Province of Cosenza

Province of Cosenza
Province
Palazzo del Governo, the provincial seat.
Map highlighting the location of the province of Cosenza in Italy
Country	Italy
Region	Calabria
Capital(s)	Cosenza
Comuni	155
Government
Area
• Total	6,710 km2 (2,590 sq mi)
Population (30 September 2014) (approx.)
• Total	731,649
• Density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	87100
Telephone prefix	0968, 0981, 0982, 0983, 0984, 0985
Vehicle registration	CS
ISTAT	078

The province of Cosenza (Italian: provincia di Cosenza) is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 155 comuni (comune), listed at comunes of the Province of Cosenza.

The province of Cosenza contains a community of Occitan language (also known as Langue d'oc) speakers in Guardia Piemontese: it was formed by Vaudoi or Waldensian movement members, who moved to Cosenza to avoid religious persecution, in the 13th and 14th centuries. There are Arbereshe as well.

Cosenza began as a settlement of the Italic Bruttii tribe, and became their capital before the Romans invaded the area. The town was conquered by the Romans in 204 BCE and was named Cosentia. King of the Visigoths Alaric I conquered the region during the later stages of the Western Roman Empire and according to legend, Alaric I is buried near the modern Cosenza along with a large treasure hoard. Later Cosenza fell under the rule of the Byzantine Empire for a brief period of time, before being conquered by the Lombards, as part of the Duchy of Benevento. It was destroyed in 986 and again in 1009 by Islamic raiders. Roger II of Sicily made it the capital of Terra Giordana in the 12th century; since when it has been a major Calabrian city. It has been damaged by a series of strong earthquakes, most recently the 1908 Messina earthquake.

Many of the Arbëreshë Albanians of Italy live in the province, since arriving in the 16th century to flee Islamization as undertaken by the Ottoman Empire.