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It is well-known that the feudalism in Calabria was an imported phenomenon; it started here when it had come to an end everywhere else. Here the Normans found an administrative political order with its civic magistratures, heirs of the ancient roman order, and of the Medieval and Byzantine institutions. The new rules, coming from North Feuds, brought the northern feudal systems, which had declined everywhere else, and found good grounds to set their roots here.

When  Calabria passed from the dominion of the Goti to the rule of Bisanzio, Tropea, as the rest of Calabria returned  to its greek oriental origins. Also the church gradually passed under the guidance of Costantinopoli patriarch and from the latin language it turned to the use of the grek language. Very little we know about this long period, we only have knowledge  of the names of two bishop from Tropea who attended two Councils. These were the centuries signed by the arrival of the oriental basilian monks, who along with the greek language and culture brought the oriental saints, too, the worship of whom is still radicated among the local people. But the most demanding event for the inhabitans of Tropea, was the explosion of the Arabs presence in the western Mediterranean, above all after their occupazion of Sicily, which led them in view of Tropea. Soon the city, for its strategic location, was in first position in the race between the Arabs and Byzantines for the dominion of Calabria. Firstly occupied by the Saraceni it was freed by Niceforo Foca a Byzantine general who, in 867, once more, made Calabria a part of the oriental roman Empire, driving the Saraceni out  of Tropea, S. Severina and Amantea. For the second time the Saraceni occupied Tropea in 946, and then again in 985.

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Ancient Tropea had some well distinct cultural activities, not just like the ones of a common Calabrian town in the past centuries, but like a town characterized by an open way to sea communications and seat of a spreaded aristocracy. The high number of religious men, canons, nobles, and priests was already in itself a positive fact. Large was the number of doctors in “utroque jure” and of physicians. Not all of them reached a high cultural level. It was not certainly the case, but some of them followed very strict study commitments reaching a solid and broad culture. Therefore, Tropea had all through the centuries valuable personalities in the cultural field who carried out their activities in and outside Tropea. Even the Bishops sent to guide the Diocese, were in many cases distinguished operated as a linking, joining and stimulating element in the cultural life of Tropea was the “Accademia of the Affatigati”, established in XV century. The Academy had some very intense periods, and some ones dull.

The archeological excavations have shown traces of the existence of a Christian Comunity  even before the coming of Giustiniano, but we have no records concerning its size and specific city structure. Nor have we any written records as to the times of the presence of a Bishop, a constituting element of a Christian autonomous Comunity. The paleochristian epigraphs which have come to light  up to now, date back to the period preceding the century before Belisario, they therefore date back at least V and perhaps IV century. The certainty of the existence of a Christian Comunity, merged from the underground, furnishes an easy reference to its natural leader the Bishop. Moreover, as  we can learn from a letter by Pope Gregorio Magno. The Roman Church had purchased, in the Tropea territory, many farm properties, the so called Massa Tropeana, evidence of the wide spreading of Christianity in this area.

The Svevi period did not leave a particolar mark as far as Tropea is concerned, with the exception of the ascendance to the highest positions in the Kingdom of the Tropea citizen Pietro Ruffo, who enjoied the esteem of the Emperor Federico II who honoured and appointed him executioner and marshal of the Reign and the Count of Catanzaro. With him originated the famous princely Family which later was divided into different branches and became of great importance in the history of Calabria.
The Angiolini’s period, so contrasting and violent, saw Tropea for its strategic location in first position, in the wars following the Vespro, as well as in the disputes between Luigi III d’Angio and Alfonso V d’Aragona. In the following war Tropea was object of military attention by Alfonso, who increased its defensive power so much that it was able to stand up, without surrendering, to a long and heavy siege.
During the wars between Alfonso and the adventurer Antonio Centelles, Tropea temporarerly fell under the dominium of Centelles. When he was defeated and eliminated, King Alfonso recognized again Tropea as a State city free from feudal dominion.
These events had a great importance for the city and its inhabitants who, taking advantage of the difficult times of the King, were able to be repaid for their loyalty with new concessions and privileges which later became the basis of their economical and civil wealth.
While the other cities and the Calabria barons often changed their position as allied of either the Aragonesi or the Angioini in their centuries-old disputes, Tropea remained faithful to the former ones, that is why it bears on its banner the motto’s “Sola Tropea sub fidelitate remansit”.

The big dispute, which had begun with the discent of Carlo d’Angiò, ended with the conquer of the Southern Ringdom by Ferdinando the Catholic and with the joining of the same Kingdom to the other Spanish possessions. Tropea, now part of the new political order was able to obtain other concessions and privileges by the new King. But Tropea, for its location, was directly exposed to the raids by Turkish pirates in the following centuries. The famous corsair Barbarossa who, with his predatory and sanguinary deads territorized the wole Christian community in the Mediterraneum, anchored peacefully in front of Tropea the only city he respected, perhaps because of a secret agreement made with his father-in-law whom he wanted to meet and who had purposely come from Reggio. Tropea had an important role in the formation of the Christian League’s fleet that won over the Turks in the Lepanto battle. The fleet gathered 2,000 Calabresi who took part in the battle; one of their Leaders was Gaspare Toraldo from Tropea who distinguished himself in the famous battle.

There where twentythree hamlets under Tropea. The etymo revealing their origin is related to agriculture and occasionally to a medieval religious factor. Eight of the hamlets were located to the north and they were:

Parghelia (from the greek Paraghelion = sea-shore), a village whose inhabitants main activities were fishing and sea-trade. In ancient times the sea-men from Parghelia used to reach the fartherst ports of the Tirrenian and Ligurian sea. Nowadays the men, driven by ancestral vocation for the sea, seek jobs on big ship. Events: Portosalvo celebration in August.

Fitili (from the greek futalo = plantation)

Daffinà (from the greek dafnè = laurel)

Daffinacello. The names of the last three villages an evident reference to their arborial reality.

From the end of the Middle Ages to the following centuries, the Clerical Community of Tropea assumed unique and remarkable features that  marked its counter reformist religious physiognomy with a remarkable number of priests and monks. A dynamic element of this internal reality of the church, was the generous availability of the city, mainly of the Noble families, who, with their contributions, largely increased the number of clerical benefits, and contributed to the building of monasteries and churches. On the other hand this redundance in clerical foundations created a closed circle, as in the future the same members of those families or the clergy themselves were the only ones to benefit from that reality, since the church used to choose its city staff from those people.

Tropea is located on a huge oval-shaped cliff once leaning towards the sea without the meditation of the beaches like a small peninsula surrounded by two other big cliffs, that, siding and enveloping it, created an overall landscape effect of outstanding attractiveness. They were rising forward breaking the waves and favouring a longed and safe harbour when man had not yet built one. It was, for a time, Tropea´s harbour. Although, in recent times, the sand, brought by the sea and the surrounding water-ways, as formed, around the town, a beach that separated the arbour from the sea-waters causing a total blockage to the northern side where once the sea had dominated and where it had been possible to land and doc since prehistoric times. Therefore, in recent times, the marina has been built.

All the mentioned conquers and occupations testity that the city, together with Amantea and Squillace, had a fundamental strategic importance for the dominion of the Region. This was due to its topographic position projecting towards the sea just like the bottom of a ship, with a perimeter falling perpendicularly into the sea waters from a hight of 40 mtr. And with the shoulders linked to the hinterland by an easy to block strip. For its predefence and its presence at sea, Tropea became a contested stronghold for the control of the Tirrenian side of the Region, and a reliable point for an eventual getaway. Therefore the walling works done to complete the natural defence system were of little importance. We have no records of how and when these works were carried out and completed.