title: Matt Riddle

text: After his loss to Osipczak, Riddle faced newcomer Greg Soto on March 27, 2010 at UFC 111. After a dominant first two rounds for Riddle, Soto landed an illegal upkick to Riddle's head in the third round which rendered him unable to continue, giving Riddle the victory by disqualification.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle faced DaMarques Johnson on August 1, 2010 at UFC on Versus 2. The fight was a catchweight bout after Johnson weighed in at 172 lbs and Riddle would go on to win the fight via TKO due to punches near the end of the second round.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle was expected to face TJ Waldburger on December 11, 2010 at UFC 124. However, Waldburger was forced from the card with an injury and replaced by newcomer Sean Pierson. Pierson defeated Riddle via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) and the bout was dubbed by president Dana White as the real "Fight of the Night".


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle was expected to face "Ultimate Fighter" castmate, Matt Brown, on March 3, 2011, at , replacing an injured Mark Scanlon. However, Riddle was also injured, resulting in the Brown fight being removed from the card altogether.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle was expected to face T. J. Grant on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4. However, Riddle was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Charlie Brenneman.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle faced undefeated welterweight prospect Lance Benoist who had made his Octagon debut on September 17, 2011 at . He lost the fight via unanimous decision in a bout that had earned "Fight of the Night" honors.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle was expected to fight Luis Ramos on December 30, 2011 at UFC 141. However, the fight was called off as Riddle became ill and had to only pull out moments before the fight took place.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle was expected to face Jorge Lopez on February 4, 2012, at UFC 143, replacing an injured Amir Sadollah. However, Lopez was also forced out of the bout and replaced by newcomer Henry Martinez. Riddle won the fight via a split decision.


title: Matt Riddle

text: The bout between Riddle and Ramos was rescheduled for June 22, 2012 at UFC on FX 4. However, Riddle was forced from the bout with another injury, and was replaced by Matt Brown.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle stepped in for Siyar Bahadurzada on short notice to fight Chris Clements at . Riddle won the match after catching Clements in a standing arm-triangle choke, forcing him to submit at 2:02 in the third round. Riddle won a $65,000 "Submission of the Night" bonus. This also marked the first submission win of his professional career. On October 20, 2012, it was announced that Riddle had failed his post-fight drug test, testing positive for marijuana. Riddle was subsequently fined and suspended for 90 days, retroactive to July 21, 2012. His win over Clements was changed to a no contest.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle was originally expected to face Besam Yousef on November 17, 2012 at UFC 154, replacing an injured Stephen Thompson. However, Yousef was forced out with an injury and replaced by John Maguire. Riddle defeated Maguire via a unanimous decision.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle faced Che Mills on February 16, 2013, at . Riddle defeated Mills via split decision. On February 26, 2013, Riddle revealed that he had tested positive for marijuana. This was his second failed drug test within a year, and Riddle was subsequently released from the promotion. He had finished his UFC career ranked 3rd in UFC history for takedown defense (89.3%) and 8th for the total of strikes that have been landed (1350), and without positive marijuana tests would have held an octagon record of 10–3 with a streak of five consecutive victories.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Shortly after being released from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Riddle signed a multi-fight deal with Texas-based promotion, Legacy Fighting Championships. However, on May 18, 2013, it was announced that Riddle instead joined the Bellator MMA roster after his Legacy contract had been purchased by the promotion. Riddle was expected to compete in the Bellator's welterweight tournament during their ninth season which begins in the Fall of 2013. However Riddle cracked his rib and had to pull out of the tournament, and subsequently retired from MMA fighting due to financial reasons. A few weeks later Riddle came out of retirement and was expected to fight at Bellator 109. Once again Riddle pulled out of that fight and was subsequently released.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle fought fellow former UFC fighter Michael Kuiper in the co-main event of Titan FC 27 on February 28, 2014. Riddle won by second round guillotine choke.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle was expected to face MMA legend Jose Landi-Jons for the vacant Welterweight Championship at Titan FC 29 on August 22, 2014. However, Landi-Jons was forced out of the bout due to visa issues, and was replaced by UFC veteran Ben Saunders. However, Riddle was forced out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by the man he was originally scheduled to face, Jose Landi-Jons.


title: Matt Riddle

text: On October 29, 2014, it was reported that Riddle was training for a career in professional wrestling. Riddle made his professional wrestling debut on February 7, 2015, at the Monster Factory in Paulsboro, New Jersey. In July 2015, he won the Monster Factory Heavyweight Championship. On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Riddle had signed with the World Wrestling Network (WWN) to work the October Evolve events. Riddle later confirmed that he had taken part in a WWE tryout, which led to them setting up the booking with Evolve. On January 24, 2016, Riddle won Evolve's Style Battle tournament. On April 8, it was reported that Riddle had signed a contract with Evolve's parent company WWN. On September 3, Riddle made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), entering the 2016 Battle of Los Angeles tournament, from which he was eliminated in his first round match by Kyle O'Reilly. In October 2016, Riddle took on Cody Rhodes at New York promotion House of Glory's show titled "Unbreakable" in a losing effort.


title: Matt Riddle

text: On January 15, 2017, Riddle defeated Rampage Brown to win the Progress Atlas Championship. Riddle debuted for Revolution Pro Wrestling on January 21, unsuccessfully challenging Katsuyori Shibata for the British Heavyweight Championship. On February 11 at CZW 18, Riddle faced David Starr in an inter-promotional champion vs champion match, with Riddle defending Progress Wrestling's Atlas Championship and Starr defending wXw's Shotgun Championship. The match ended in a double disqualification, and neither championship changed hands. On April 1, Riddle defeated five other men to become the inaugural WWN Champion. On August 5 Riddle won The Scenic City Invitational Tournament. On October 20, Riddle and Jeff Cobb, known collectively as "The Chosen Bros", defeated the Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix and Penta el Zero M) for the PWG World Tag Team Championship. They retained the titles until April 20, 2018, when they lost them against The Rascalz


title: Matt Riddle

text: On July 31, 2018, it was reported by Uproxx that Riddle had signed a contract with WWE. On August 18, Riddle appeared at and was identified by the event's commentators as WWE's newest signing.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle's NXT debut was on the October 31 edition when he successfully defeated Luke Menzies. On November 17, 2018 on the pre-show of , Kassius Ohno interrupted a Riddle interview. When the show started, Riddle challenged Ohno to a match and defeated him in 6 seconds, winning the fastest match in NXT history. Riddle and Ohno had a rematch at , where Riddle made Ohno submit with a series of elbow strikes to the head. In 2019, WWE Network released a documentary on his wrestling career and entry into NXT entitled "Arrival: Matt Riddle".


title: Matt Riddle

text: On April 5, at , Riddle challenged Velveteen Dream for the NXT North American Championship, but was unsuccessful, ending his undefeated streak in NXT. In July, Riddle started a feud with the returning Killian Dain. On the August 7 episode of "NXT", Riddle was supposed to face Dain, but it never happened as they brawled before the match happened. The two brawled at and eventually faced each other on the August 21 episode of "NXT", where Dain was victorious, but Riddle attacked Dain after the match. On the premiere episode of NXT on the USA Network on Sept 18, Riddle fought Dain in a Street Fight but ended in a no contest. A week later on the Sept 25 episode of NXT, Riddle again fought Dain in a Street Fight but this the winner would be the #1 Contender for the NXT Championship which Riddle won by submission. On the Oct 2nd episode of NXT, Riddle unsuccessfully challenged NXT Champion Adam Cole.


title: Matt Riddle

text: On the November 1 episode of "SmackDown", Riddle and Keith Lee were one of the many "NXT" wrestlers to invade the show, confronting and ultimately attacking Sami Zayn. Later that night, Riddle joined Triple H and the rest of the "NXT" roster as they declared war on both Raw and SmackDown, and vowed to win the Survivor Series brand warfare. In November, Riddle would start feuding with Finn Bálor. On the November 13 episode of NXT, Finn Bálor insulted the NXT roster as "all boys who can't take a beating", specifically mentioning Johnny Gargano and Matt Riddle. Riddle attacked Bálor, who retreated. Riddle was originally part of Team Ciampa for NXT Takeover: Wargames, but on the Nov 13 episode of NXT, Riddle got taken off Team Ciampa due to Riddle having a match with Bálor at Wargames; at the event Riddle lost to Bálor. The following night at Survivor Series, Riddle was part of Team NXT in a losing effort to Team SmackDown also involving Team Raw during the match Riddle eliminated Randy Orton with a roll-up pin before being laid out with an RKO that caused him to be eliminated by King Corbin. Riddle participated in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake pay-per-view and entered at #23 but was eliminated by Corbin in 41 seconds.


title: Matt Riddle

text: On the January 10, 2020 episode of "NXT", the participants of the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were announced, with Riddle and Pete Dunne being announced as surprise participants; they would later take on the name of The BroserWeights, a portmanteau of Riddle's "Original Bro" nickname and Dunne's "Bruiserweight" nickname. Together, they defeated Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in the first round on January 15, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel of Imperium in the semifinals on January 22, and Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) in the finals on January 29 to win the tournament and earn a match against Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly of The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championship at . At the event on February 16, Riddle and Dunne defeated Fish and O'Reilly to win the titles, marking Riddle's first title win in WWE. When Dunne couldn't travel to the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he picked Timothy Thatcher as his replacement for Riddle's partner. Riddle and Thatcher would lose the titles against Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) on the May 13 episode of NXT after Thatcher walked out on him. On the May 27 episode of NXT Riddle and Thatcher fought in a Fight Pit match, with WWE Hall of Famer, Kurt Angle as the special guest referee, where Riddle lost to Thatcher by technical submission. This would turn out to be Riddle's last match in NXT.


title: Matt Riddle

text: On May 29, 2020, Kurt Angle announced that Riddle would move to the SmackDown brand. On the June 19 episode of "SmackDown", Riddle made his main roster debut, where he interrupted Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles before defeating Styles in a non-title match. Riddle received an opportunity at the title on the July 17 episode of "SmackDown", where he lost to Styles. After the match, he was attacked by King Corbin. This led to a match at Payback, where Riddle defeated Corbin. He lost to Corbin on the September 25 episode of "SmackDown", ending their feud.


