunters. The narrator's companion, the manic poet Eumolpus, poses as a childless, rich old man. Upon arrival to the city, Philomela, a citizen of Croton, seduces Eumolpus by means of her children. The extant portion of the Satyricon ends with Eumolpus explaining that the people of Croton must agree to eat his dead body if they wish to claim his inheritance.

== Notable people ==
*[[Milo of Croton]] (6th century BCE), Olympic athlete
*[[Dameas of Croton]], sculptor who created the statue of Milo of Croton, which was placed at [[Olympia, Greece]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:6.14.5 Pausanias, Description of Greece, 6.14.5]</ref>
*[[Phayllos of Croton]], Olympic athlete/war hero in battle of Salamina
*[[Astylos of Croton]] (5th century BCE), Olympic athlete
*[[Glycon of Croton]] (6th century BCE), Olympic athlete
*[[Democedes|Democedes of Croton]] (6th century BCE), physician
*[[Calliphon of Croton]] (6th century BCE), physician
*[[Philippus of Croton]] (6th century BCE), Olympic athlete/war hero
*[[Aristomachus of Croton]], ancient party leader of Croton during the Hannibalian war
*[[Alcmaeon of Croton]] (5th century BCE), philosopher and medical theorist
*[[Arignote]] (6th century BCE), [[Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]] philosopher
*[[Philolaus|Philolaus of Croton]] (5th century BCE), pythagorean philosopher
*[[Pythagoras]], mathematician and philosopher. He lived in Crotone {{circa|530&nbsp;BCE|lk=no}}.
*[[Nicholas of Crotone]], 13th-century bishop
*[[Vincenzo Scaramuzza]], pianist and music teacher, born in Crotone
*[[Rino Gaetano]], singer, born in Crotone
*[[Sergio Cammariere]], singer, born in Crotone
*[[Vincenzo Iaquinta]], footballer, born in Crotone
*[[Autoleon]], ancient war hero
*[[Alessandro Riolo]], footballer, born in Crotone

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy}}

Crotone is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*{{flagicon|GRE}} [[Giannitsa]], [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]], Greece, since 2010<ref>[http://www.arealocale.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=4699 Grecia e Magna Grecia: incontro Giannitsa e Crotone] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112194657/http://www.arealocale.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=4699 |date=November 12, 2013 }}{{in lang|it}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|POR}} [[Porto]], [[North Region, Portugal|Norte]], Portugal, since 2010

==See also==
* [[Capo Colonne Lighthouse]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Crotona|volume=7|pages=510–511}}
*{{Catholic|wstitle=Cotrone}}
* J. Banaszkiewicz, "Ein Ritter flieht oder wie Kaiser Otto II. sich vom Schlachtfeld bei Cotrone rettete," ''Frühmittelalterliche Studien'', 40 (2006), 145–166.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ Harry Thurston Peck, ''Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquity'' 1898:] "Croton"

{{Province of Crotone}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Crotone| ]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 8th century BC]]
[[Category:Achaean colonies of Magna Graecia]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Calabria]]
[[Category:Castles in Italy]]