Cassaro ( Sicilian: ''Càssaru'', in the local dialect: ''Càssuru'') is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Syracuse The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

). The name is originally from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

word القصر (''al-Qasru'') meaning "the castle." Cassaro is from

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

and west of the city of Siracusa. Cassaro has 859 inhabitants.

History

According to the Capibreve of Silvestri, in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

the town belonged to the Spadafora family. Margherita Moleti Spadafora married the Baron Pietro Siracusa, who belonged to one of the oldest families in the town of

Noto Noto ( scn, Notu; la, Netum) is a city and in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. It is southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains. It lends its name to the surrounding area Val di Noto. In 2002 Noto and it ...

and was also Baron of Monastero and Xiridia. The Siracusa dynasty (formerly known as "Zaragoza") is of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

origin, documented in Sicily since 1283. Members of this Family has been also the lords of ollesano counts of Villalta and duque of Casteldimirto. Records are in the State Archiv of Palermo (''Fondo Protonotaro''). Beatrice Siracusa, the only daughter of the above-mentioned Pietro and Margherita Siracusa (who are also ancestor of the Queen Paola of Belgium) married Pietro Gaetani Baron of Sortino. Beatrice died with her son Guido during the earthquake of 1452. Their possessions passed to her son Cesare, ancestor of the actual Princes of Cassaro. The current princess is Sara Tononi.More information can be found at the State Archive of Siracusa (Fondo Gaetani Specchi)

Main sights

Sights in Cassaro include the Mother Church, dedicated to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupa ...

(started in the 17th century and ended in 1730), and the Church of Saint Anthony the Abbot (17th-18th century).

References

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