The Calatubo Castle (Latin: castrum Calathatubi ; Italian: Castello di Calatubo ) is a fortress located near the town of Alcamo , Sicily , southern Italy .
47-576: Alcamo ( Italian pronunciation: [alˈkaːmo] ; Sicilian : Àrcamu , [ˈaɾkamʊ] , or Àlcamu ) is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani , Sicily , with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometres from Palermo and Trapani . Nowadays the town territory includes an area of 130,79 square kilometres and
94-525: A church hall and other premises, you can arrive at a court which communicates with the second circle of walls through a portal, up to the third circle of walls, which comprises an oblong tower. Finally the core of the castle, located in the southern part of the fortress, is rectangular with an area of 7×21.50 m. A popular belief tells about tunnels that linked the Calatubo Castle with the Castle of
141-595: A fire The foundation of Società Elettrotecnica Palermitana , whose name was changed into Società Generale Electrica della Sicilia (SGES) and which installed an important electric workroom in the district of Saint Augustine in Alcamo, dates back to the twenties. The jobs inside this firm were very longed-for because it was the only firm in Trapani Province which had a Health insurance fund and granted holidays. The electric workroom existed until 1963, when it
188-523: A fire conflict with carabinieri in 1900. As the Mafia had taken power in the districts of Trapani and Alcamo, the commissary Cesare Mori intervened with a series of arrests and charges against the material executors of the crimes occurred in the area and finally they arrested Vincenzo and Michele Tedesco, brothers, and Baldassare Adragna, considered the heads of the gangs in Trapani's territory. During
235-416: A flourishing market. Alcamo was divided into four hamlets named San Vito, San Leonardo, Sant'Ippolito and San Nicolò del Vauso. but a series of revolts between 1221 and 1243 led King Frederick II to move most of the population to a colony at Lucera , while Christians from Bonifato came to inhabit the town. In this period the poet Ciullo or Cielo d'Alcamo was born. In 1340 Raimondo Peralta acquired
282-433: A piè del Monte Bonifato, e dell'antichissima città di Longarico ossia Lacarico, dopo detta Alcamo, su di esso monte . The population of the town, gradually recovered from the pestilence and increased to 13,000 in 1798. At the beginning of the 19th century Alcamo's feudal status was abolished (1812) and the town became a direct royal possession. The archpriests Stefano Triolo Galifi and Giuseppe Virgilio, together with
329-467: A priest who founded the bank called "Cassa Rurale e Artigiana Don Rizzo" (1902). At the beginning of the 20th century (1901–1911) the number of citizens in Alcamo diminished abruptly, partially because of the emigration of 36,718 Sicilians abroad and in particular to the United States, but it is possible that the statistics about this year and the previous years were not reliable because the census
376-582: Is an axe from the Neolithic, kept at the Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi of Syracuse. From the quotations by Lycophron we know that in old times there was an inhabited centre called "Longuro" on Mount Bonifato. According to an old story, this settlement was founded by a Greek colony which had escaped from the destruction of the town of Troy. During the Roman period the inhabitants of Longuro moved to
423-453: Is dating back to 1154, in a paper written by the Berber geographer Idrisi who was given this task by Roger II of Sicily in order to get a collection of geographic maps. From a distance longer than a mile, the writer describes the position of Alcamo viewed from the Castle of Calatubo (visible even today from the town territory) and defines it as a hamlet or a group of houses with rich soil and
470-547: Is particularly scarcer in July (4 mm) and more abundant in December (83 mm). There are discordances about the etymology of the toponym "Alcamo". According to some scholars, the name Alcamo would derive from caccamu , a dialectal word referring to the plant Citrullus colocynthis . Though there is little information about it, there are evidences that territory of Alcamo was inhabited even in prehistoric times; in one of
517-577: Is the Nature Reserve of Monte Bonifato . The territory of Alcamo also includes Alcamo Marina , mainly used as a summer resort. The climate is mild, with higher rainfall during winter than summer. The average annual temperature is 16.9 °C , with higher temperatures in August (24.8 °C) and lower temperatures in February (10.3 °C). The average annual rainfall is 558 mm. Rainfall
SECTION 10
#1732783247260564-493: Is the second municipality as for population density in the province of Trapani, after Erice . Alcamo is bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the north, Balestrate and Partinico on the east, Camporeale on the south and Calatafimi-Segesta and Castellammare del Golfo on the west. Its most important hamlet is Alcamo Marina at about 6 kilometres from the town centre. Together with other municipalities it takes part in