title: Matt Riddle

text: As part of the 2020 Draft in October, Riddle was drafted to the Raw brand. On October 29, his ring name was shortened to Riddle for unknown reasons. Riddle would participate on Team "Raw" in the men's traditional elimination tag team match at the Survivor Series, where he would pin Corbin on route to a clean sweep for "Raw". In December, Riddle would begin a feud with United States Champion Bobby Lashley. On the January 4, 2021 episode of "Raw", Riddle defeated Lashley in a non-title match and would earn a title match the following week but failed to capture the championship. On the January 25 episode, Riddle defeated The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin) in a gauntlet match to earn another title opportunity against Lashley. At the Royal Rumble, Riddle entered at number 16 and helped eliminate Lashley before being eliminated by Seth Rollins. Riddle received his title match the following night on "Raw," where he defeated Lashley by disqualification but did not win the championship. On February 21 at Elimination Chamber, Riddle defeated Lashley and John Morrison in a triple threat match to win the United States Championship, his first title on the main roster and his first singles title in WWE. He lost the title to Sheamus on Night 2 of WrestleMania 37, ending his reign at 49 days.


title: Matt Riddle

text: On the April 19 episode of "Raw", Riddle would interrupt a backstage interview by Randy Orton where Riddle suggested a tag team formation, with Orton dismissing the idea by leaving. A match was made later on in the night between Orton and Riddle, which Riddle won with a roll-up. The following week on "Raw", Orton was backstage with Riddle when he suggested the team be given a try; the newly labeled RK-Bro defeated Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin, and in a backstage interview afterwards, Orton suggested to Riddle they take the team "a day at a time", thus turning Orton face for the first time since early 2020.


title: Matt Riddle

text: After a seven week absence, Orton returned on the August 9 episode of "Raw", where he initially discontinued his team with Riddle at the beginning of the show. Later on in the night, Orton defeated AJ Styles in a match following assistance from Riddle and afterwards pretended to hug him but instead hit him with an RKO as a sign of gratitude. The following week, Orton officially reunited the team after Riddle saved Orton from an attack at the hands of Omos and Styles. At SummerSlam, RK-Bro defeated Styles and Omos to win their first WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, both individually and as a team. At Crown Jewel, RK-Bro would retain their titles against AJ Styles and Omos. While performing on "Raw", Riddle returned to "NXT" on the December 7 episode, revealing himself as the Shaman for MSK. At , they defeated Imperium (Walter, Fabian Aichner, and Marcel Barthel) in a six-man tag team match. At Day 1, RK-Bro retained their titles against The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford).


title: Matt Riddle

text: On the January 10, 2022 episode of "Raw", RK-Bro lost the titles to Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis), ending their reign at 142 days. Riddle participated in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake event before being eliminated by eventual winner Brock Lesnar. Riddle later competed in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at the namesake event, where he was again eliminated by Brock Lesnar, who won the match. On the March 7 episode of "Raw", RK-Bro won their second Raw Tag Team Championship after defeating Alpha Academy and Kevin Owens & Seth "Freakin" Rollins in a triple threat tag team match. They went on to successfully defend the titles at WrestleMania 38 in another triple threat tag team match against Alpha Academy and The Street Profits. The SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The Usos, would challenge RK-Bro to a tag team championship unification match at WrestleMania Backlash with Orton reluctantly accepting. The match at the event, however, was changed into a non-title six-man tag team match, in which The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and The Usos) defeated RK-Bro and Drew McIntyre after Reigns pinned Riddle. The unification match between RK-Bro and The Usos was later scheduled for the May 20 episode of "SmackDown", where RK-Bro lost their titles to The Usos, ending their second reign at 74 days.


title: Matt Riddle

text: After Orton was sidelined with a back injury, Riddle continued to feud with The Bloodline, teaming with Shinsuke Nakamura to unsuccessfully challenge The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on the June 3 episode of "SmackDown" following a distraction from Bloodline associate Sami Zayn. With a win over Zayn the following week, Riddle earned a match against Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. On the June 17 episode of "SmackDown", Riddle lost to Reigns, barring him from challenging Reigns for the title again. On the June 20 episode of "Raw", Riddle failed to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match after losing to Omos. However, he won a last chance qualifying battle royal the following week to earn his way into the match. At the eponymous event on July 2, he was unsuccessful in winning the match.


title: Matt Riddle

text: He then began feuding with Seth "Freakin" Rollins, leading to a match between the two being announced for SummerSlam. However, the match was postponed by WWE after Riddle suffered an injury following an attack by Rollins on the July 25 episode of "Raw". Despite the injury, Riddle appeared at SummerSlam and called out Rollins, leading to a brawl which saw Rollins come out on top. On the August 29 episode of "Raw", his ring name was reverted back to Matt Riddle. Riddle and Rollins finally faced off at Clash at the Castle on September 3, where Riddle was defeated. On the September 19 episode of "Raw", Riddle got involved in a United States Championship match between the champion Bobby Lashley and Rollins, causing Rollins to lose the match. Later in the show, during another brawl, Riddle challenged Rollins to a Fight Pit match at Extreme Rules. The match was confirmed by WWE, making it the first Fight Pit match on the main roster. Further, it was also announced that UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier will serve as the special guest referee for the match. At the event on October 8, Riddle defeated Rollins via submission. On the October 17 episode of Raw, Riddle failed to win the United States Championship from Rollins ending their feud.


title: Matt Riddle

text: On December 13, it was reported that Riddle had been suspended for 60 days after failing WWE's wellness policy for a second time. It was also stated that he had previously failed the wellness policy for the first time earlier that summer, with it having been unreported until his second failure (with this being why his match at SummerSlam was postponed). WWE reportedly sent him to rehab, supposedly stating that if he refused he would be fired.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle married Lisa Rennie in 2011. They have fraternal twin daughters and a son. The couple divorced in March 2022.


title: Matt Riddle

text: In the summer of 2020, Riddle was accused of sexually assaulting female independent wrestler Candy Cartwright. Cartwright alleges that after an independent show in May 2018, Riddle asked Cartwright to have sex with him, and when Cartwright turned down Riddle's request, she claims that Riddle choked her and forced her to give him oral sex. WWE released a statement claiming they were looking into the incident; Riddle immediately denied the allegations in a video posted to his Twitter page. Riddle stated that he had an affair with Cartwright, but sexual relations between the two were completely consensual.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle later filed for a restraining order against Cartwright, alleging that she harassed, stalked, and threatened his safety both in person and over the internet. In September 2020, Riddle withdrew his petition for a restraining order. On October 8, 2020, Cartwright filed a lawsuit against Riddle, WWE, and Evolve president Gabe Sapolsky over the incident. In March 2021, the court dismissed WWE and Sapolsky as defendants in the suit, stating that their connection to the allegations could not be proven. Cartwright dropped the lawsuit on July 13, 2021.


title: Matt Riddle

text: Riddle made his video game debut as a playable character in "WWE 2K20" and subsequently in "WWE 2K22".


title: Calabria

text: Calabria (), is a region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. With almost 2 million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the tenth most populous and the tenth largest Italian region by area. Catanzaro is the region's capital, while Reggio Calabria is the most populous city in the region.


title: Calabria

text: Calabria is the birthplace of the term "Italy", given to it by the Ancient Greeks which settled in this land starting from the 8th century BC. Thanks to its strategic position in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, the region became the center of Magna Grecia (Greater Greece), with the foundation along its coasts of many Greek city-states (póleis) that remained for centuries among the richest and most culturally advanced of their time. Calabria is where Pythagoras, one of the fathers of Western philosophy, developed and spread his thought. It's also the birthplace of Milo, the greatest champion of the ancient Olympic Games, and the adoptive homeland of Herodotus, one of the greatest historians of all time.


title: Calabria

text: In Roman times it was part of the "Regio III Lucania et Bruttii", a region of Augustan Italy. After the Gothic War, it became and remained for five centuries a Byzantine dominion ("Duchy of Calabria", later promoted to Theme), fully recovering its Hellenic character on a linguistic, religious and artistic level. Cenobitism flourished, with the rise in the whole peninsula of countless churches, hermitages and monasteries in which multitudes of Basilian monks were dedicated to the transcription of classical and religious texts. The Byzantines introduced the art of silk in Calabria and made it the main silk production area in Europe. In the 11th century, the Norman conquest started a slow process of Latinization.


title: Calabria

text: It is the birthplace of two of the most influential European philosophers of the 16th century, Bernardino Telesio and Tommaso Campanella.


title: Calabria

text: In Calabria there are three historical ethnic minorities: the Griko people, speaking Calabrian Greek (also known as "Grecanico"), a local variety of the Greek language with some unique and archaic features; the Arbëreshë people, descendants of Albanian refugees who fled Albania between the 14th and the 18th centuries following the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans; the Occitans of Guardia Piemontese, a village founded in the 12th century by Waldensians coming from the Western Alps. This extraordinary linguistic diversity makes the region an object of study for linguists from all over the world.


title: Calabria

text: Three national parks are found in the Calabria: the Pollino National Park (which is the largest in the country), the Sila National Park and the Aspromonte National Park. This, combined with a large number of beaches, small villages, archaeological parks and ancient castles, makes the region a tourist destination.


title: Calabria

text: Starting in the third century BC, the name "Calabria" was originally given to the Adriatic coast of the Salento peninsula in modern Apulia. In the late first century BC this name came to extend to the entirety of the Salento, when the Roman emperor Augustus divided Italy into regions. The whole region of Apulia received the name "Regio II Apulia et Calabria". By this time modern Calabria was still known as "Bruttium", after the Bruttians who inhabited the region. Later in the seventh century AD, the Byzantine Empire created the Duchy of Calabria from the Salento and the Ionian part of Bruttium. Even though the Calabrian part of the duchy was conquered by the Longobards during the eighth and ninth centuries AD, the Byzantines continued to use the name "Calabria" for their remaining territory in Bruttium.


title: Calabria

text: The modern name "Italy" derives from "Italia", which was first used as a name for the southern part of modern Calabria. Over time the Greeks started to use it for the rest of the southern Italian peninsula as well. After the Roman conquest of the region, the name was used for the entire Italian peninsula and eventually the Alpine region too.


title: Calabria

text: The region is generally known as the "toe" of the "boot" of Italy and is a long and narrow peninsula which stretches from north to south for , with a maximum width of . Some 42% of Calabria's area, corresponding to 15,080 km, is mountainous, 49% is hilly, while plains occupy only 9% of the region's territory. It is surrounded by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. It is separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina, where the narrowest point between Capo Peloro in Sicily and Punta Pezzo in Calabria is only .


