The Patron
San Leoluca
Leoluca di Corleone is the listed patron, celebrated on 1 March. There is also strong local devotion to Santa Maria Maggiore and the Immacolata.
— Castellesi
CASTELLESI COMUNE
Vibo Valentia,
Calabria
A town whose family records usually say Monteleone.
Vibo Valentia sits on a terrace above the Tyrrhenian coast, on the site of Greek Hipponion and Roman Vibo Valentia — which is where the modern name was recovered from.
This town has carried three different official names since Italian unification, and the province is younger than most of its residents. Almost nothing in your family's records will say Vibo Valentia.
The Name
Monteleone
Until 1861 the town was Monteleone, and from 1861 to 1928 Monteleone di Calabria. Most emigration-era records therefore use Monteleone rather than the modern name Vibo Valentia.
The Landmark
Santa Maria Maggiore
The Duomo di Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the principal listed churches. For older family research, parish and civil references should be checked under Monteleone or Monteleone di Calabria according to the period.
Did you know?
NEITHER MODERN NAME WILL HELP FIRST
Search Monteleone under Catanzaro
The town became Vibo Valentia only in 1928, and the province was created only in 1992 from Catanzaro territory. Earlier civil, military and district records therefore appear under Monteleone and Catanzaro, not the modern town-and-province combination.
LA PARLATA
How they speak
Italian is standard. Local speech may include diverse Calabrian varieties, without naming a narrower Vibonesian form.
Three names for one town
Hipponion was founded by Greeks from Locri and became a substantial city of Magna Graecia — the gold Orphic tablet found in a grave here is one of the most important documents of ancient religion. Rome refounded it as Vibo Valentia .
The medieval town took the name Monteleone , and under the Normans and their successors it was the seat of a county and one of the principal towns of Calabria, with a castle rebuilt by Frederick II above it.
Its administrative high point came under the French. From 1806 to 1816 Monteleone was the capital of Calabria Ulteriore — the whole southern half of the region — with the provincial intendancy seated here and the army's headquarters in the town. Catanzaro received the appeal court in 1809 as compensation.
That ended with the Bourbon restoration: the law of 1 May 1816 divided Calabria Ulteriore into two, seating Calabria Ulteriore Prima at Reggio and Calabria Ulteriore Seconda at Catanzaro , with Monteleone reduced to a district seat.
The name changed to Monteleone di Calabria in 1861 and to Vibo Valentia in 1928 , reaching back to the Roman form. The province was created in 1992 with fifty comuni.
Postcards from Vibo Valentia
Wear Vibo Valentia
Carry your heritage with pride. Timeless designs inspired by the heart of Vibo Valentia.
SHOP THE COLLECTION →
Where this
belongs
belongs
PROVINCIA DI VIBO VALENTIA
Discover the beauty, culture and traditions of Vibo Valentia and its remarkable comuni.
EXPLORE VIBO VALENTIA →REGIONE CALABRIA
From the mountains to the sea, Calabria is a region of history, flavor and soul.
EXPLORE CALABRIA →From the passenger index
At least 8 people who gave Vibo Valentia as their home are recorded by name among Italian arrivals in the United States — each with the ship they sailed on and the day they landed.
A floor, not a total. The index covers arrivals through 1912, holds nothing between May 1907 and December 1911, and many passengers were written down with no home town at all. Where a name is there, it is there with its record.
Have Orso look for your family →Ready to visit
A terrace above the gulf
Getting there
The nearest major airport is Lamezia Terme International Airport.
Vibo Valentia is a quiet provincial capital on a terrace above the Gulf of Sant'Eufemia, with a castle at the top, a compact old town, and long views down to the sea.
For a descendant it is a good base for a province that is more visited than the town itself. Tropea is half an hour down the coast, Pizzo is close, and Serra San Bruno with its Carthusian monastery is inland in the Serre.
The archaeological museum in the castle holds the Orphic tablet and the finds from Hipponion, and is the best thing in the town.
What to see
The Castello Normanno-Svevo — and the archaeological museum inside it.
The Orphic gold tablet — in the museum, from a grave of ancient Hipponion.
The old town — Santa Maria Maggiore and the streets around it.
Vibo Marina — the port below the town.
Tropea, Pizzo and Nicotera — the coastal towns of the province.
Serra San Bruno — the Carthusian monastery in the Serre.
Your family's parish — and remember the town was Monteleone.
Family history
Where the records are
Archives and registers
Three names and a 1992 province. The records stayed at Catanzaro.
Related places
Keep exploring
The journey does not end at the boundary of one comune. The province, the region and the neighbouring towns often hold the rest of the picture.
Your Roots. Their Story. Your Place.
Vibo Valentia is more than a place on a map. It is a part of you.
FIND YOUR COMUNE →