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Sciacca
Sciacca (; ; , , , or ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has views of the Mediterranean Sea. History Thermae was founded in the 5th century BC by the Greeks, as its name suggests, as a thermal spa for Selinunte, 30 km distant, whose citizens came there to bathe in the sulphurous springs, still much valued for their medical properties, of Mount San Calogero which rises up behind the town. There is no account of the existence of a town on the site during the period of the independence of Selinunte, though the thermal waters would always have attracted some population to the spot. It seems to have been much frequented in the time of the Romans. At a later period they were called the Aquae Labodes or Larodes, under which name they appear in the Itineraries. Pliny was most likely mistaken in assigning the rank of a '' colonia'' to the southern, rather than northern, town of the same name. Strab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angevin Invasion Of Sicily
The Angevin invasion of Sicily (1298–1302) was a military campaign launched against the Kingdom of Sicily by an alliance of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples, the Crown of Aragon, and the papacy during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. Fought in the final years of the 20-year long war, the campaign saw the alliance make some territorial gains on the island before ultimately withdrawing in the face of Sicilian resistance. Marked by sieges, guerilla warfare, and engagements at sea, the invasion saw the Angevin–Aragonese–Papal allies engage in operations to seize control over major cities in Sicily, with varying degrees of success. However, controlling the Sicilian interior proved to be difficult, and allied control was only consistently established in northeast and southeast Sicily. The failure of the final allied offensive in 1302 directly led to the signing of the Peace of Caltabellotta, the treaty that concluded the War of the Sicilian Vespers. Background Starting with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4.7 million inhabitants, including 1.2 million in and around the capital city of Palermo, it is both the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily is named after the Sicels, who inhabited the eastern part of the island during the Iron Age. Sicily has a rich and unique culture in #Art and architecture, arts, Music of Sicily, music, #Literature, literature, Sicilian cuisine, cuisine, and Sicilian Baroque, architecture. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, and one of the most active in the world, currently high. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate. It is separated from Calabria by the Strait of Messina. It is one of the five Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sambuca Di Sicilia
Sambuca di Sicilia ( Sicilian: ''Sammuca'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southwest of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Sambuca di Sicilia borders the following municipalities; Bisacquino, Caltabellotta, Contessa Entellina, Giuliana, Menfi, Santa Margherita di Belice, and Sciacca. History The origins of the name Sambuca are uncertain. The main assumptions: from the Greek stringed instrument ''Sambuca'''' ''; or from ''Sambucus'', commonly referred to as elderberry plants, widespread since antiquity in the valley of Lake Arancio. Leonardo Sciascia breaks down the name Sambuca in ''As-Sambuqah'' and interprets it as a "remote place". Until 1928 the town was called Sambuca Zabut. In 1928, Benito Mussolini removed "Zabut" and added "di Sicilia". Sambuca, founded by ancient Greek colonists, rose to regional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Of The Sicilian Vespers
The War of the Sicilian Vespers, also shortened to the War of the Vespers, was a conflict waged by several medieval European kingdoms over control of Sicily from 1282 to 1302. The war, which started with the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers, was fought over competing dynastic claims to the throne of Sicily and grew to involve the Crown of Aragon, Kingdom of Naples, Angevin Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of France, and the papacy. Initially fought between Sicilian rebels and Charles I of Sicily, Charles of Anjou in Sicily and Southern Italy, the war expanded when Aragon intervened in Sicily to support the rebels and claim the throne. After Aragonese successes, the war grew into the concurrent Aragonese Crusade as the Kingdom of France intervened against Aragon in Iberia. The crusade ended in defeat, but efforts to end the war failed despite several peace treaties. Aragon gave up the crown of Sicily in exchange for papal concessions in 1297, entering into an alliance with Angevin Naple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Province Of Agrigento
The province of Agrigento (; ) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by the Free Municipal Consortium of Agrigento (Italian: ''libero consorzio comunale di Agrigento''). It has an area of , and a total population of 474,493. There are 43 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in the province. History and location It is surrounded by province of Palermo in the north, Trapani in the west, Mediterranean Sea in the south, and Caltanissetta in the east. Gela inhabitants founded the province in the 6th century BC as Akragas. Carthage destroyed the province in 406 BC, but it was later ruled by the Romans, Goths, Byzantines, and Arabs. The Arabs rebuilt several parts of the province. Several ancient Doric temples were constructed during the 6th and 5th century BC to worship Hercules, Jupiter, Juno, Castor, Pollux, and Demeter. They are located in the Valley of T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selinunte