611-544: Is therefore closed to visitors, although the Town Council of Alcamo has often expressed the desire to recover it. The origins of the castle date back to the Norman period around 1093, the year in which Roger I of Sicily defined the boundaries of the diocese of Mazara that included "Calatubo with all its dependencies". In ancient times, around the castle there was the village of Calatubo, which based its business on
658-527: The Associazione Città del Vino , the movement Patto dei Sindaci , Progetto Città dei Bambini , Rete dei Comuni Solidali and Patto Territoriale Golfo di Castellammare . Alcamo is situated in the middle of the Gulf of Castellammare , at 258 metres above the sea level and at the foot of Mount Bonifato , a calcareous complex 825 metres high. At the altitude of 500 metres (near the "Funtanazza") there
705-605: The First World War , four hundred citizens from Alcamo died and the following period was characterized by poverty because of monetary inflation and banditry . In 1918 about five hundred people died because of Spanish flu and in the Second World War 213 citizens from Alcamo died or were lost. In 1927, Don Vincenzo Giovenco (1880-1954) operated and opened the first cinema in Alcamo, 'Cinema Marconi'. It subsequently closed less than ten years after opening, due to
752-524: The clan Greco (related to the Rimi family) and the members of the emergent Mafia of Corleone , led by the boss Vincenzo Milazzo in the territory of Alcamo. Vincenzo Milazzo received orders from Totò Riina to eliminate members of the old Mafia (in particular the member of the clan Greco) and put in command only his trusted men. Just for this reason the Greco family represented an obstacle: the cause which roused
799-413: The tanning techniques from the tanner master Guglielmo Adragna di Alcamo, in fact the town was an important pole of development for commerce and handicraft. In particular, it had a massive exchange of wheat and wine with the nearby towns and there were also expert artisans such as bakers, blacksmiths, tanners and weavers. During this century Alcamo was an important centre for wheat storage and sorting. In
846-575: The 18th century, pestilence and popular rebellions occurred in Alcamo again. On the other hand, this age was important for art because of the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption (1699), designed by the architects Angelo Italia and Giuseppe Diamante . Its interior was also decorated with 38 frescoes made by the Flemish painter Guglielmo Borremans between 1736 and 1737. In
893-722: The 21st century there was a renovation of Alcamo's architectural context, thanks to the restoration of some important historical buildings such as the Castle of the Counts of Modica , the Theatre Cielo d'Alcamo, the Cine-Theatre Marconi, the Ex Jesuits' College , the Cuba delle rose (in 2013), the church of College (in 2014), the façade of Badia Nuova (in 2014) and the old Arab fountain (in 2016). Thanks also to
940-542: The Italian Tricolour wave on the town hall, creating groups of volunteers in order to help Giuseppe Garibaldi in the battle of Calatafimi and from Alcamo some dictatorial edicts on Victor Emmanuel II 's behalf were issued. Some time later Francesco Crispi prepared the Constitution for the lands set free. Further to this event, Corso Imperiale was named Corso 6 Aprile, in memory of 6 April, in which
987-549: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 945156930 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:40:47 GMT Castle of Calatubo The site has remains of a settlement of the Elymians and a necropolis. Being next to A29 motorway , it has fallen into disrepair and
SECTION 20
#17327832472601034-492: The administration of the agricultural fief of Calatubo. Since the Middle Ages, because of its visibility, the Calatubo Castle had an important strategic role: it was part of a line of towers and forts along the coast from Palermo to Trapani ; this defensive line was used to transmit light signals in case of Saracens ' attack. In particular, the castle of Calatubo guaranteed the flow of information that took place between
1081-399: The artistic and cultural heritage of Italy. The Calatubo Castle is actually an architectural complex, consisting of the structure of the original castle that has undergone several changes over the centuries. This complex is large 150×35 meters and stands on a limestone rock that lies at an altitude of about 152 m above sea level and that dominate with its height the surrounding area. From
1128-494: The baron Felice Pastore were members of the Sicilian Parliament as representatives of Alcamo. In 1820, during a revolt, there were different murders, sacks, release of criminals from prison and a fire in the municipal archives. and in 1829 many people died of cholera . In 1843 the construction of the present Town Hall started, on a land of the baron Felice Pastore. On 6 April 1860, Stefano and Giuseppe Triolo let