title: Calabria

text: Three mountain ranges are present: Pollino, La Sila and Aspromonte, each with its own flora and fauna. The Pollino Mountains in the north of the region are rugged and form a natural barrier separating Calabria from the rest of Italy. Parts of the area are heavily wooded, while others are vast, wind-swept plateaus with little vegetation. These mountains are home to a rare Bosnian Pine variety and are included in the Pollino National Park, which is the largest national park in Italy, covering 1,925.65 square kilometres.


title: Calabria

text: La Sila, which has been referred to as the "Great Wood of Italy", is a vast mountainous plateau about above sea level and stretches for nearly along the central part of Calabria. The highest point is Botte Donato, which reaches . The area boasts numerous lakes and dense coniferous forests. La Sila also has some of the tallest trees in Italy which are called the "Giants of the Sila" and can reach up to in height. The Sila National Park is also known to have the purest air in Europe.


title: Calabria

text: The Aspromonte massif forms the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula bordered by the sea on three sides. This unique mountainous structure reaches its highest point at Montalto, at , and is full of wide, man-made terraces that slope down towards the sea.


title: Calabria

text: Most of the lower terrain in Calabria has been agricultural for centuries, and exhibits indigenous scrubland as well as introduced plants such as the prickly pear cactus. The lowest slopes are rich in vineyards and orchards of citrus fruit, including the Diamante citron. Further up, olives and chestnut trees appear while in the higher regions there are often dense forests of oak, pine, beech and fir trees.


title: Calabria

text: Calabria's climate is influenced by the sea and mountains. The Mediterranean climate is typical of the coastal areas with considerable differences in temperature and rainfall between the seasons, with an average low of during the winter months and an average high of during the summer months. Mountain areas have a typical mountainous climate with frequent snow during winter. The erratic behavior of the Tyrrhenian Sea can bring heavy rainfall on the western slopes of the region, while hot air from Africa makes the east coast of Calabria dry and warm. The mountains that run along the region also influence the climate and temperature of the region. The east coast is much warmer and has wider temperature ranges than the west coast. The geography of the region causes more rain to fall along the west coast than that of the east coast, which occurs mainly during winter and autumn and less during the summer months.


title: Calabria

text: Below are the two extremes of climate in Calabria, the warm mediterranean subtype on the coastline and the highland climate of Monte Scuro.


title: Calabria

text: Calabria is commonly considered part of the "Calabrian Arc", an arc-shaped geographic domain extending from the southern part of the Basilicata Region to the northeast of Sicily, and including the Peloritano Mountains (although some authors extend this domain from Naples in the north to Palermo in the southwest). The Calabrian area shows basement (crystalline and metamorphic rocks) of Paleozoic and younger ages, covered by (mostly Upper) Neogene sediments. Studies have revealed that these rocks comprise the upper part of a pile of thrust sheets which dominate the Apennines and the Sicilian Maghrebides.


title: Calabria

text: The Neogene evolution of the Central Mediterranean system is dominated by the migration of the Calabrian Arc to the southeast, overriding the African Plate and its promontories.) The main tectonic elements of the Calabrian Arc are the Southern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt, the "Calabria-Peloritani", or simply Calabrian block and the Sicilian Maghrebides fold-and-thrust belt. The foreland area is formed by the Apulia Platform, which is part of the Adriatic Plate, and the Ragusa or Iblean Platform, which is an extension of the African Plate. These platforms are separated by the Ionian Basin. The Tyrrhenian oceanized basin is regarded as the back-arc basin. This subduction system therefore shows the southern plates of African affinity subducting below the northern plates of European affinity.


title: Calabria

text: The geology of Calabria has been studied for more than a century. The earlier works were mainly dedicated to the evolution of the basement rocks of the area. The Neogene sedimentary successions were merely regarded as "post-orogenic" infill of "neo-tectonic" tensional features. In the course of time, however, a shift can be observed in the temporal significance of these terms, from post-Eocene to post-Early Miocene to post-middle Pleistocene.


title: Calabria

text: The region is seismically active and is generally ascribed to the re-establishment of an equilibrium after the latest (mid-Pleistocene) deformation phase. Some authors believe that the subduction process is still ongoing, which is a matter of debate.


title: Calabria

text: Calabria has one of the oldest records of human presence in Italy, which date back to around 700,000 BC when a type of "Homo erectus" evolved leaving traces around coastal areas. During the Paleolithic period Stone Age humans created the "Bos Primigenius", a figure of a bull on a cliff which dates back around 12,000 years in the Romito Cave in the town of Papasidero. When the Neolithic period came the first villages were founded around 3,500 BC.


title: Calabria

text: Around 1500 BC a tribe called the Oenotri ("vine-cultivators"), settled in the region. According to Greek mythology, they were Greeks who were led to the region by their king, Oenotrus. The Greeks used the term 'italoi', which according to some ancient Greek writers was derived from a legendary king of the Oenotri, Italus and according to others from the bull. Originally the Greeks used 'italoi' to indicate Calabrians and later it became synonymous with the rest of the peninsula. Calabria therefore was the first region to be called Italia (Italy).


title: Calabria

text: During the eighth and seventh centuries BC, Greek settlers founded many colonies (settlements) on the coast of southern Italy (Magna Grecia). In Calabria they founded Chone (Pallagorio), Cosentia (Cosenza), Clampetia (Amantea), Scyllaeum (Scilla), Sybaris (Sibari), Hipponion (Vibo Valentia), Locri Epizefiri (Locri), Kaulon (Monasterace), Krimisa (Cirò Marina), Kroton (Crotone), Laüs (comune of Santa Maria del Cedro), Medma (Rosarno), Metauros (Gioia Tauro), Petelia (Strongoli), Rhégion (Reggio Calabria), Scylletium (Borgia), Temesa (Campora San Giovanni), Terina (Nocera Terinese), Pandosia (Acri) and Thurii, (Thurio, comune of Corigliano Calabro).


title: Calabria

text: Rhegion was the birthplace of one of the famed nine lyric poets, Ibycus. Metauros was the birthplace of another of the nine lyric poets, Stesichorus, who was the first lyric poet of the western world. Kroton spawned many victors during the ancient Olympics and other Panhellenic Games. Amongst the most famous were Milo of Croton, who won six wrestling events in six Olympics in a row, along with seven events in the Pythian Games, nine events in the Nemean Games and ten events in the Isthmian Games and also Astylos of Croton, who won six running events in three Olympics in a row. Through Alcmaeon of Croton (a philosopher and medical theorist) and Pythagoras (a mathematician and philosopher), who moved to Kroton in 530 BC, the city became a renowned center of philosophy, science and medicine. The Greeks of Sybaris created "Intellectual Property." Sybaris benefited from "vinoducts" which were a series of pipes that carried wine to the homes of its citizens. The Sybarite founded at least 20 other colonies, including Poseidonia (Paestum in Latin, on the Tyrrhenian coast of Lucania), Laüs (on the border with Lucania) and Scidrus (on the Lucanian coast in the Gulf of Taranto). Locri was renowned for being the town where Zaleucus created the first Western Greek law, the "Locrian Code" and the birthplace of ancient epigrammist and poet Nossis.


title: Calabria

text: The Itali were the first established people of Calabria. Later came the Bruttii from Lucania. These occupied Calabria and called it Bruttium. The Bruttii were very advanced culturally. The Greek cities of Calabria came under the pressure from these Lucanians, an Oscan people who lived in the present day region of Basilicata. They conquered the north of Calabria and pushed further south, taking over part of the interior, probably after they defeated the Thurians near Laus in 390 BC. A few decades later Calabria came under pressure from the Bruttii. They were Lucanian slaves and other fugitives who were seeking refuge on the steep mountains of Calabria. Their name was Lucanian and meant rebels. They took advantage of the weakening of the Greek cites caused by wars between them. They took over Hipponium, Terina and Thurii. They helped the Lucanians to fight Alexander of Epirus (334–32 BC), who had come to the aid of Tarentum (in Apulia), which was also pressured by the Lucanians. After this, Agathocles of Syracuse ravaged the coast of Calabria with his fleet, took Hipponium and forced the Bruttii into unfavourable peace terms. However, they soon seized Hipponium again. After Agathloces' death in 289 BC the Lucanians and Bruttii pushed into the territory of Thurii and ravaged it. The city sent envoys to Rome to ask for help in 285 BC and 282 BC. On the second occasion, the Romans sent forces to garrison the city. This was part of the episode which sparked the Pyrrhic war.


title: Calabria

text: During the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) the Lucanians and Bruttii sided with Pyrrhus and provided contingents which fought with his army. When Pyrrhus landed in Italy the people of Rhegion were worried about their safety and asked Rome for protection. The Romans sent soldiers from Campania to garrison the city. Coveting the wealth of the city, the soldiers killed its prominent men, sent away the rest and seized their property. The Romans could not do much about it because they were engaged in the war. A few years after the end of the war, in 271 BC, the Romans retook the city, arrested the soldiers and took them to Rome, where they were executed. After Pyrrhus was defeated, to avoid Roman revenge, the Bruttii submitted willingly and gave up half of the Sila, a mountainous plateau which was valuable for its pitch and timber. The timber here was sold all over Italy and the resin of the area was of the highest quality.


title: Calabria

text: During the Second Punic War (218–201 BC) the Bruttii allied with Hannibal, who sent Hanno, one of his commanders, to Calabria. Hanno marched towards Capua (in Campania) with Bruttian soldiers to take them to Hannibal's headquarters there twice, but he was defeated on both occasions. When his campaign in Italy came to a dead end, Hannibal took refuge in Calabria, whose steep mountains provided protection against the Roman legions. He set up his headquarters in Kroton and stayed there for four years until he was recalled to Carthage. The Romans fought a battle with him near Kroton, but its details are unknown. Many Calabrian cities surrendered. Calabria was put under a military commander. Nearly a decade after the war, the Romans set up colonies in Calabria: at Tempsa and Kroton (Croto in Latin) in 194 BC, Copiae in the territory of Thurii (Thurium in Latin) in 193 BC, and Vibo Valentia in the territory of Hipponion in 192 BC. The Romans called Calabria Bruttium. Later, during the reign of Augustus it became part of the third region of Italy, the 'Regio III Lucania et Brettium.


