- published: 28 Nov 2015
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Rossano is a town and comune in Southern Italy, in the province of Cosenza (Calabria). The city is situated on an eminence c. 3. km from the Gulf of Taranto. The town is known for its marble and alabaster quarries.
The town is the seat of a Catholic archbishop and has a notable cathedral and castle. Two Popes have been born in the town, along with Saint Nilus the Younger.
Roscianum was the original name of the town under the Roman Empire. In the 2nd century AD, emperor Hadrian built or rebuilt a port here, which could accommodate up to 300 ships. It was mentioned in the Antonine itineraries, as one of the important fortresses of Calabria. The Goths of Alaric I and, in the following century, Totila, were unable to take it.
The Rossanesi showed great attachment to the Byzantine Empire, whose local strategos had his seat here. The Rossano Gospels, a 6th Century illuminated manuscript of great historical and artistic value, is a tangible relic of that period.
The Saracens failed to conquer Rossano, while in 982 Otto II captured it temporarily from the Byzantines. Its Greek character was preserved long after its conquest by the Normans, as noted by its long retention of the Greek Rite over the Latin Rite. The city in fact maintained notable privileges under the subsequent Hohenstaufen and Angevine dominations, but subsequently decayed after the feudalization in 1417.
Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor.
Brazzi was born in Bologna to Adelmo and Maria (née Ghedini) Brazzi. He attended San Marco University in Florence, Italy, where he was raised from the age of four. He made his film debut in 1939.
He was propelled to international fame with his role in the English-language film Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), followed by the leading male role in David Lean's Summertime (1955), opposite Katharine Hepburn. His other notable English-language films include The Barefoot Contessa (1954), The Story of Esther Costello (1957), South Pacific (1958), Count Your Blessings (1959),The Light in the Piazza (1962), and The Italian Job (1969).
In 1940, Brazzi married baroness Lidia Bertolini (1921–1981) to whom he was married until her death in 1981. The couple had no children. In 1982, he married Ilse Fischer, a German national, who had been the couple's housekeeper for many years. This marriage was also childless. However, he did father a son (born 24 July 1955) by a relationship with Llewella Humphreys, daughter of Murray Humphreys.