During the period of Roman domination it partially survived only through the emporium (port), near today’s Nicotera Marina. A Christian bishopric see is attested in Nicotera during the Middle Ages.

In 1065 Robert Guiscard -enlarging his Principate of Salerno- conquered it from the Byzantine Empire, and the town grew around the castle and the cathedral built under the Normans. In 1122, Nicotera was attacked by an Almoravid fleet, some of the populace were killed while the rest were taken and sold into slavery.

Under Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Nicotera attained economic wealth. To encourage commerce and industry, Frederick promoted Jewish settlement in the area called "Giudecca", in which Jews of this ghetto inhabited the area near the castle, enjoy protection from Christian persecution by the Bishop of Nicotera.

In the 15th century, under the rule of Alfonso of Aragon, it passed under the yoke of feudalism and it decayed. In 1806 the French Revolution swept away the feudal system in Nicotera. After the restoration of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Nicotera continued to be chief town of the district, with what are now the modern communes of Joppolo and Limbadi as its dependencies.

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