title: Calabria

text: After sacking Rome in 410, Alaric I (King of the Visigoths) went to Calabria with the intention of sailing to Africa. He contracted malaria and died in Cosentia (Cosenza), probably of fever. Legend has it that he along with the treasure of Rome were buried under the bed of the River Busento. With the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire in 476, Italy was taken over by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer and later became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in 489. The Ostrogothic kings ruled officially as Magistri Militum of the Byzantine Emperors and all government and administrative positions were held by the Romans while all primary laws were legislated by the Byzantine Emperor. Therefore, during the sixth century, under the Ostrogoths' rule, Romans could still be at the center of government and cultural life, such as the Roman Cassiodorus who, like Boethius and Symmachus, emerged as one of the most prominent men of his time. He was an administrator, politician, scholar and historian who was born in Scylletium (near Catanzaro). He spent most of his career trying to bridge the divides of East and West, Greek and Latin cultures, Romans and Goths, and official Christianity and Arian Christianity, which was the form of Christianity of the Ostrogoths and which had earlier been banned. He set up his Vivarium (monastery) in Scylletium. He oversaw the collation of three editions of the Bible in Latin. Seeing the practicality of uniting all the books of the Bible in one volume, he was the first who produced Latin Bibles in single volumes. The most well-known of them was the Codex Grandior which was the ancestor of all modern western Bibles.


title: Calabria

text: Cassiodorus was at the heart of the administration of the Ostrogothic kingdom. Theodoric made him quaestor sacri palatii (quaestor of the sacred palace, the senior legal authority) in 507, governor of Lucania and Bruttium, consul in 514 and magister officiorum (master of offices, one of the most senior administrative officials) in 523. He was praetorian prefect (chief minister) under the successors of Theodoric: under Athalaric (Theodoric's grandson, reigned 526–34) in 533 and, between 535 and 537, under Theodahad (Theodoric's nephew, reigned 534–36) and Witiges (Theodoric's grandson-in-law, reigned, 536–40). The major works of Cassiodorus, besides the mentioned bibles, were the Historia Gothorum, a history of the Goths, the Variae and account of his administrative career and the Institutiones divinarum et saecularium litterarum, an introduction to the study of the sacred scriptures and the liberal arts which was very influential in the Middle Ages.


title: Calabria

text: Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor Justinian I, retook Italy from the Ostrogoths between 535 and 556. They soon lost much of Italy to the Lombards between 568 and 590, but retained the south for around 500 years until 1059–1071, where they thrived and where the Greek language was the official and vernacular language. In Calabria and towns such as Stilo and Rossano and San Demetrio Corone achieved great religious status. From the 7th Century many monasteries were built in the Amendolea and Stilaro Valleys and Stilo was the destination of hermits and Basilian monks. Many Byzantine churches are still seen in the region. The 10th-century church in Rossano, together with the "twin" church of Sant'Adriano in San Demetrio Corone (foundation 955, rebuilt by the Normans on the, still, visible foundations of the previous Byzantine church), are considered between the best preserved Byzantine churches in Italy. They were both built by St. Nilus the Younger as a retreat for the monks who lived in the tufa grottos underneath. The present name of Calabria comes from the duchy of Calabria.


title: Calabria

text: Around the year 800, Saracens began invading the shores of Calabria, attempting to wrest control of the area from the Byzantines. This group of Arabs had already been successful in Sicily and knew that Calabria was another key spot. The people of Calabria retreated into the mountains for safety. Although the Arabs never really got a stronghold on the whole of Calabria, they did control some villages while enhancing trade relations with the eastern world. In 918, Saracens captured Reggio (which was renamed "Rivà"), holding many of its inhabitants to ransom or keeping them prisoners as slaves. It is during this time of Arab invasions that many staples of today's Calabrian cuisine came into fashion: Citrus fruits and eggplants for example. Exotic spices such as cloves and nutmeg were also introduced.


title: Calabria

text: Under the Byzantine dominion, between the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century, Calabria was one of the first regions of Italy to introduce silk production to Europe.


title: Calabria

text: According to André Guillou, mulberry trees for the production of raw silk were introduced to southern Italy by the Byzantines at the end of the ninth century.


title: Calabria

text: Around 1050 the theme of Calabria had 24,000, mulberry trees cultivated for their foliage, and their number tended to expand.


title: Calabria

text: At the beginning of the tenth century (circa 903), the city of Catanzaro was occupied by the Muslim Saracens, who founded an emirate and took the Arab name of قطنصار – QaTanSáar. An Arab presence is evidenced by findings at an eighth-century necropolis which had items with Arabic inscriptions.


title: Calabria

text: Around the year 1050, Catanzaro rebelled against Saracen dominance and returned to a brief period of Byzantine control.


title: Calabria

text: In the 1060s the Normans, under the leadership of Robert Guiscard's brother, Roger I of Sicily, established a presence in this borderland, and organized a government modeled on the Eastern Roman Empire and was run by the local magnates of Calabria. Of note is that the Normans established their presence here, in southern Italy (namely Calabria), 6 years prior to their conquest of England, (see The Battle of Hastings). The purpose of this strategic presence in Calabria was to lay the foundations for the Crusades 30 years later, and for the creation of two Kingdoms: the Kingship of Jerusalem, and the Kingdom of Sicily. Ships would sail from Calabria to the Holy Land. This made Calabria one of the richest regions in Europe as princes from the noble families of England, France and other regions, constructed secondary residences and palaces here, on their way to the Holy Land. Guiscard's son Bohemond, who was born in San Marco Argentano, would be one of the leaders in the first crusade. Of particular note is the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrim route that goes from Canterbury to Rome and southern Italy, reaching Calabria, Basilicata and Apulia, where the crusaders lived, prayed and trained, respectively.


title: Calabria

text: In 1098, Roger I of Sicily was named the equivalent of an apostolic legate by Pope Urban II and later his son Roger II of Sicily became the first King of Sicily and formed what would become the Kingdom of Sicily which lasted nearly 700 years. Under the Normans Southern Italy was united as one region and started a feudal system of land ownership in which the Normans were made lords of the land while peasants performed all the work on the land.


title: Calabria

text: In 1147, Roger II of Sicily attacked Corinth and Thebes, two important centres of Byzantine silk production, capturing the weavers and their equipment and establishing his own silkworks in Calabria, thereby causing the Norman silk industry to flourish.


title: Calabria

text: In 1194, Frederick II, took control of the region, after inheriting the Kingdom from his mother Constance, Queen of Sicily. He created a kingdom that blended cultures, philosophy and customs and would build several castles while fortifying existing ones which the Normans previously constructed. After the death of Frederick II in 1250, Calabria was controlled by the Capetian House of Anjou, under the rule of Charles d’Anjou after being granted the crown of the Sicilian Kingdom by Pope Clement IV. In 1282, under Charles d’Anjou, Calabria became a domain of the newly created Kingdom of Naples, and no longer of the Kingdom of Sicily, after he lost Sicily due to the rebellion of the Sicilian Vespers. During the 14th century, would emerge Barlaam of Seminara who would be Petrarch's Greek teacher and his disciple Leonzio Pilato, who would translate Homer's works for Giovanni Boccaccio.


title: Calabria

text: While the cultivation of mulberry was moving first steps in Northern Italy, silk made in Calabria reached the peak of 50% of the whole Italian/European production. As the cultivation of mulberry was difficult in Northern and Continental Europe, merchants and operators used to purchase in Calabria raw materials to finish the products and resell them for a better price. The Genoese silk artisans used fine Calabrian silk for the production of velvets.


title: Calabria

text: In particular, the silk of Catanzaro supplied almost all of Europe and was sold in a large market fair to Spanish, Venetian, Genoese, Florentine and Dutch merchants.


title: Calabria

text: Catanzaro became the lace capital of Europe with a large silkworm breeding facility that produced all the laces and linens used in the Vatican. The city was known for its fabrication of silks, velvets, damasks and brocades.


title: Calabria

text: In the XV century, Catanzaro was exporting both its silk cloth and its technical skills to neighbouring Sicily. By the middle of the century, silk spinning was taking place in Catanzaro, on a large scale.


title: Calabria

text: In 1442 the Aragonese took control under Alfonso V of Aragon who became ruler under the Crown of Aragon. In 1501 Calabria came under the control of Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose wife Queen Isabella of Castille is famed for sponsoring the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Calabria suffered greatly under Aragonese rule with heavy taxes, feuding landlords, starvation and sickness. After a brief period in the early 1700s under the Austrian Habsburgs, Calabria came into the control of the Spanish Bourbons in 1735. It was during the 16th century that Calabria would contribute to modern world history with the creation of the Gregorian calendar by the Calabrian doctor and astronomer Luigi Lilio.


title: Calabria

text: In 1466, King Louis XI decided to develop a national silk industry in Lyon and called a large number of Italian workers, mainly from Calabria. The fame of the master weavers of Catanzaro spread throughout France and they were invited to Lyon to teach the techniques of weaving. In 1470, one of these weavers, known in France as Jean Le Calabrais, invented the first prototype of a Jacquard-type loom. He introduced a new kind of machine which was able to work the yarns faster and more precisely. Over the years, improvements to the loom were ongoing.


title: Calabria

text: Charles V of Spain formally recognized the growth of the silk industry of Catanzaro in 1519 by allowing the city to establish a consulate of the silk craft, charged with regulating and check in the various stages of a production that flourished throughout the sixteenth century. At the moment of the creation of its guild, the city declared that it had over 500 looms. By 1660, when the town had about 16,000 inhabitants, its silk industry kept 1,000 looms, and at least 5,000 people, busy. The silk textiles of Catanzaro were not only sold at the kingdom's markets, they were also exported to Venice, France, Spain and England.


title: Calabria

text: In the 16th century, Calabria was characterized by a strong demographic and economic development, mainly due to the increasing demand of silk products and the simultaneous growth of prices, and became one of the most important Mediterranean markets for silk.


title: Calabria

text: In 1563 philosopher and natural scientist Bernardino Telesio wrote "On the Nature of Things according to their Own Principles" and pioneered early modern empiricism. He would also influence the works of Francis Bacon, René Descartes, Giordano Bruno, Tommaso Campanella and Thomas Hobbes. In 1602 philosopher and poet Tommaso Campanella wrote his most famous work, "The City of the Sun" and would later defend Galileo Galilei during his first trial with his work "A Defense of Galileo", which was written in 1616 and published in 1622. In 1613 philosopher and economist Antonio Serra wrote "A Short Treatise on the Wealth and Poverty of Nations" and was a pioneer in the Mercantilist tradition.


