Piazza Armerina ( Gallo-Italic of Sicily: ''Ciazza''; Sicilian: ''Chiazza'') is a ''

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 also ...

'' in the

province of Enna Enna ( it, Provincia di Enna; sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Pruvincia di Enna''; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Enna'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. It was created in 1927, out ...

of the autonomous island region of

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

, southern

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 ...

History

The city of Piazza (as it was called before 1862) developed during the Norman domination in Sicily (11th century), when

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

settled the central and eastern part of Sicily. But the area had been inhabited since prehistoric times. The city flourished during Roman times, as shown by the large mosaics at the patrician

Villa Romana del Casale The Villa Romana del Casale ( Sicilian: ''Villa Rumana dû Casali'') is a large and elaborate Roman villa or palace located about 3 km from the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily. Excavations have revealed one of the richest, largest, and varied ...

Remains, artifacts of old settlements and a necropolis from the 8th century BC were found in the territory of the comune. Boris Giuliano (1930-1979) was born in Piazza Armerina.

Main sights

The town is famous chiefly for its monumental Roman villa with its exceptional mosaics in the

, about to the southwest. It also has a range of significant architecture dating from medieval through the 18th century. The medieval history of the city is manifest in some of its houses, which show Norman or

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

. The main landmarks include a range of architectural styles: * Piazza Armerina Cathedral: church was built atop the 15th-century foundations of a former church, from which the bell tower was taken and reused; completed during 17th and 18th centuries. Also original to the 15th-century church are the Catalan-Gothic style windows on the left side. The dome dates from 1768. The façade has a notable portal with spiral columns by

Leonardo De Luca Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist ...

. The interior, with a single large nave, houses the ''Madonna della Vittoria'' (Madonna of the Victory). The

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

icon is traditionally associated with the banner donated by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Roger Bosso and The Great, was a Norman nobleman who became the first Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was a member of the ...

during the

Council of Melfi A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

. The cathedral has an unusual two-sided

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

by an unknown artist. The Diocesan Museum holds reliquaries, articles of silverware, monstrances and other religious art works. *''Palazzo Trigona'': palace of the wealthy family who commissioned the nearby cathedrachurch. *''San Rocco'': church of Fundrò with a carved tufa portal. *''Palazzo di Città'' (1613), characterized by a fresco ceiling by

Salvatore Martorana Salvatore may refer to: * Salvatore (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name * "Salvatore" (song), by Lana Del Rey, 2015 * Salvatore (band), a Norwegian instrumental rock band * '' Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams' ...

. *Aragonese Castle (1392–96). It is square in shape, with square towers. *''San Giovanni Evangelista'': 14th-century church with interior frescoes by

Guglielmo Borremans Guglielmo Borremans or Guglielmo Fiamingo (1670–1744) was a Flemish painter whose documented career took principally place in Italy, in particular Naples, Cosenza and Sicily. Here he was one of the pre-eminent late-Baroque fresco painters of th ...

and assistants. *''Sant'Anna'': 18th century church with Baroque sinuous façade inspired by the buildings of Borromini. *The church of St. Martin of Tours: church completed in 1163. *''Santa Maria di Gesù'': 16th century church now abandoned. * Garibaldi Theatre. Outside the city is the ancient church of the ''Priorato di Sant'Andrea'' (1096), founded by

Count Simon of Butera Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, a nephew of

. It has important medieval frescoes.

Culture

Piazza Armerina holds an annual ''Palio dei Normanni'', a re-enactment in costume of the entrance of the Norman Count Roger I to the city. It takes place on 12–14 August.

Language

Piazza Armerina is one of the so-called "Lombard" communes of Sicily, as its dialect differs notably from that of the neighbouring region. This is due to the destruction of the old Piazza by king William I of Sicily, and the subsequent repopulation by William II (according to other scholars, during the slightly later age of Frederick II) with colonists coming from northern Italy (then collectively called "Lombardy"), especially from Monferrato and

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

References

Sources

External links

* *
Villa Romana del Casale website

Piazza Armerina, city of Mosaics

{{authority control Municipalities of the Province of Enna Populated places established in the 11th century 11th-century establishments in Italy Roman sites of Sicily