Comiso () is a ''

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 ...

'' of the

Province of Ragusa The province of Ragusa (; ) was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, Italy, located in the southeast of the island. Following the abolition of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by the Free municipal consortium of Ragusa ...

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 Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. As of 2017, its population was 29,857.

History

In the past Comiso has been incorrectly identified with the ancient Greek colony of Casmene in

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

Under the Byzantines a new borough began to grow on Comiso's present site around the monasteries of St. Nicolò and Saint Blaise, expanding further under the later Norman and Aragonese domination of Sicily. It was later a fief of the Chiaromonte, Cabrera and Naselli families: the latter, counts of the city from 1571, boosted the economy of the city and built new district outside the ancient walls. Comiso was devastated by the 1693 earthquake and rebuilt on the same spot as the old ruins in the

Sicilian Baroque Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture which evolved on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the , when it was part of the Spanish Empire. The style is recognisable not only by its typical Baroque c ...

style. The United States Air Force deployed Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCM) to Comiso Air Base in June 1983. Women from Italy, Europe, and other parts of the world created a peace camp in Comiso in 1983 to protest the building of the base. They were inspired by women activists at the

Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a series of protest camps established to protest against nuclear weapons being placed at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began on 5 September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life ...

in England. The missiles were eventually dismantled after the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed by the former Soviet Union and the United States on 8 December 1987. The last 16 GLCMs left Comiso Air Base in 1991 and the American-occupied part of the base was returned to Italian control.

Geography

Comiso borders with the municipalities of

Chiaramonte Gulfi Chiaramonte Gulfi (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Ciaramunti'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. Geography Chiaramonte Gulfi is located on a hill-top north of Ragusa, Italy, Ragusa at an altitude of ...

Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...

and Vittoria. The municipality has two hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

''): Pedalino and Quaglio. The town west of Ragusa and 6 east of Vittoria. Comiso Fonte Diana

Main sights

*Hot Springs, first constructed during the Roman era, with remnants of mosaics dating from the 2nd century. *Mother Church of ''Santa Maria delle Grazie'', from the 15th century, greatly damaged by the earthquake of 1693. It has a nave and two aisles, with rich internal decorations dating from the 17th century. The high altar has a painting representing the ''Nativity of the Virgin'', attributed to

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (18 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian Baroque painter and Drawing, draughtsman, active principallly in Rome where he was the leading painter in the second half of the 17th century. He was a fresco and canvas painte ...

. * San Filippo Neri (16th century), church with the annexed Oratory. * San Francesco dell'Immacolata, church built in the 13th century, with a quadrangular

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

was added in the 15th century. The church houses the burial chapel of the Naselli barons, with a funerary monument of Baldassarre II Naselli attributed to Antonello Gagini. * Maria Santissima Annunziata: parish church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Virgin of the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

, founded in the 16th century, rebuilt from 1772 to 1773 when a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

was added. The interior hasartworks dating from the 15th century onwards, as well as a marble font by

Mario Rutelli Mario Rutelli (Palermo, Sicily, 4 April 1859 – 1941) was an Italian sculptor. Biography From a native British family which long ago moved from France (Roudelle at first) and then to Genoa’s Republic with capt. sir G. Roudello de’ Mari d ...

(1912). *''Castello Naselli'', originally an octagonal

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

fortress renovated in the 14th century. *

Peace Pagoda A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa: a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II ...

: on 24 May 1998,Rev. Morishita
/ref> the Reverend Gyosho Morishita of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order dedicated a

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

at Comiso, near the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

base.

Economy

The main productive sectors are agriculture (wine and vegetables) and trades, including smithery, cabinet making and marble work. The Comisana breed of sheep takes its name from Comiso.

Transport

Comiso is connected to the nearby towns and cities by bus service and has a railway station, which lies on the Syracuse–Ragusa–

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the regional autonomy, Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province o ...

–

Licata Licata (, ; , whence or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Agrigento and Gela. It is a major se ...

–

Canicattì Canicattì (; ) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about east of Agrigento. In 2024, it had a population of 34,295. History The archa ...

line. The train journey to Ragusa is 30 minutes, to Syracuse 2 hours 30 minutes, and to Licata 1 hour and 45 minutes. Comiso Airport is located only north of the town. It was previously a military base and it re-opened as a civil airport in 2013. The main roads serving Comiso are the SS.115 (''Sud Occidentale Sicula'') and the SS.514 (''di Chiaramonte'').

People

* Salvatore Adamo (b. 1943), singer * Gesualdo Bufalino (1920–1996), writer * Emilio Docente (b. 1983), footballer * Salvatore Fiume (1915–1997), painter * Giuseppe Mascara (b. 1979), footballer * Biagio Pace (1889–1955), archaeologist and politician *

Biagio Pelligra Biagio Pelligra (born 24 June 1937, in Comiso) is an Italian stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Comiso, Province of Ragusa, Pelligra started his acting career in the second half of the sixties, and after several minor rol ...

(b. 1937), actor * Cristina Scuccia (b. 1989), singer

References

*The information in this article is based on a translation of its German equivalent.

External links

Comiso official website

- scroll down for Comiso {{authority control Municipalities of the Province of Ragusa Colonies of Magna Graecia Sicilian Baroque Populated places established in the 7th century BC