Cosenza
[key], city, capital of Cosenza prov., Calabria, S Italy, at the
confluence of the Busento and Crati rivers. It is an agricultural and
secondary industrial center. Manufactures, produced mainly by individual
artisans, include textiles and furniture. The chief city of the ancient
Brutii, it was taken by the Romans in 204 b.c. According to
tradition, Alaric I (c.a.d. 370–410), the Visigothic king,
was buried in the bed of the Busento at Cosenza. The city has suffered from
numerous earthquakes. A castle built by Emperor Frederick II dominates the
old part of the city.
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