Cammarata 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 ...
'' (municipality) 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. Follo ...
in the
Italian region
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, located about southeast of
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...
and about north of
Agrigento
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...
on the eponymous mountain, which has an elevation above sea level in a territory rich in forests.
Cammarata borders the following municipalities:
Acquaviva Platani,
Casteltermini
Casteltermini is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Agrigento.
Casteltermini borders the following municipalities: Acquaviva Platani, ...
,
Castronovo di Sicilia,
Mussomeli,
San Giovanni Gemini
San Giovanni Gemini ( Sicilian: ''San Giuvanni'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Agrigento.
History
Originally, the town was calle ...
,
Santo Stefano Quisquina,
Vallelunga Pratameno,
Villalba.
History
The name derives from the Greek ''Kàmara'', meaning "vaulted room".
King Roger I laid siege to the Cammarata in 1087 and sold it to a relative Lucia d'Altavilla (or in English Lucy of Hauteville). She then assumed the title Dominae Camaratae or Lucy of Cammarata for the town she was given
The town is mentioned in 1141 in a document mentioning several Arabic localities, a sign that it was settled at least from the
Islamic domination of the island.
The county of Cammarata followed the history of Sicily under the
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. T ...
, the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
and the
War of the Vespers
The War of the Sicilian Vespers or just War of the Vespers was a conflict that started with the insurrection of the Sicilian Vespers against Charles of Anjou in 1282 and ended in 1302 with the Peace of Caltabellotta. It was fought in Sicily, C ...
. In 1397 the count rebelled and the town was besieged by
Bernardo Cabrera
Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard".
Given name People
* Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fran ...
, general of king
Martin II of Sicily
Martin the Humane (29 July 1356 – 31 May 1410), also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409 (as Martin II). He failed to secure the ...
. Later it was a fief of the
Abatellis.
Main sights
*The castle, an example of Aragonese architecture
References
External links
Official website
Cities and towns in Sicily
{{Sicily-geo-stub