San Fili - History
Prehistoric and Greco-Roman period
In prehistoric times, the first Sanfilesi lived by the bank
s of the river Emoli. They were known as the Opici and
they came from the mountains of the Pollino.
Around 1650 AC the 'Arcadi' reached Bretia and after crossing the mountains they came about a river that they called Acheronte and there they built a town called Acheruntia. The territory now occupied by San Fili was part of Acheruntia. Acheruntia was conquered by the Greeks and
prospered with the rest of the other neighboring towns. The commerce between Consentia and Pandosia
on one side and Clampetia e Terina gave Acheruntia its importance. After the fall of Sibari(511 AC) Acheruntia and the rest of the area fell under Roman dominance.
The origin
We can only speculate about the time and the why people decided to settle there.
We do know that during the VI century, in the area of the Emoli
valley there were Christian communities and in the following centuries Byzantine
monastic life was also evident. In a document confirming Ruggero II dated 1144 the following appears:
' Ecclesia Sancte Venere cumpertinentis earum et rusticis hominibus qui sunt LX' given by Drogone lord of Montalto in 1115 to the monastery of Santa Maria di Valle Giosafat of Gerusalem.
During the X century, the Saracen invasions forced the people of Consentia to flee to the mountains and presumably
to the Emoli valley as well.
The Name
The oldest mention of San Fili appears in a public document dated 1267 and
mentioned in the letter 'Justis Petentium' by Pope Clemente IV. Using the name Felum, it was part of the town of
Rende.
Eventually the name ' Terra Sancti Felicis' was used in honor of Santo Felice worshiped by the
local population. The name San Fili appears for the first time at the end of '600. Barrio calls it Filum, Padula uses the ebraic meaning 'built at the side of a mountain'. Local tradition uses the legend of 'Santo e figli'(Santo and sons) exiled and fugitives.
The eighteenth century
During the second half of 1700 and the beginning of 1800, the town expanded and the neighborhoods of San Vincenzo Ferreri, Rinacchio, Concezione and Cozzo del Joria were
established. The Chiesa Madre(mother church)
with a tall bell tower, the church of the Immacolata and the church of the Spirito Santo(Saint Spirit) were built.
At the end of the '700 San Fili becomes an incorporated town and
it annexes the village of Bucita as ordered by the regional government installed by Napoleone.
During this same period, after the return of the Borboni, there is a lot of construction, agricultural growth, and retail and industrial activity. The Industrial and commercial activity was considered relevant since the '500, by the middle of 1800 there were 5 silk mills with 114 workers, 41 looms in addition to the production of chestnuts, olive oil, cheese, wool, meat and figs. The most important trading partners were the towns on the Tirreno coast.
The Risorgimento
The Carbonerist movement did not bypass San Fili.The 'Clique' (for lack of a different word)
Sanfilese was in contact with the members of the Rende's chapter. The leaders were
Luca Granato and Antonio Pellegrino. Others, such as Giuseppe Miceli and Antonio Gentile, were arrested and incarcerated several times. Santo Cesario nicknamed guerra(war) was captured and executed by firing squad together with the brothers Bandiera in the Rovito valley on July 15, 1844. On June 24, 1848 a doctor named Francesco Pante went to Bucita to organize the population of the village and a good number of persons followed him to Paola. In San Fili the meetings were held in the house of Antonio and Leopoldo Gentile and in the house of
Giovanni Gentile who was the commander of the National Guard. In
Bucita the meetings were held in the house of Serafino Lupia.
The Electrification.
The first light bulb with filaments made from charcoal was lit for the first time in San Fili in 1904.
Giuseppe Cannataro thought and built a small power plant using the waters of the Emoli river to
supply the energy. This power plant was built without using an alternator and therefore the
current generated was similar to the current of a battery(DC current).
Thick copper wire carried this elctricity to the main street and the Piazza.
Between June and July 1923, plans were made to build a new power plant. The anticipated cost for this new power plant was estimated to be
100.000.00 lire. The work begun in the spring of 1924 and continued throughout the year,
sometime amid financial difficulties. By December 1924, the work was completed and
the line extended from the river bank to the town. In January 1925, Piazza San Giovanni, received the first electricity manufactured by the new power
plant. A pressure water pipe 475 meters long designed to carry 150 liters per second was used to power the
turbine. A final jump of 33 meters helped the turbine generate 66 HP of electricity. The monthly cost for a 10 watts
bulb was 4 lire and 12 cents. Most of the times, nobody paid this bill in cash, instead it was settled with agricultural goods and other
similar arrangements. This power plant was managed by the grandparents of Aniceto Costa and Francesca Cannataro, by the
mother Rosina and sisters Delia and Irma. Later the power plant was taken over by the Societa' Electrica dele Calabrie and
rebuilt in a different spot on the same location. In 1988 a study was requested by the local administration to ascertain the feasibility of reactivating this power plant and was conducted
by the engineers Celentani and Nasta. Their presentation showed that a new hydroelectric plan would have great
potential even with its small size. Maybe one day this project will take off and continue a great tradition.
Original article taken from ' L'Occhio' n.3.96 di Franca Gambaro
Edited and translated to English by Pietro Parrinello- Selden- USA May 16, 1997