Sorbo San Basile

Sorbo San Basile is a village and comune in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Three villages with the name Sorbo are Sorbo-Ocagnano on the island of Corsica, Sorbo Serpico in the region of Campania, and Sorbo San Basile in the region of Calabria. The word "sorbo" in Italian means "the service tree or the sorb-apple tree" of which there are many orchards in the vicinity. The words "San Basile" refer to the Greek Saint Basil the Great because Basilian monks established a monastery in the area as early as 640. Some time after the canonization of Francis Xavier in 1622, that Spanish saint became the patron of the village. The population in 1861 was 1228 people, in 1901 held steady at 1224 people, in 1951 reached a high of 2118 people, but in 2001 sank to a low of 932 people (information from the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica). Geography The town is bordered by Bianchi (CS), Carlopoli, Cicala, Colosimi, Fossato Serralta, Gimigliano, Panettieri, Taverna (CZ). Notes and references External links http://www.sorbosanbasile.com