Port · Kingdom of Sicily under the regency · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Reggio

Reggio faces Messina across the Strait, the fast road between the mainland and the island.

Robert Guiscard took it in 1060, never granted it as a fief, and made it the seat of the government of Calabria; it stayed the capital of the Calabrian justiciarate after Roger II moved to Palermo. Its archbishop is a Latin since the 1080s, but the Greek clergy keep their own church, the Cattolica dei Greci, under a protopapa, and the Greek rite lives on in the city and the Aspromonte. Archbishop William died on 7 April 1199; his successor, known by the initial I.

(perhaps Giacomo), has held the see since 4 July 1199. On 1 January 1200 Reggio is regency ground; Markward reached Sicily by sea at Trapani in October 1199, not by the Strait, and no German force is recorded here.

Who holds it

Name
The crown (royal city, never granted as a fief; seat of the justiciar of Calabria); the archbishop is the great resident lord
Title
Royal city
Since
Not pinned
Confidence
medium

it.wikipedia (Storia di Reggio Calabria): conquest 1060, never enfeoffed, seat of the justiciarate, Latin rite from the 1080s, the Cattolica dei Greci and the protopapa. it.wikipedia cronotassi: Guglielmo, before October 1190 to his death on 7 April 1199; 'I. (Giacomo?)' from 4 July 1199 to after 1202. Federiciana: royal city and metropolis of Calabria.

Lord in 1200

The crown (royal city, never granted as a fief; seat of the justiciar of Calabria); the archbishop is the great resident lord

Overlord

The king, the boy Frederick, under the pope's wardship and the regency council at Palermo

How things stand that morning

Regency ground (realm sicily): no German captain, siege or raid is recorded here in the winter of 1199-1200 in the sources checked.

Wealth

The Strait, silk and the royal revenues of southern Calabria.

Military

Royal castle and walls on the Strait; galleys of the royal fleet can use the harbour. No figures.

Threats

  • Markward's war in Sicily coming to the Strait
  • Raiders on the coast

Charter

No town charter is known; the town lives by the king's law and the customs confirmed by the Norman kings.

Council

No commune; royal officers (the justiciar and the city's bailiff and judges) and the archbishop govern with the leading Latin and Greek families.

Communities

Latin and Greek townsmen and clergy (the Greek protopapa at the Cattolica dei Greci); Jews and Italian merchants not pinned in the sources checked.

Militia

Townsmen owe guard and service to the lord and the crown; no figures.

Walls and castle

Strong walls (Norman sieges failed in 1059) and the old castle, enlarged by the Byzantines about 1000; the port at Punta Calamizzi.

Trade and crafts

The Strait crossing and its ferries, silk (mulberries recorded round Reggio since Byzantine times), oil, wine, fisheries; trade with Messina.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1200, month not pinnedThe papal army against Markward goes to Sicily and wins near Monreale on 21 July 1200; whether it crosses the Strait at Reggio is not pinned in the sources checked.Depends on: The papal army's route. Stopped by: A sea passage from Campania instead.

Places of note

  • Reggio castle: Royal castle and harbour on the Strait
  • Cattolica dei Greci: Church of the Greek protopapa
  • Bova: Greek bishop's town in the Aspromonte, a suffragan of Reggio and subject to it from 1195 (Federiciana)

Where the sources disagree

  • campaign notes Part 6 E list Reggio among the southern metropolitans whose names are not pinned. it.wikipedia's list gives Archbishop William (before October 1190) dead on 7 April 1199 and a successor known by the initial I. (perhaps Giacomo) from 4 July 1199 to after 1202: he is the archbishop on 1 January 1200.

Evidence: Status and archbishops fair; officers in 1200 not pinned.

On the map: Near land only.

Primary sources for Sicily

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.

Sources and studies

  1. Storia di Reggio Calabria (it.wikipedia)
  2. Arcidiocesi di Reggio Calabria-Bova (it.wikipedia, cronotassi)
  3. Calabria, Enciclopedia Federiciana (treccani.it)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.