During the French occupation of Calabria (1806-1814), the territory of Nicastro was overrun from end to end by bands of brigands who were fighting the French. The band of “sambiasini” (that is, from Sambiase), headed by Lorenzo Benincasa, stood out from the others for its ferocity. After the restoration, Nicastro was was one of the most active centers of the “carbonari” (a secret society dedicated to the liberation of Italy). Among those supporting Nicastro’s “revenge,” there were even notable representatives of the clergy, including the parish priest of S. Maria Maggiore, Don Dionisio Torchia, the canons Don Domenico Lamberti, Don Saverio Montesanti, Don. Giuseppe Piro, Don Domenico Liscotti, Don Prospero Longo, Don Vincenzo Rettura, the honorary canon Don Michele Torcasio, the chaplains Don Luigi Misiani, Don Bruno Gaetano, Don Domenico Cerra, Don Bruno Gigliotti, and Don Filippo Orlandi.

Station Road (Nicastro, end of 1800s) Guzzi Collection

Nicastrese patriots led by Francesco Stocco participated in 1848 in the battle of Angitola against the Bourbon army under Gen. Nunziante. Many of them followed Garibaldi in 1860 as far as Volturno. In the plebiscite for the annexation of the Kingdom of Naples to that of Piedmont, the people of Nicastro, and even part of the clergy (the most enlightened part) showed their own sympathy for unification. But instead, in nearby Sambiase, the public refused to participate in the voting, and stayed armed in the surrounding hills, despite the task of the National Guard to ensure a favorable result by resorting to intimidation, threats and even preventive arrests. During the legal proceedings to which they were subjected, the witnesses said that the “gentlemen” had threatened to burn their houses if they would not come down to vote for Victor Emmanuel. At the end of the 19th century, the act of emigration came as a response to a very real crisis that took up everyone’s attention.

Booths along Station Road to collect funds and foodstuffs on behalf of
earthquake victims (Nicastro, 1905). Storicittà Collection.

The lack of agrarian reform impelled hundreds of workers to seek their fortunes in northern Italy or abroad. It eventually grew to a veritable exodus. The Nicastrese were the leaders of the emigration throughout the whole territory of Catanzaro. The annual average emigration was 3,453 for the years 1898-1902, and 4,096 for the years 1903-1907. Emigration also hit Nicastro even in the post-World War II period after the failure of the peasant movements and the occupation of farmlands. The consequence was a strong reduction of the agricultural population which fell from 51.8% in 1951 to 26.7% in 1971, and actually down to 18.1% in 1981.