1175-491: The biggest heroin refinery in Sicily. (1985) Tens of people died in five years, and at the end the Mafia of Corleone prevailed. While the crimes of the Mafia went on and tens of people disappeared as victims of " lupara bianca ", there was a religious revival which led to the birth of several Catholic associations such as Rinnovamento nello Spirito Santo , Neocatechumenal Way and the movement of Comunione e Liberazione . From
1222-434: The conflict was the approaching of some members of Cosa Nostra to the rival clan of Grecos. The war bathed the town in blood for about five years and provoked tens of victims. The new Corleone 's Mafia prevailed, but the cost to be paid was very high, because a lot of members of this clan died. During the same period, in which there were armed clashes between the Mafia families, at contrada Virgini in Alcamo, they discovered
1269-400: The creation of the near suburban park San Francesco . The interest in environment is also associated with that in the territory, in fact, after the adhesion to the initiative "Rifiuti Zero" (Zero Rubbish), Alcamo has been considered an example to be followed for the results got between 2010 and 2013 in the field of waste sorting (raccolta differenziata). The Coat of arms of Alcamo used since
1316-477: The economic and social discomfort, the citizens raised up, occupied the Town Hall and put its archives on fire. Since 1960 the town planning system has been greatly expanding, particularly at the foot of Mount Bonifato with the construction of Viale Europa , which is one of the most important street in Alcamo. At about the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s there was a bloody Mafia war between
1363-492: The emperor Charles V , coming back from Tunisia , the old Porta Trapani was closed and four gates were opened: During the 16th century there was a development in education in Alcamo because of the construction of new schools and the activity of expert teachers, in particular the poet and scholar Sebastiano Bagolino (1562–1604). In 1547 the Madonna appeared to some women of the people and an image of Madonna Fons Misericordiae
1410-556: The extraction of stones for water and wind mills from the quarries around the creek Finocchio, as mentioned by the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi in The Book of Roger , written in 1154. The village of Calatubo was abandoned after the conquest by Frederick II and the castle lost its original function as a military fortress, turning into a farm. During this period, the castle joined warehouses, stables and other structures used for
1457-875: The feud and barony of Alcamo from Peter II of Aragon . Then the barony passed to his son Guglielmo Peralta Sclafani , called "Guglielmone". and afterwards to the Ventimiglia family (up to 1397), Giaimo de Prades (1407), the Cabrera family, the Speciale family, Pietro Balsamo prince of Roccafiorita (1618) and finally to Giuseppe Alvarez (1777). In the 14th century Alcamo had several thousands of inhabitants and hundreds of them had immigrated from different parts of Sicily and Italy (in particular: Pisa , Amalfi , Bologna , Calabria , Liguria ), and some also from Spain. During this period, Antonello da Messina moved to Alcamo for three years (around 1438–1441) in order to learn
Alcamo - Misplaced Pages Continue
1504-567: The foot of the mountain so they could practice agriculture in the surrounding lands. The town was called Longaricum ; this name appears in the Itinerario di Antonino Pio (=Itinerary of Antoninus Pius, in the 3rd century AD) and would coincide with the Latin name of Longuro. According to a supposition the two hillocks appearing on the gonfalon of Alcamo would represent both the towns of Longaricum and Longuro. The first document mentioning Alcamo
1551-539: The intervention of Fondo Ambiente Italiano , it is expected the restoration of the Castle of Calatubo ; its chapel and the path leading to the castle have already been cleaned by the volunteers' association "Salviamo il Castello di Calatubo" (in 2015). Among the works of revaluation of the urban areas there are the restoration of Piazza Ciullo by the architect Gae Aulenti (1996) and the realization of an underground car park in Piazza Bagolino , together with
1598-642: The kingdom of Frederick II of Swabia is a black flying Eagle, crowned by Gold in a Silver range, with three hills below and two Golden Oaks. A sculpture of the coat of arms is put on a side wall of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi , near Porta Palermo. There are several historical civil buildings in Alcamo: Military buildings in Alcamo include: In the territory of Alcamo there are several and interesting archaeological sites: Sicilian language Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1645-497: The last one the parish community of the Church of Jesus Christ the Redeemer originated in the district of Sant'Anna (2006). This religious revival was followed by a new interest into the town's old traditions, mentioned in the works of Roberto Calia and Carlo Cataldo , historians from Alcamo. Carlo Cataldo has also been prized several times both for his historical works and for his dialectal poems which tell Alcamo's folklore. In