title: Calabria

text: During the 17th century silk production in Calabria begin to suffer by the strong competition of new-raising competitors in Italian Peninsula and Europe (France), but also the increasing import from Ottoman Empire and Persia.


title: Calabria

text: Foundation of the historical Italo-Albanian College and Library in 1732 by Pope Clement XII transferred from San Benedetto Ullano to San Demetrio Corone in 1794.


title: Calabria

text: In 1783 a series of earthquakes across Calabria caused around 50,000 deaths and much damage to property, so that many of the buildings in the region were rebuilt after this date.


title: Calabria

text: At the end of the 18th century the French took control and in 1808 Napoleon Bonaparte gave the Kingdom of Naples to his brother-in-law Joachim Murat. Murat controlled the kingdom until the return of the Bourbons in 1815. The population of Calabria in 1844 was 1,074,558.


title: Calabria

text: Calabria experienced a series of peasant revolts as part of the European Revolutions of 1848. This set the stage for the eventual unification with the rest of Italy in 1861, when the Kingdom of Naples was brought into the union by Giuseppe Garibaldi. The unification was orchestrated by Great Britain in an attempt to nationalize the production of sulfur from the two volcanoes located in Naples and Sicily respectively. The Aspromonte was the scene of a famous battle of the unification of Italy. During the late 19th or early 20th century, pianist and composer Alfonso Rendano invented the "Third Pedal", which augmented the interpretative resources of the piano.


title: Calabria

text: The ancient Greek colonies from Naples and to the south, had been completely Latinized, but from the fifth century AD onward Greeks had once again emigrated there when pressed out of their homeland by invasions. This Greek Diaspora allowed the ancient Greek dialects to continue in Southern Italy, much in the same way that the Italian Diaspora allowed long-lost dialects from Italy to thrive in countries where Italians emigrated to. Greek texts were also valued in monasteries and places of learning. However it was Charlemagne in the 8th century, who made Latin the 'official' language of study and communication for Europe. For the sake of uniformity, he supplanted much of the Greek spoken, read or taught in Europe. It was through language (Latin) and education (Latin texts) that Charlemagne united Europe.


title: Calabria

text: During the 13th century a French chronicler who traveled through Calabria stated that "the peasants of Calabria spoke nothing but Greek" given he had traveled to areas where Greek was still available. But the educated classes spoke Italian. Indeed, formal Italian has been taught in schools throughout Italy for nearly two centuries, causing the ancient languages and dialects to continually disappear, much to the chagrin of the cultural community. These lost dialects continue to thrive to this day in North America and Australia, places where Italians emigrated to, on account of the Diaspora.


title: Calabria

text: On 19 August 1860, Calabria was invaded from Sicily by Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Redshirts as part of the Expedition of the Thousand. Through King Francesco II of Naples had dispatched 16,000 soldiers to stop the Redshirts, who numbered about 3,500, after a token battle at Reggio Calabria won by the Redshirts, all resistance ceased and Garibaldi was welcomed as a liberator from the oppressive rule of the Bourbons wherever he went in Calabria. Calabria together with the rest of the Kingdom of Naples was incorporated in 1861 into the Kingdom of Italy. Garibaldi planned to complete the "Risorgimento" by invading Rome, still ruled by the Pope protected by a French garrison, and began with semi-official encouragement to raise an army. Subsequently, King Victor Emmanuel II decided the possibility of war with France was too dangerous, and on 29 August 1862 Garibaldi's base in the Calabrian town of Aspromonte was attacked by the "Regio Esercito". The Battle of Aspromonte ended with the Redshirts defeated with several being executed after surrendering while Garibaldi was badly wounded.


title: Calabria

text: In the newly unified Kingdom of Italy, there were significant differences in level of economic development between the "Nord" (north) of Italy and the "Mezzogiorno" (the south of Italy). Calabria together with the rest of the "Mezzogiorno" was neglected under the Kingdom of Italy with the general feeling in Rome being that the region was hopelessly backward and poor. In the late 19th century about 70% of the population of the "Mezzogiorno" were illiterate as the government never invested in education for the south. Owing to the Roman Question, until 1903 the Roman Catholic Church had prohibited on the pain of excommunication Catholic men from voting in Italian elections (Italian women were not granted the right to vote until 1946). As the devoutly Catholic population of Calabria tended to boycott elections, the deputies who were elected from the region were the products of the clientistic system, representing the interests of the land-owning aristocracy. In common with the deputies from other regions of the "Mezzogiorno", they voted against more money for education under the grounds that an educated population would demand changes that would threaten the power of the traditional elite. Owing to a weak state, society in Calabria came to be dominated in the late 19th century by an organised crime group known as 'Ndrangheta which like the Mafia in Sicily and the Camorra in Campania formed a "parallel state" that co-existed alongside the Italian state. Between 1901 and 1914 Calabrians began emigrating in large numbers, mostly for North America and South America, with the peak year being 1905 with 62,690.


title: Calabria

text: On 28 December 1908, Calabria together with Sicily was devastated by an earthquake and then by a tsunami caused by the earthquake, causing about 80, 000 deaths. Within hours of the disaster, ships of the British and Russian navies had arrived on the coast to assist the survivors, but it took the "Regia Marina" two days to send a relief expedition from Naples. The bumbling and ineffectual response of the Italian authorities to the disaster caused by feuding officials who did not wish to co-operate with each other contributed to the high death toll as it took weeks for aid to reach some villages and caused much resentment in Calabria. To offset widespread criticism that the northern-dominated government in Rome did not care about the people of Calabria, King Victor Emmanuel III personally took over the relief operation and toured the destroyed villages of Calabria, which won the House of Savoy a measure of popularity in the region. Most notably, after the king took charge of the relief efforts, the feuding between officials ceased and relief aid was delivered with considerably more efficiency, winning Victor Emmanuel the gratitude of the Calabrians.


title: Calabria

text: Fascism was not popular in Calabria. In December 1924 when a false rumor spread in Reggio Calabria that Benito Mussolini had resigned as Prime Minister because of the Matteotti affair, joyous celebrations took place in the city that lasted all night. In the morning, the people of Reggio Calabria learned that Mussolini was still prime minister, but several Fascist officials were dismissed for not suppressing the celebrations. The landed aristocracy and gentry of Calabria, through generally not ideologically committed to Fascism, saw the Fascist regime as a force for order and social stability, and supported the dictatorship. Likewise, the prefects and the policemen of Calabria were conservatives who saw themselves as serving King Victor Emmanuel III first and Mussolini second, but supported Fascism as preferable to Socialism and Communism and persecuted anti-Fascists. Traditional elites in Calabria joined the Fascist Party to pursue their own interests, and local branches of Fascist Party were characterized by much jostling for power and influence between elite families. Under the Fascist regime, several concentration camps were built in Calabria and used to imprison foreigners whose presence in Italy was considered undesirable, such as Chinese immigrants and foreign Jews (though not Italian Jews) together with members of the Roma (Gypsy) minority, whose nomadic lifestyle was viewed as anti-social. The camps which operated from 1938 to 1943 were not death camps, and the majority of those imprisoned survived, but conditions were harsh for the imprisoned.


title: Calabria

text: On 3 September 1943, British and Canadian troops of the British 8th Army landed in Calabria in Operation Baytown, marking the first time that the Allies landed on the mainland of Italy. However, the landings in Calabria were a feint and the main Allied blow came on 8 September 1943 with the landing of the American 5th Army at Salerno in Campania that was intended to cut off Axis forces in the "Mezzogiorno". The Germans anticipated that the Allies would land at Salerno, and as a consequence, there was relatively little fighting in Calabria. The Italian troops in Calabria mostly surrendered to the advancing 5th British Division and the 1st Canadian Division while there were relatively few German forces in the region to oppose their advance. The main obstacle to the advancing Anglo-Canadian troops turned out to be the trail of destruction left by German combat engineers who systematically blew up bridges and destroyed roads and railroads as the Wehrmacht retreated north. On the same day the Americans landed at Salerno, General Dwight Eisenhower announced on the radio the Armistice of Cassibile that had been signed on 3 September, and with the announcement of the armistice all Italian resistance ceased. The Germans committed most of their forces in the "Mezzogiorno" to the Battle of Salerno with the aim of driving the Allies back into the sea and pulled their remaining forces out of Calabria to send them to Salerno. Under the Allied occupation, some Fascists in Calabria waged a terrorist struggle on behalf of the Salo republic, though significantly many of the Fascists tended to be from well-off families concerned about the possibility of social reforms that might weaken their power and only a minority such as Prince Valerio Pignatelli were ideological Fascists. In June 1944, celebrations in Reggio Calabria over the news of the liberation of Rome were disturbed by local Fascists.


title: Calabria

text: The British historian Jonathan Dunnage wrote that there was an "institutional continuity" between the civil servants of the Liberal, Fascist and post-Fascist eras in Calabria as each change of regime saw the bureaucrats of the region adjust to whatever regime was in power in Rome and there was no purge of civil servants either after 1922 or 1943. The "institutional continuity" of the bureaucracy of Calabria were committed to preserving the social structure. On 2 June 1946 referendum, Calabria like the rest of the "Mezzogiorno" voted solidly to retain the monarchy. The clientistic political system in Calabria under which elite families handed out patronage to their supporters and used violence against their opponents, which was the prevailing norm in the Liberal and Fascist eras continued after 1945. During the Second World War, the already low living standards of Calabria declined further and the region was notorious as one of the most violent and lawless areas of Italy. Attempts by the peasants of Calabria to take over the land owned by the elite were usually resisted by the authorities. On 28 October 1949 in Melissa the police opened fire on peasants who had seized the land of a local baron, killing three men who were shot in the back as they attempted to flee. Between 1949 and 1966 another wave of migration took place with the peak year of migration being 1957 with some 38, 090 Calabrians leaving that year.


