It is a town in the province of Catanzaro, whose name derives from the Greek word "kropos" (fertile land). It certainly existed before the year 1000 and was part of the County of Belcastro, of which the D'Aquino Family were the first accounts until 1375. The local traditions tell, that in 831, the inhabitants of Cropani gave shelter to some Venetian sailors, that returning from Alexandria with the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist; grateful for the help, left a fragment of the relic to the city, that was also awarded the citizenship of the Serenissima Republic of Venice.
Sites of Interest:
- the Cathedral entitled to the Assunta, which dominates the higher part of the town and faces the Town Hall. Its origins belong to the Renaissance, due to the presence of a large arched portal. The building submitted important refurbishments between the XVI and XVIII centuries. Inside it features a single nave plan and several side chapels and preserves a wooden coffered ceiling painted by Cristoforo Santanna (1759) with the image of the Assumption. Of the same artist is also the masterpiece on the interior face of the façade, "the expulsion of merchants from the Temple."
- the Church of Saint Lucia, the oldest of the city of the XV century, characterized by artistic mullioned windows on the façade, which also features two coats of arms of the XVII century, the largest of which is of the Papal State, indicating the former affiliation of the building to the Lateran Basilica;
- the Church of St. Catherine, located in the lower part of the town, whose congregation already was established in 1527. The simple façade of the building features a portal flanked by a classic XVII century Bell tower;
- the Church of St. John the Baptist with its XVI century façade and inside it houses a painting by Andrea Vaccaro, "The Baptism of Christ";
- the numerous archaeological exhibits brought to light in recent excavations, at present on display in the municipal Antiquarium.