1692-534: The most ancient sites, near "contrada" Molinello (a country district), they discovered archaeological findings dating back to the Mesolithic , approximately 9,000–6,000 BC and other very old ones dating back to the Neolithic during the archaeological excavations done by the archaeologist Paolo Orsi (1899) and the marquis Antonio De Gregorio (1917) near the river Fiume Freddo . One of the most important finds
1739-403: The outposts of Carini , Partinico and Castellammare del Golfo . At the end of the nineteenth century in the second courtyard some warehouses were set up for the production of the wine "Calatubo". The castle remained in good condition until the 1968 Belice earthquake . The use of the structure as a sheepfold and illegal excavations, which had as their targets the finds of the necropolis of
1786-402: The position of castle you can clearly see Mount Bonifato and the Gulf of Castellammare . The castle is inaccessible on three sides due to the steep walls of rock on which it is built. The only practicable access is located in the west, which leads to the first line of defense of the castle via a ramp with large steps. From the first line of defense, which includes among other things a well,
1833-514: The same period the Church of Saint Olivia was renovated, Saint Paul and Bartholomew's Church was rebuilt (1689), and the Church of the Holy Crucifix (or saint Francis of Paola) was completed (1699) together with the monumental church of College some decades later(1767). Between 1752-1780, Ignazio De Blasi , an Alcamese nobleman, wrote the first book on Alcamo's history, entitled: Discorso storico della opulenta città di Alcamo situata
1880-517: The same period the writer Giacomo Adragna transcribed the Commentarii in Persium and Pietro d'Alcamo many works from the library of San Martino. At about the year 1500, Alcamo was under the jurisdiction of the captain of justice Ferdinando Vega, who fought against the raiding Turkish pirates. The town was surrounded by defensive embattled walls provided with four gates: During this period,
1927-481: The seventh century BC pertaining to the castle, have further ruined the castle. In 2007 it was bought for 60 thousand euros by the municipality of Alcamo and over the past few years (2003-2014) has been reported several times as part of the cultural initiative "I Luoghi del Cuore" sponsored by the Italian Environmental Fund (FAI), which has as its objective the protection and enhancement of
Alcamo - Misplaced Pages Continue
1974-404: The town was divided into four-quarters, each one associated with the name of the main church in that area: The division between these quarters was coincident with the main streets of the town, that are the present Corso 6 Aprile and Via Rossotti and its continuation via dei Baroni Emanuele di San Giuseppe (called incorrectly "Via Barone di San Giuseppe"). In 1535, in coincidence with the visit of
2021-477: The town, crossing Corso 6 Aprile by an open car and parading through the crowd of his supporters. The visit was due to the inauguration of the railway line between Trapani and Alcamo, completed in the same year. Some weeks later, prince Umberto visited Alcamo too. On 21 July 1943 the American troops entered Alcamo without any opposition, freeing the town from Italian Fascism . On 18 December 1944, because of
2068-576: The volunteers started to be enlisted in Alcamo. During the Unification of Italy the brothers Triolo of Sant'Anna and Giuseppe Coppola of Monte San Giuliano enlisted many citizens to fight with the Garibaldians in 1860. At the end of the 19th century, in 1897, public lighting was inaugurated in Alcamo during the traditional feast of Our Lady of Miracles . Among the most important people of this period we have to remind Don Giuseppe Rizzo ,
2115-428: Was acquired by Enel and demolished. During the years in which SGES operated, there was an improvement of the electric services in Alcamo's territory, owing also to the realization of several artificial lakes. During Fascism , the citizens asked the government to appoint Alcamo as the capital of the province (1930), but this request was not satisfied. On 19 August 1937 the fascist leader Benito Mussolini visited
2162-429: Was carried out without following certain criteria. In the same period the cultivations in the territory of Alcamo were affected by phylloxera and two banks ("Cooperativa" and "Segestana") went bankrupt with subsequent economic difficulties for its citizens. There were also some events linked to the Mafia , such as the murder of Gaspare Cottone, a carter (1899) and the death of the 19-years-old Benedetto Guastella during
2209-448: Was discovered and worshipped as " Our Lady of Miracles ". In the late 16th century, the population was decimated by an infectious disease. and the victims were buried in the cemetery of Saint Ippolito. In 1667 Mariano Ballo ordered the construction of a theatre, called "teatro Ferrigno", later demolished and rebuilt during the 1960s; after the reconstruction it was first called "cine-teatro Euro" and later "Teatro Cielo d'Alcamo". During
#259740