title: Calabria

text: Under the First Republic, starting in the 1960s, investment plans were launched under which Italian state sponsored industrialisation and attempted to improve the infrastructure of Calabria by building modern roads, railroads, ports, etc. The plan was a notable failure with the infrastructure projects going wildly over-budget and taking far longer to complete then scheduled; for an example, construction started on the A3 highway in 1964 intended to link Reggio Calabria to Salerno, which was as of 2016 still unfinished. The failure to complete the A3 highway after 52 years of effort is regarded as a scandal in Italy, and many parts of Calabria were described as an "industrial graveyard" full of the closed down steel mills and chemical plants that all went bankrupt. From July 1970 to February 1971 the Reggio revolt took place as the decision to make Catanzaro instead of Reggio the regional capital prompted massive protests. The compromise decision to make Catanzaro the executive capital and Reggio the administrative capital has led to a bloated and inefficient administration. The high unemployment rate in Calabria has led to extensive migration and Calabria's biggest export has been its own people as Calabrians have moved to either other parts of Italy and abroad, especially to the United States, Canada and Argentina, to seek a better life. In 2016, it was estimated that 18% of the people born in Calabria were living abroad.


title: Calabria

text: The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Calabria is subdivided as follows: service industry (28.94%), financial activities and real estate (21.09%), trade, tourism, transportation and communication (19.39%), taxation (11.49%), manufacturing (8.77%), construction (6.19%) and agriculture (4.13%). GDP per capita is 2.34 times less and unemployment is 4 times higher than in Lombardy. Calabria's economy is still based mainly on agriculture.


title: Calabria

text: The economy of the region is strongly affected by the presence of the 'Ndrangheta (the local Mafia syndicate).


title: Calabria

text: Calabria is agriculturally rich, with the Italy's second highest number of organic farmers after Sicily.


title: Calabria

text: The red onion of Tropea is cultivated during summer period on the Tyrrhenian coast of central Calabria. It has been awarded with the protected geographical indication (PGI).


title: Calabria

text: The olive tree represents 29.6% of utilised agricultural area (UAA) and approximately 70% of tree crops. Olive tree cultivation extends from coastal lowland areas to hilly and lower mountainous areas.


title: Calabria

text: The region is the second-highest for olive oil production with Carolea, Ogliarola, and Saracena olives as the main regional varieties.


title: Calabria

text: In Calabria, there are 3 PDO oils: "Bruzio" in the province of Cosenza, "Lametia" in the area of Lamezia Terme and the more recent "Alto Crotonese". In addition to DOP oils there are also PGI oils. The production area of "Olio di Calabria" PGI includes the entire territory of the Calabria region. The production is made exclusively from indigenous olives.


title: Calabria

text: Calabria produces about a quarter of Italy's citrus fruit. The contribution of this region to growing citrus fruit in Italy can be attributed mainly to clementines, oranges, mandarins and lemons. Calabria is by far the country's most important clementine-growing region, which account for about 62% (16,164 ha) of the Italian surface dedicated to its cultivation and 69% (437,800 tons) of the total production. Clementina di Calabria is the PGI variety grown in the Calabria region. Also chinotto is cultivated and used to produce carbonated soft drink with the same name.


title: Calabria

text: Minor fruits such as bergamot and citron and lemon-citron hybrids are found exclusively in Calabria. The south coast of the region produces 90% of the world's bergamots, with a huge industry built around the extraction of bergamot oil. According to Harvard Atlas of Economic Complexity, last year with Italian net export of bergamot oil was 2009 in value of $253,000, after that between 2010 and 2018 was no export of it. The Bergamot orange has been intensively cultivated since the 18th century, but only in the coastal area nearby to Reggio, where geological and weather conditions are optimal. The Chabad Hasidic dynasty have a preference to take citrons ("Etrog") from this region for the Sukkot festival.


title: Calabria

text: There is special research Experimental Station for the Industry of the Essential oils and Citrus products in Reggio di Calabria.


title: Calabria

text: The province of Cosenza represents an important area for figs growing belonging to cultivar "Dottato" that is used to produce the quality-branded dried figs "Fichi di Cosenza" PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). The anona cherimoya, a plant of tropical origin cultivated in Europe only in Reggio di Calabria and Spain.


title: Calabria

text: In the province of Catanzaro, between San Floro and Cortale, the ancient tradition of sericulture is still kept alive, thanks to young generations.


title: Calabria

text: Calabria is the largest producer of porcini mushrooms in Italy, thanks to the heavily wooded forests of the mountains ranges of Pollino, Sila, Serre and Aspromonte. Chestnut production is also widespread in the Calabrian mountains. But not only porcini mushrooms, there is other popular red pine mushroom or rosito.


title: Calabria

text: Peaches and nectarines from Calabria have greatly improved in terms of flavour, quality, safety and service. A part of the production is sold on the domestic market, mainly to retailers. The remaining is exported to Northern Europe, mainly Scandinavia and Germany.


title: Calabria

text: The region boasts a very ancient tradition in the cultivation and production of liquorice. The eighty percent of the national production is concentrated in this region.


title: Calabria

text: Food and textile industries are the most developed and vibrant. Within the industrial sector, manufacturing contributes to a gross value added of 7.2%. In the manufacturing sector the main branches are foodstuff, beverage and tobacco with a contribution to the sector very close to the national average.


title: Calabria

text: Over the recent decades some petrochemical, engineering and chemical industries have emerged, within the areas of Crotone, Vibo Valentia and Reggio Calabria.


title: Calabria

text: The province of Catanzaro boasts a great tradition in the textile manufacturing, especially silk. Recently, several young people have given new life to this activity, developing green and sustainable economy projects. In fact, among the municipalities of Girifalco, San Floro and Cortale, sericulture is still practiced, the breeding of silkworms combined with the cultivation of mulberry trees.


title: Calabria

text: Tiriolo and Badolato are known above all for the manufacturing of the "vancale", the typical Calabrian shawl, made of wool or silk, worn by women in ancient times on traditional costumes during the dance of tarantella, or as an ornamental decoration of the houses.


title: Calabria

text: Typical in Tiriolo is also the manufacturing of carpets, linen and broom fibers, bobbin lace making, embroidery, precious ceramics, furnishing objects and artistic sculptures. The artistic production of weaving is also active in other centers such as in Platania and Petrizzi where once hemp fibers were also produced.


title: Calabria

text: In Soveria Mannelli, Lanificio Leo, the oldest textile factory in Calabria founded in 1873, is still active. The factory still retains majestic and evocative tools dating back to the late nineteenth century.


title: Calabria

text: The traditional production of artistic ceramics dating back to the Magna Graecia period is handed down in the ancient towns of Squillace and Seminara.


title: Calabria

text: The small town of Serrastretta, a green village in the woods of Presila, is known for its wood production, in particular for its chairs characterized by a very original straw.


title: Calabria

text: There is a plant of Hitachi Rail Italy in Reggio di Calabria, which manufactures railcars of regional trains like .


title: Calabria

text: Tourism in Calabria has increased over the years. The main tourist attractions are the coastline and the mountains. The coastline alternates between rugged cliffs and sandy beaches, and is sparsely interrupted by development when compared to other European seaside destinations. The sea around Calabria is clear, and there is a good level of tourist accommodation. The poet Gabriele D'Annunzio called the coast facing Sicily near Reggio Calabria "... the most beautiful kilometer in Italy" ("il più bel chilometro d'Italia"). The primary mountain tourist draws are Aspromonte and La Sila, with its national park and lakes. Some other prominent destinations include:


title: Calabria

text: Calabria attracts year-round tourism, offering both summer and winter activities, in addition to its cultural, historical, artistic heritage, it has an abundance of protected natural habitats and 'green' zones. The of its coast make Calabria a tourist destination during the summer. The low industrial development and the lack of major cities in much of its territory have allowed the maintenance of indigenous marine life.


title: Calabria

text: The most sought-after seaside destinations are: Tropea, Pizzo Calabro, Capo Vaticano, Reggio Calabria, Soverato, Scilla, Scalea, Sellia Marina, Montepaone, Montauro, Copanello (comune of Staletti), Tonnara di Palmi, Diamante, Paola, Fiumefreddo Bruzio, Amantea, Praia a Mare, Belvedere Marittimo, Roseto Capo Spulico, Corigliano Calabro, Cirò Marina, Amendolara, Roccella Ionica, Bagnara Calabra, Nicotera, Cariati, Zambrone, Isola di Capo Rizzuto, Caminia (comune of Staletti), Siderno, Parghelia, Ricadi and San Nicola Arcella.


title: Calabria

text: In addition to the coastal tourist destinations, the interior of Calabria is rich in history, traditions, art and culture. Cosenza is among the most important cultural cities of Calabria, with a rich historical and artistic patrimony. Medieval castles, towers, churches, monasteries and other French castles and structures from the Norman to the Aragonese periods are common elements in both the interior and coastline of Calabria.


title: Calabria

text: The mountains offer skiing and other winter activities: Sila, Pollino and Aspromonte are three national parks that offer facilities for winter sports, especially in the towns of Camigliatello (comune of Spezzano della Sila), Lorica (comune of San Giovanni in Fiore), Gambarie and Monte Sant'Elia ("comune" of Palmi).


title: Calabria

text: The unemployment rate stood at 20.1% in 2020 and was the highest in Italy and one of the highest inside the European Union.


title: Calabria

text: The main Calabrian ports are in Reggio Calabria and in Gioia Tauro. The port of Reggio is equipped with five loading docks of a length of .


title: Calabria

text: The port of Gioia Tauro has seven loading docks with an extension of ; it is the largest in Italy and the eighth largest container port in Europe, with a 2018 throughput of s from more than 3,000 ships. In a 2006 report, Italian investigators estimated that 80% of Europe's cocaine arrived from Colombia via Gioia Tauro's docks. The port is also involved in the illegal arms trafficking. These activities are controlled by the "'Ndrangheta" criminal syndicate.


title: Calabria

text: The region is served by three heavily used roads: two national highways along the coasts (the SS18 between Naples and Reggio Calabria and the SS106 between Reggio Calabria and Taranto) and the A2 motorway, which links Salerno to Reggio Calabria, passing by Cosenza along the old inland route. Building this motorway took 55 years and was extremely over budget due to organized crime infiltration.


title: Calabria

text: There is high-speed rail on Calabria's Tyrrhenian Coast with the Frecciargento (Silver Arrow) offering a route from Rome to Reggio Calabria. There are also many ferries connecting Calabria with Sicily through the Strait of Sicily with the main one being from Villa San Giovanni to Messina.