Selinunte ( , ; ; ; ) was a rich and extensive Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city of Magna Graecia on the south-western coast of Sicily in Italy. It was situated between the valleys of the Cottone and Modione rivers. It now lies in the of Castelvetrano, between the of Triscina di Selinunte in the west and Marinella di Selinunte in the east. The archaeological site contains many great temples, the earliest dating from 550 BC, with five centred on an acropolis. At its peak before 409 BC the city may have had 30,000 inhabitants, excluding slaves. It was destroyed and abandoned in 250 BC and never reoccupied. History Selinunte was one of the most important of the ancient Greece, Greek colonies in Sicily, situated on the southwest coast of that island, at the mouth of the small river of the same name, and 6.5 km west of the Hypsas river (the modern Belice River, Belice). It was founded, according to the historian Thucydides, by a colony from the Sicilian city of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles I Of Anjou
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 and 1285, he was Count of Provence and Forcalquier in the Holy Roman Empire and Count of Anjou and Maine in France. In 1272 he was proclaimed King of Albania, in 1277 he purchased a claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and in 1278 he became Prince of Achaea after the previous ruler, William of Villehardouin, died without heirs. The youngest son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile, Charles was destined for a Church career until the early 1240s. He acquired Provence and Forcalquier through his marriage to their heiress, Beatrice. His attempts to restore central authority brought him into conflict with his mother-in-law, Beatrice of Savoy, and the nobility. He relinquished control of Forcalquier to his mother-in-law in 1248, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ribera, Agrigento
Ribera (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Rivela'') is a ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento, Region of Sicily, southern Italy, between the Verdura and Magazzolo valleys in the so-called Plain of San Nicola. The town is connected by the SS115 state road, leading from Trapani to Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse. The Platani River, the third Sicilian river, flows nearby. It has enormously contributed to developing both farming and tourism in the area. Its mouth has been designated as a natural reserve. History The comune probably rose on the site of the ancient Allava, to which the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine necropolis near the modern town may possibly be attributed. In 1627, Luigi Guglielmo Moncada, Prince of Paternò, founded a new centre named after his wife, Maria Alfan di Ribera; the new centre developed rapidly, thanks to the fertility of the soil and the accessibility of the area. It is the birthplace of Prime Minister Francesco Crispi. Main sights Sights include: *The Chiesa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menfi
Menfi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southwest of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. The town lies some from the south coast of Sicily, between the rivers Belice and Carboj. In 1910, a full third of the population of the town of Menfi had emigrated to the United States. Other major recipients were Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela. Main sights *A tower (''Torre Federiciana''), which is the remains of a medieval castle built by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in 1238, perhaps over an Arab fortification. *''Chiesa Madre'' ("Mother Church"), built in the 18th century but destroyed by an earthquake in 1968. It was later rebuilt. *Church of St. Joseph (1715). The remains of an Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (befor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caltabellotta
Caltabellotta (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Cataviḍḍotta'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Agrigento, in the Italy, Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. In addition to the main portion of Caltabellotta, the ''comune'' also contains the ''frazione'' of Sant'Anna (Caltabellotta), Sant'Anna. History Caltabellotta has been identified with the ancient Sicani town of Triocala, captured by the ancient Rome, Romans in 99 BC. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and several centuries under the Byzantine Empire, it was stormed by the Islamic conquest of Sicily, Arabs, who later built here a castle. In 1090 it was conquered by the Italo-Normans, Normans of Roger I of Sicily. The diocese of Triocala, called in Latin Trecalae in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees, is mentioned in the 6th-century Synecdemus as Τρόκαλις (Trocalis). Its reputed first bishop was Saint Pellegrino, a disciple of Sai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regia Aeronautica
The Royal Italian Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') (RAI) was the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Regio Esercito, Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished and the Kingdom of Italy became the Italy, Italian Republic, whereupon the name of the air force changed to ''Italian Air Force, Aeronautica Militare''. History Beginnings At the beginning of the twentieth century, Italy was at the forefront of aerial warfare: during the colonization of Libya in 1911, it made the first reconnaissance flight in history on 23 October, and the first ever bombing raid on 1 November. During World War I, the Italian ''Corpo Aeronautico Militare'', then still part of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Royal Army), operated a mix of French fighters and locally built bombers, notably the gigantic Caproni aircraft. The (Royal Navy) had its own air arm, operating locally built flying boats. Founding of the ''R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread phenomenon. They had greater development in central-northern Italy, where they became city-states based on partial democracy. At the same time in Germany they became free cities, independent from local nobility. Etymology The English and French word "commune" () appears in Latin records in various forms. They come from Medieval Latin , plural form of (that which is common, community, state), substantive noun from (common). Ultimately, the Proto-Indo-European root is ''*mey-'' (to change, exchange). When autonomy was won through violent uprising and overthrow, the commune was often called (a conspiracy) (). Origins During the 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
