Bova, Diocese of, situated in the civil province of Reggio, in Calabria, Italy, suffragan to the Archdiocese of Reggio. Luminosus, who attended the Lateran Council (649), under Pope Martin I, is believed by some to have been the first Bishop of Bova; in reality he was Bishop of Bologna. The city of Bova (and consequently the see) is of much later origin than the pontificate of Martin I; it was peopled about 1477 by Albanian refugees fleeing from the Turkish invasions that followed upon the death of Scanderbeg. In their new home these Albanians retained the Greek Rite, which remained in use until the reign of Pope Gregory XIII. One of the most distinguished Bishops of Bova was Achille Brancia (1549), a member of the Council of Trent. The diocese contains about 20,000 souls, 14 parishes, 34 churches and chapels, 34 secular priests, and 25 seminarians.
U. BENIGNI