title: Calabria

text: In Calabria there are two main airports: the Reggio Calabria Airport, a few kilometres from Reggio Calabria's city centre, built in 1939 was Calabria's first airport; the Lamezia Terme Airport is currently the first airport in Calabria for number of passengers per year.


title: Calabria

text: Because of their debts, since 2009 they were administered by an extraordinary commissioner appointed by the central Italian government. In 2012, the Calabria Region unified 11 "Azienda Sanitaria Locale" into 5 provincial units, when came into force a regional law approved on 11 May 2007. In July 2021, the Constitutional Court of Italy censored the decree of law with the appointing of a new commissioner, because it didn't provide a new administrative structure to solve the long-time crisis of the Calabria's regional healthcare system. It has been seen as an unavoidable step to return to an ordinary and cost-effective administration at a regional level, as it is provided by the Italian Constitution.


title: Calabria

text: Although the official national language of Calabria has been Standard Italian since before unification in 1861, Calabria has dialects that have been spoken in the region for centuries. The Calabrian language is a direct derivative of Latin. Most linguists divide the various dialects into two different language groups. In the northern area of the region, the Calabrian dialects are considered part of the Neapolitan language and are grouped as Northern Calabrian. In the rest of the region, the Calabrian dialects are often grouped as Central and Southern Calabrian, and are considered part of the Sicilian language. However, in Guardia Piemontese, as well as some quarters of Reggio Calabria, a variety of Occitan called Gardiol can also be found. In addition, since Calabria was once ruled by the French and Spanish, some Calabrian dialects exhibit Spanish and French influences.


title: Calabria

text: Another important linguistic minority, in the nine towns of Bovesìa in the province of Reggio Calabria, speaks a derivative of ancient Greek called Griko, a remnant of Byzantine rule and ancient Magna Graecia.


title: Calabria

text: The majority of Calabrians are Roman Catholic. Historically, Calabrians were Greek Orthodox, and in 732 the dioceses of Southern Italy were even moved to the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. There are also communities of Evangelicals in the region. Calabria has also been called "The Land of Saints" as the region was the birthplace of many saints spanning nearly 2,000 years. The most famous saint in Calabria and also the patron saint of the region is St. Francis of Paola. Calabria also has another patron saint called Saint Bruno of Cologne who was the founder of the Carthusian Order. Saint Bruno would build the charterhouse of Serra San Bruno, a town which bears his name, in 1095 and later die there in 1101.


title: Calabria

text: Even though it is currently a very small community, there has been a long history of the presence of Jews in Calabria. The Jews have had a presence in the region for at least 1600 years and possibly as much as 2300 years. Calabrian Jews have had notably influence on many areas of Jewish life and culture. Although virtually identical to the Jews of Sicily, the Jews of Calabria are considered a distinct Jewish population due to historical and geographic considerations. There is a small community of Italian Anusim who have resumed the Jewish faith.


title: Calabria

text: It is important to highlight the presence of Calabrians in Renaissance humanism and in the Renaissance. Indeed, the Hellenistics in this period frequently came from Calabria maybe because of the Greek influence. The rediscovery of Ancient Greek was very difficult because this language had been almost forgotten. In this period the presence of Calabrian humanists or refugees from Constantinople was fundamental. The study of Ancient Greek, in this period, was mainly a work of two monks of the monastery of Seminara: Barlaam, bishop of Gerace, and his disciple, Leonzio Pilato. Leonzio Pilato, in particular, was a Calabrian born near Reggio Calabria. He was an important teacher of Ancient Greek and translator, and he helped Giovanni Boccaccio in the translations of Homer's works.


title: Calabria

text: The cuisine is a typical southern Italian Mediterranean cuisine with a balance between meat-based dishes (pork, lamb, goat), vegetables (especially eggplant), and fish. Pasta (as in Central Italy and the rest of Southern Italy) is also very important in Calabria. In contrast to most other Italian regions, Calabrians have traditionally placed an emphasis on the preservation of their food and packing vegetables and meats in olive oil, and on making sausages and cold cuts (soppressata, 'nduja, capocollo). Along the coast fish is cured, especially swordfish, sardines ("sardelle rosamarina") and cod ("baccalà"). Local desserts are typically fried, honey-sweetened pastries such as "cudduraci", nacatole, "scalille" or "scalidde", or baked biscotti-type treats such as "nzudda".


title: Calabria

text: Some local specialties include Caciocavallo cheese, "cipolla rossa di Tropea" (red onion), "frìttuli" and "curcùci" (fried pork), liquorice ("liquirizia"), "lagane e cicciari" (a pasta dish with chickpeas)," pecorino crotonese" (sheep cheese), and pignolata.


title: Calabria

text: In ancient times Calabria was referred to as "Enotria" (from Ancient Greek , ', "land of wine"). According to ancient Greek tradition, ('), the youngest of the sons of Lycaon, was the eponym of Oenotria. Some vineyards have origins dating back to the ancient Greek colonists. The best known DOC wines are Cirò (Province of Crotone) and Donnici (Province of Cosenza). 3% of the total annual production qualifies as DOC. Important grape varieties are the red Gaglioppo and white Greco. Many producers are resurrecting local, ancient grape varieties which have been around for as long as 3000 years.


title: The Cars

text: The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), and David Robinson (drums). Ocasek and Orr shared lead vocals, and Ocasek was the band's principal songwriter and leader.


title: The Cars

text: The Cars were at the forefront of the merger of 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synthesizer-oriented pop that became popular in the early 1980s. Robert Palmer, music critic for "The New York Times" and "Rolling Stone", described the Cars' musical style: "They have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop—and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend."


title: The Cars

text: The Cars were named Best New Artist in the 1978 "Rolling Stone" Readers' Poll. The band's debut album, "The Cars", sold six million copies and appeared on the "Billboard" 200 album chart for 139 weeks. The Cars had four Top 10 hits: "Shake It Up" (1981), "You Might Think" (1984), "Drive" (1984), and "Tonight She Comes" (1985). The band won Video of the Year for "You Might Think" at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984.


title: The Cars

text: The Cars disbanded in 1988. Orr died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer. In 2007, Easton and Hawkes joined Todd Rundgren and others to form the offshoot band The New Cars. The surviving original members of the Cars reunited in 2010 to record the band's seventh and final album, "Move Like This", which was released in May 2011. Following a short tour in support of "Move Like This", the band once again went on hiatus. In April 2018, the Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and reunited to perform at the induction ceremony. It was the band's final performance with Ocasek, who died on September 15, 2019 of cardiovascular disease.


title: The Cars

text: Before the Cars, members of the band performed together in several different groups. Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr met in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1960s after Ocasek saw Orr performing with his band the Grasshoppers on the "Big 5 Show", a local musical variety program. The two were in various bands in Columbus, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan, then moved to Boston in the early 1970s. In Boston, Ocasek and Orr, along with lead guitarist Jas Goodkind, formed a Crosby, Stills and Nash-style folk rock band called Milkwood. In 1972, they released one album, "How's the Weather", on Paramount Records, that failed to chart.


title: The Cars

text: After Milkwood, Ocasek and Orr formed the group Richard and the Rabbits, whose name was suggested by Jonathan Richman. The band included Greg Hawkes, who had studied at the Berklee School of Music and had played saxophone on Milkwood's album. Hawkes left to tour with Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture, a musical comedy act in which Mull played a variety of instruments. Ric Ocasek and Ben Orr then performed as an acoustic duo called simply Ocasek and Orr at the Idler coffeehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some of the songs they played became early Cars songs.


title: The Cars

text: Later, Ocasek and Orr teamed with guitarist Elliot Easton (who had also studied at Berklee) in the band Cap'n Swing. Cap'n Swing also featured drummer Glenn Evans, later followed by Kevin Robichaud, and a jazzy bass player, which clashed with Ocasek's more rock-and-roll leanings. Benjamin Orr was the lead vocalist and did not play an instrument. Cap'n Swing soon came to the attention of WBCN disc jockey Maxanne Sartori, who began playing songs from their demo tape on her show.


title: The Cars

text: After being rejected by several record labels, Ocasek got rid of the bass player, keyboardist and drummer and decided to form a band that better fit his style of writing. Orr took over on bass and Robichaud was replaced by David Robinson, best known for his career with the Modern Lovers. Robinson had also played in DMZ and the Pop! Hawkes was contacted to play keyboards and the band became "the Cars", a name suggested by Robinson, whose sense of fashion had a strong influence on the band's image.


title: The Cars

text: After a warmup gig in a motel lounge outside of Boston, The Cars played their official first show at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire a short time later on December 31, 1976.


title: The Cars

text: Since Greg Hawkes hadn't yet formally joined the group, it was Cap'n Swing's keyboardist, Danny Schliftman (later to join Gov't Mule under the name Danny Louis), who played with the Cars for their first several gigs until Hawkes was free to join in February 1977.


title: The Cars

text: With Hawkes now fully committed, the Cars spent early 1977 playing throughout New England, developing the songs that appeared on their debut album. A nine-song demo tape was recorded in early 1977 and soon "Just What I Needed" was getting heavy airplay on Boston radio stations WBCN and WCOZ. By virtue of that airplay, the band was offered record deals from Arista Records and Elektra Records. The band signed to Elektra, due to its lack of new wave acts, allowing the band to stand out more compared to Arista which had many new wave artists. The band's debut album "The Cars" was released in June 1978, reaching No. 18 on the "Billboard" 200. "Just What I Needed" was released as the debut single from the album, followed by "My Best Friend's Girl" and "Good Times Roll", all three charting on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The album featured multiple album tracks that received substantial airplay, such as "You're All I've Got Tonight", "Bye Bye Love", and "Moving in Stereo".


title: The Cars

text: Released in June 1979, "Candy-O", the band's second album, was an even bigger hit peaking at No. 3 on the "Billboard 200" album chart, 15 spots higher than their debut. Featuring an album cover created by the famed "Playboy" artist Alberto Vargas, it featured their first Top-20 single "Let's Go". Follow-up singles "It's All I Can Do" and "Double Life" also were released, but with less success.


title: The Cars

text: Following the success of "Candy-O", the band's third studio album "Panorama" was released in 1980. The album, considered more experimental than its predecessors, featured only one top-40 hit with "Touch and Go". Although the album peaked at No. 5 in America, it did not receive the critical praise of "The Cars" and "Candy-O", with "Rolling Stone" describing the album as "an out-and-out drag".


