Centuripe (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: Centuripae; Sicilian: Centorbi) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the province of Enna (

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. ...

, southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

). The city is from

Enna Enna ( or ; ; , less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has e ...

in the hill country between the Rivers Dittaìno and Salso. The economy is mostly based on agriculture. There are caves for sulphur and salt mineral, and water springs. Termecenturipe

History

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

mentions ''Kentoripa'' (Κεντόριπα) (also called ''Kentoripai'') as a city of the

Sicels The Sicels ( ; or ''Siculī'') were an Indo-European tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily, their namesake, during the Iron Age. They spoke the Siculian language. After the defeat of the Sicels at the Battle of Nomae in 450 BC and the death of ...

that was Hellenized in the 5th century BC. It became an ally of the

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

at the time of their expedition against Syracuse, and maintained its independence almost uninterruptedly (though it fell under the power of

Agathocles Agathocles ( Greek: ) is a Greek name. The most famous person called Agathocles was Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from and . Other people named Agathocles include: *Agathocles, a sophist, teacher of Damon ...

) until the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

when it immediately submitted to the Romans. It was thus granted

Latin Rights Latin rights or Latin citizenship ( or ) were a set of legal rights that were originally granted to the Latins and therefore in their colonies ( Latium adiectum). ''Latinitas'' was commonly used by Roman jurists to denote this status. With the ...

before the rest of Sicily and was a (free city exempted from tax). In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC Centuripe Ware was a distinctive class of Sicilian vase painting, with the unusual feature of fully coloured painting in

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

applied after firing was complete.

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

described it, perhaps with some exaggeration, as being by far the largest and richest city of Sicily, and as having a population of 10,000, engaged in the cultivation of an extensive territory. It appears to have suffered much in the war against

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the la ...

because of its loyalty to Octavian, but Octavian reconstructed and gave the inhabitants Roman citizenship. The Imperial Roman age has left the most impressive monumental remains. Grandiose monumental ruins, a rich complex of sculptures, numerous inscriptions: a whole series of elements seem to mark the accomplishments of a local family that, in the 2nd century, came to express a consul, a son of one of the components of the entourage of the emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

. A large number of monumental remains were lost forever due to the neglect of the past and systematic theft and plundering for collectors and collections of every where. It gradually declined in the late Empire. Emperor Frederick II entirely destroyed the city in 1233 in punishment for its rebellion, the inhabitants deported to Augusta. King

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 a ...

razed it completely to the ground, and the city was rebuilt only in 1548 by Francesco I Moncada, the future Prince of Paternò. The city was known as Centorbi until 1863. In 1943 during World War II and the liberation of Sicily the Battle of Centuripe saw the town captured spectacularly from the defending Germans by the 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade although it suffered some damage.

Main monuments

Many remains of the ancient city, mostly of the Roman period, still exist and numerous antiquities, including some fine

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

terra-cottas, were discovered in casual excavations. Other sights include the '' Chiesa Madre'' (17th century) and the ruins of the so-called Castle of

Conradin Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (, ), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke of Swabia (1254–1268) and nominal King ...

, in fact a Roman mausoleum of the Imperial age.

Archaeological sites

Centuripe and the surrounding territory are the subject of archaeological research and numerous sites have been found: *Amara Water Zone: Thermal remains of the Hellenistic- Roman age *Sorgiva Bagni: Roman spa remains *District Agliastrello: remains of a town *District Bagni: (to the north) Hellenistic necropolis *District Casino: Necropolis from the Iron Age, with stone circle tombs, with multiple burials; used until the Hellenistic age *District Cuba in Muglia: Prehistoric settlement and necropolis from the Neolithic age to the Ancient Bronze age *District Difesa: Large ceramic kilns *District Piano Pozzi: Remains of inhabited area (south-east) Hellenistic necropolis *District Biliuzzo: Hellenistic necropolis *Carcaci hamlet: rock necropolis; remains of the Bronze Age; Roman age structures *Castellaccio: Hellenistic furnace; remains of a medieval castle *Corradino Castle: Roman Mausoleum *Monte Calvario: Remains of town *Castiglione collection: Embankment wall *Fondo Testai: ancient cistern *Vallone Gelso: remains of inhabited areas, necropolis from the 8th century BC to the Hellenistic period *Monte Porcello: Remains of Greek-Hellenistic settlement *Mulino Barbagallo: monumental complex (ancient seat of the "Augustali") with marble statues of Augustus, Drusus, etc. *Panneria: Roman house *Piano Capitano: Extensive necropolis from the 8th century BC to the Hellenistic period *Road Catenanuova to Centuripe: ancient furnace *Road of Panaria: House of the masks and remains of inhabited areas *Vallone Defesa: location of the ancient gymnasium In the city centre: *Hellenistic-Roman centre with walls, inhabited area and furnaces. *Chiesa del Crocifisso: Hellenistic-Roman structures with mosaic "ancient rooms" *La Dogana: Fountain-cistern of the Roman-imperial age Ruins, walls and remains of buildings near the churches *Chiesa del Crocifisso: embankment wall *Church of the Maddalena: ancient wall *Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie: ancient wall *Mother Church: ruins *Addolorata Church: ancient remains *Colle dell'Annunziata *Convent of Sant'Agostino: Ruins *Fondo Calcerano: Ancient building *The Ancient Stables *Via Fragalà: ancient rooms *Via Scipione: remains of a village

Roman bridge

Roman Centuripe was on an important route, the ''via frumentaria'' that connected Catania to the Tyrrhenian coast along the Simeto river; it joined

Aetna Aetna Inc. ( ) is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

(Paternò), Centuripe, Agyrium (Agira), Assorum (Assoro), Henna (

) and continued up to

Termini Imerese Termini Imerese (; ) is a town of the Metropolitan City of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is one of the most important towns of the Metropolitan City of Palermo, from which it is 33 km away. The town is easily reachabl ...

. The strategic position of the city allowed the control both of this road and of that from the North continuing towards Leontini. The discovery of a paved stretch of road along the Simeto river and some ruined sections of the destroyed Roman Bridge of Centuripe,centuripe simeto escursione al ponte romano di houel https://web-archive-org.translate.goog/web/20140522020422/http://www.siciliantica.eu/news-285-centuripe++simeto+escursione+al+ponte+romano+di+houel.asp?_x_tr_sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=op,sc# forgotten for centuries due to a deviation of the river, have advanced the hypothesis of finding the via frumentaria to some scholars. The bridge is located near the Ponte Barca of

Biancavilla Biancavilla () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is located between the towns of Adrano and S. Maria di Licodia, northwest of Catania. The town was founded and historically inhabited by th ...

and consists of four large segments aligned in the WNW/ESE direction, of a width of about 3 m and a length of 6–8 m each. The monument dates from the second century, probably linked to Quintus Pompeius Sosius Falco, curator of the viae Traianae between 108 and 112.

The Askos of Centuripe

In the 1820s an askos (flattened vase) dating to the first half of the 5th century BC was found (now in the archaeological museum of Karlsruhe) with the longest Sicel inscription found to date.

The Archaeological Regional Museum of Centuripe

In the town of Centuripe is the Regional Archaeological Museum of Centuripe, the museum contains the largest collection of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

finds in central Sicily and important and rare statues of the emperors

and

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

Twin towns

Lanuvio Lanuvio is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region of Latium, located about southeast of Rome, on the Alban Hills. Lanuvio borders the following municipalities: Aprilia, Ariccia, Genzano di Roma, Velletri. Hist ...

, Italy

References

External links

* {{authority control Municipalities of the Province of Enna 5th-century BC establishments in Italy Archaeological sites in Sicily