Palma di Montechiaro ( scn, Parma di Muntichiaru) is a town and '' comune'' in the

province of Agrigento The Province of Agrigento ( it, Provincia di Agrigento; scn, Pruvincia di Girgenti; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Agrigento'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Foll ...

, Sicily, southern Italy. Many Greek archaeological findings have been found near the town. Formerly known as Palma, in 1863, Montechiaro was added to the name, in honour of the

Chiaramonte The Chiaramonte are a noble family of Sicily. They became the most powerful and wealthy family in Sicily. In the 13th century the marriage of Manfredi Chiaramonte to Isabella Mosca, united the two Sicilian counties of Modica and Ragusa. Arou ...

family whose stronghold is close to the town.

Controversy

In 2002, ''

La Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnold ...

'' reported the presence of the prominent Italian politician

Angelino Alfano Angelino Alfano (; born 31 October 1970) is an Italian former politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 12 December 2016 to 1 June 2018. Alfano was Minister of the Interior from 28 April 2013 to 12 December 2016, serving in the ...

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...

protégé) at the 1996 wedding of the daughter of

Croce Napoli Croce may refer to: * Croce (family), a noble family in the Republic of Ragusa * ''Croce'' (genus), a genus of lacewings in the family Nemopteridae * Croce (surname) * Croce, Haute-Corse, a municipality in the Haute-Corse department, France * Croc ...

(died 2001), believed by investigators to be the Mafia boss of Palma di Montechiaro, as shown on an amateur video of the party. Alfano, then a deputy of the

Sicilian Regional Assembly The Sicilian Regional Assembly is the legislative body of Sicily. While it has a long history as an autonomous entity, the modern Region of Sicily was established by Royal Decree on 15 May 1946, before the Italian Republic. The Regional Assembly ...

, was greeted with affection by Croce Napoli. Alfano at first told ''La Repubblica'' he had "no memory or recollection of this wedding" and that "I never participated in a wedding of Mafia or of their children, I do not know his wife, Gabriella, and I've never heard of Mr. Croce Napoli who was said to be boss of Palma di Montechiaro." Later he said that he remembered that he was actually at the wedding but had been invited by the groom and did not know the bride and her family.

Main sights

*Mother Church *Castle *Benedictine Monastery *Ducal Palace *San Carlo Tower *''Palazzo degli Scolopi'' *Ruins of the Baroque church of ''Santa Maria della Luce'' *Archaeological park of Zubbia

In popular culture

Palma di Montechiaro is associated with Italian author

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, 11th Prince of Lampedusa, 12th Duke of Palma, GE (; 23 December 1896 – 23 July 1957) was an Italian writer and the last Prince of Lampedusa. He is most famous for his only novel, ''Il Gattopardo'' (first publishe ...

. New Zealand author

James McNeish Sir James Henry Peter McNeish (23 October 1931 – 11 November 2016) was a New Zealand novelist, playwright and biographer. Biography McNeish attended Auckland Grammar School and graduated from Auckland University College with a degree in lang ...

, who visited Palma di Montechiaro in the early 1960s, describes it as a place of abject poverty, avoided by locals. ‘Its poverty is spectacular. The cavernous streets are scored by serpentines of black faeces and other matter and a veil of chalky dust pollutes the air. From the main road the whole plaster town tilts downwards, as though arrested in a macabre lunge towards the sea. Once I drove through with a woman companion. She looked once, and screamed. She did not speak again until we were some distance outside the township' McNeish, James (1965) Fire Under the Ashes: The Life of Danilo Dolci. Hodder and Stoughton Ltd.

References

{{Sicily-geo-stub Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Italy