title: The Cars

text: In 1981, the Cars purchased Intermedia Studios in Boston, renaming it Syncro Sound. The only Cars album recorded there was the band's fourth album "Shake It Up", a more commercial album than "Panorama". It was their first album to spawn a top-10 single with the title track, and it included another hit in "Since You're Gone". Following their 1982 tour, the Cars took a two year break and went to work on solo projects, with Ocasek and Hawkes both releasing debut albums ("Beatitude" and "Niagara Falls", respectively).


title: The Cars

text: The Cars reunited and released their most successful album, "Heartbeat City", in 1984. The first single, "You Might Think", helped the Cars win Video of the Year at the first MTV Video Music Awards. Other hit singles from the album included "Magic", "Hello Again", and "Why Can't I Have You". "Drive", with Orr on lead vocals, gained particular notability when it was used in a video of the Ethiopian famine prepared by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and introduced by David Bowie at the 1985 Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in London (the Cars themselves performed at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia). The song subsequently became the band's most successful single, reaching number three on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Actor/director Timothy Hutton directed the song's music video.


title: The Cars

text: After the resulting period of superstardom and another hit single, "Tonight She Comes", a No. 7 hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and a No. 1 hit on the "Billboard" Top Rock Tracks chart (their last No. 1), from their "Greatest Hits", the Cars took time off again to pursue solo projects. Easton and Orr released their debut albums ("Change No Change" and "The Lace", respectively), while Ocasek released his second solo album, "This Side of Paradise". In 1987, the Cars released their sixth album, "Door to Door". It contained their last major international hit "You Are the Girl", but the album failed to approach the success of their previous albums. The group announced their breakup in February 1988.


title: The Cars

text: In the late 1990s, rumors circulated of a Cars reunion, with nothing to follow after them. However, in 1995 Rhino Records released a two-CD set "", containing all the group's hits mixed with rarities (demos and non-album B-sides). They followed up with the releases of "" (1999), their debut album in a two-CD format, and "Complete Greatest Hits".


title: The Cars

text: In the mid-1990s, Orr recorded tracks with guitarist John Kalishes for an unreleased follow-up to "The Lace" and performed with three bands: his own band ORR, the Voices of Classic Rock, and Big People. Orr did appear with his former band mates one last time in an interview for a documentary about the group before his death from pancreatic cancer at age 53 on October 3, 2000.


title: The Cars

text: Ocasek continued to perform as a solo artist, having released over seven studio albums. Robinson retired from music and spent most of his time working in his restaurant. In 2005, Easton and Hawkes combined their talents with Todd Rundgren, Prairie Prince (the Tubes, Journey), and Kasim Sulton (Utopia, Meat Loaf) in a revamped lineup, the New Cars, to perform classic Cars songs along with some new original material and selections from Rundgren's career.


title: The Cars

text: In 2010, the founding members of the Cars suggested a reunion when Ric Ocasek, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes and David Robinson placed a photo of the four members together in Millbrook Sound Studios, in Millbrook, New York, on their Facebook page. On October 13, they also posted a snippet of a new song, "Blue Tip", on their Facebook page. A picture of Jacknife Lee in the studio was posted on the group's Facebook page hinting that he would be producing the new Cars album.


title: The Cars

text: In October, "Billboard" reported that the Cars were recording a new album at veteran engineer Paul Orofino's studio in Millbrook, New York. A music clip of the new song "Sad Song" was added to the band's Facebook page on December 7, 2010; another clip of a song called "Free" was shared on their Facebook page on January 1, 2011. The official debut video for "Blue Tip" was released February 17. The video was directed by Roberto Serrini and Eron Otcasek from The Lab NYC and features the four members of the band and NYC-based street artist Joe Iurato. According to "Rolling Stone", the surviving Cars mutually agreed there would be no replacing the late Benjamin Orr, so Hawkes and Lee handled all bass parts.


title: The Cars

text: The new album, titled "Move Like This", was released on May 10 by Hear Music/Concord Music Group, debuting at No. 7 on "Billboard"s album charts. It featured 10 songs in under 40 minutes. "Sad Song" was released to radio stations on March 1 as the album's first single. In May 2011, the Cars went on a ten-city tour of the United States and Canada and also performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago in August. On the tour, Orr's bass parts were performed by Hawkes on keyboard and bass; the vocals on songs originally sung by Orr ("Just What I Needed", "Let's Go" and "Moving in Stereo") were performed by Ocasek. In an interview, Ocasek was asked whether the band would have reunited if Ben Orr had still been alive. Ocasek responded "Ben and I had a real cold war going that lasted about 23 years. I could never really figure out exactly why, but I think there was a lot of jealousy because I wrote the songs and I got a lot of attention. And there was all kinds of weird stuff, like he said, 'My girlfriend writes songs, let's use one of those or two of those.' I said, 'No, that's not the Cars.'"


title: The Cars

text: After seven years of inactivity, the group reconvened, along with Weezer's Scott Shriner on bass in Orr's stead, to play a four-song set ("You Might Think" (which Weezer covered for the "Cars 2" soundtrack, Ocasek also produced three of Weezer's albums), "My Best Friend's Girl", "Moving in Stereo", "Just What I Needed") at their 2018 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were introduced by Killers frontman Brandon Flowers.


title: The Cars

text: The Cars' music has been described as new wave and power pop, and is influenced by proto-punk, garage rock, and bubblegum pop. They have also used rockabilly in songs such as "My Best Friend's Girl". Robert Palmer, music critic for "The New York Times" and "Rolling Stone", described the Cars' musical style: "they have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the 1950s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop—and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend."


title: Tobacco

text: Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus "Nicotiana" of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chief commercial crop is "N. tabacum". The more potent variant "N. rustica" is also used in some countries.


title: Tobacco

text: Dried tobacco leaves are mainly used for smoking in cigarettes and cigars, as well as pipes and shishas. They can also be consumed as snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, and snus.


title: Tobacco

text: Tobacco contains the highly addictive stimulant alkaloid nicotine as well as harmala alkaloids. Tobacco use is a cause or risk factor for many deadly diseases, especially those affecting the heart, liver, and lungs, as well as many cancers. In 2008, the World Health Organization named tobacco use as the world's single greatest preventable cause of death.


title: Tobacco

text: The English word "tobacco" originates from the Spanish word "tabaco". The precise origin of this word is disputed, but it is generally thought to have derived, at least in part, from Taíno, the Arawakan language of the Caribbean. In Taíno, it was said to mean either a roll of tobacco leaves (according to Bartolomé de las Casas, 1552), or to "tabago", a kind of L-shaped pipe used for sniffing tobacco smoke (according to Oviedo, with the leaves themselves being referred to as "cohiba").


title: Tobacco

text: However, perhaps coincidentally, similar words in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian were used from 1410 for certain medicinal herbs. These probably derived from the Arabic (also ), a word reportedly dating to the ninth century, referring to various herbs.


title: Tobacco

text: Tobacco has long been used in the Americas, with some cultivation sites in Mexico dating back to 1400–1000 BC. Many Native American tribes traditionally grow and use tobacco. Historically, people from the Northeast Woodlands cultures have carried tobacco in pouches as a readily accepted trade item. It was smoked both socially and ceremonially, such as to seal a peace treaty or trade agreement. In some Native cultures, tobacco is seen as a gift from the Creator, with the ceremonial tobacco smoke carrying one's thoughts and prayers to the Creator.


title: Tobacco

text: Following the arrival of the Europeans to the Americas, tobacco became increasingly popular as a trade item. Hernández de Boncalo, Spanish chronicler of the Indies, was the first European to bring tobacco seeds to the Old World in 1559 following orders of King Philip II of Spain. These seeds were planted in the outskirts of Toledo, more specifically in an area known as "Los Cigarrales" named after the continuous plagues of cicadas ("cigarras" in Spanish). Before the development of the lighter Virginia and white burley strains of tobacco, the smoke was too harsh to be inhaled. Small quantities were smoked at a time, using a pipe like the "midwakh" or "kiseru," or newly invented waterpipes such as the bong or the hookah (see thuốc lào for a modern continuance of this practice). Tobacco became so popular that the English colony of Jamestown used it as currency and began exporting it as a cash crop; tobacco is often credited as being the export that saved Virginia from ruin.


title: Tobacco

text: The alleged benefits of tobacco also contributed to its success. The astronomer Thomas Harriot, who accompanied Sir Richard Grenville on his 1585 expedition to Roanoke Island, thought that the plant "openeth all the pores and passages of the body" so that the bodies of the natives "are notably preserved in health, and know not many grievous diseases, wherewithal we in England are often times afflicted."


title: Tobacco

text: Production of tobacco for smoking, chewing, and snuffing became a major industry in Europe and its colonies by 1700.


title: Tobacco

text: Tobacco has been a major cash crop in Cuba and in other parts of the Caribbean since the 18th century. Cuban cigars are world-famous.


title: Tobacco

text: In the late 19th century, cigarettes became popular. James Bonsack invented a machine to automate cigarette production. This increase in production allowed tremendous growth in the tobacco industry until the health revelations of the late 20th century.


title: Tobacco

text: Following the scientific revelations of the mid-20th century, tobacco was condemned as a health hazard, and eventually became recognized as a cause of cancer, as well as other respiratory and circulatory diseases. In the United States, this led to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, which settled the many lawsuits by the U.S. states in exchange for a combination of yearly payments to the states and voluntary restrictions on advertising and marketing of tobacco products.


title: Tobacco

text: In the 1970s, Brown & Williamson cross-bred a strain of tobacco to produce Y1, a strain containing an unusually high nicotine content, nearly doubling from 3.2 to 3.5%, to 6.5%. In the 1990s, this prompted the Food and Drug Administration to allege that tobacco companies were intentionally manipulating the nicotine content of cigarettes.


title: Tobacco

text: The desire of many addicted smokers to quit has led to the development of tobacco cessation products.


title: Tobacco

text: In 2003, in response to growth of tobacco use in developing countries, the World Health Organization successfully rallied 168 countries to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The convention is designed to push for effective legislation and enforcement in all countries to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco. Between 2019 and 2021, concerns about increased COVID-19 health risks due to tobacco consumption facilitated smoking reduction and cessation.