Collesano ( grc, Κολασσαέων, translit=Kolassaéon; el, Κολεσάνο, Kolesáno
Sicilian: ''Culisanu'') is a small town in the
Metropolitan City of Palermo,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
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. It is situated roughly from the provincial capital 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 ...
.
It lies in the
Madonie Park between the hills and the
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...
and is also on the
Targa Florio racing circuit since its beginning (1906). The town owns the official Targa Florio Museum.
History
The long history of Collesano relates to the history of original inhabitants of Sicily, the
Sicani, people coming from Spain, and later to the town of
Imera, the hometown of the poet
Stesichoros
Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abou ...
, the old Greek town founded by
Chalcidians and destroyed by Hannibal
in 208 B.C.
12 - 210 more likely
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length ...
The Arab geographer
al-Idrisi speaks of Collesano, which he described in "The Book of Roger". He tells of the destruction of the town Qal'at as-Sirat situated on the top of Golden Mountain by the Norman king Ruggero II. Afterwards the town was rebuilt and was called Bagherino. In the Middle Ages, the name was changed to Golisano and then to Collesano. Many aristocratic families have been involved in the governance of the town, such as the countess Adelicia de Alife, niece of the Norman king
Roger II of Sicily; the count of Avenel; the Ventimiglia's; the Cicala's; the Centelle's; the de Folch Cardona; the Aragona; the Moncada's; and the Ferrandina's. Monuments to visit include: the ruins of the Norman castle; the old ceramic manufactory; the Cathedral of St. Peter; the churches of St. Mary "the Old", St. James, St. Sebastian and Fabian, St. Dominic or St. Mary "the New", and of St. Mary of Jesus; the Pedaly's Abbey and the Targa Florio Museum which many old-time car clubs stop at during their event on the Madonie Circuit.
Collesano is also famous for its ceramic artwork and the Mystery Plays: "la Cercha", a procession with the Penitentes organized every year in Holy Week; and "la Casazza", the "Cycle of Collesano" that has been presented five times in the last century.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Collesano is
twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
*
Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , w ...
,
Switzerland
Sources
External links
Collesano details
Bibliography: Settimana Santa in Sicilia - La Cercha di Collesano -ISBN... by Kaori Sakurada-Giuseppe Valenza - Qanat publishing (Palermo)
Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Palermo
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