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Kalsa or Mandamento Tribunali is a historical quarter of the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
city of
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
in
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. ...
. It is sometimes referred to as la Kalsa or the Kalsa.


Names

The common name of the quarter, ''Kalsa'', derives from the district's historic
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
name, ''al-Khāliṣa'' (), meaning "the chosen one". The formal name of the quarter, ''Mandamento Tribunali'', meaning "district of courts", derives from the presence of
Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
courts at the Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri.


History


Ancient history

In ancient times, most of the area now known as the Kalsa was underwater. Hamilcar and
Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...
used to dock their ships there as they prepared their attacks on the Greek city of
Himera Himera (Greek language, Greek: ), was a large and important ancient Greece, ancient Greek city situated on the north coast of Sicily at the mouth of the river of the same name (the modern Imera Settentrionale), between Panormus (modern Palermo) ...
. The walls of a Punic city occupied by the
Phoenicians Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civi ...
and
Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...
once extended to the confluence of the
Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...
and Kemonia rivers, near what is now the intersection of Via Roma and Via Vittorio Emanuele.


Middle Ages

Built in the ninth century, Al-Khalesa was one of the first planned Arab settlements in Europe. It was the administrative center of the city of Balarm (
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
), which was under Arab rule until it was conquered by the Normans in 1072. Around 937, the Arabs moved their base from Al-Kasr (today the Cassaro, or castle district) to Al-Khalesa and built a fortified palace near the port. In the 970s, Palermo expanded into a major Muslim city comparable to Cairo or Córdoba. In addition to housing the emir and his court, Al-Khalesa contained the arsenal and prison, baths, a mosque, and government offices. There were no shops or markets in the area. It was surrounded by a stone wall with four gates, the best known being the Bab al-bahr or Marine Gate, on the shore. The center of Al-Khalesa was located near what is now Piazza Kalsa. Much of the square's current "
Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...
" architecture, such as the Greek Gate, is the product of 16th-century Spanish Moorish revival movements and cannot be traced directly to the emirate of Balarm. The area still has narrow, winding streets, as it did in the 11th century. After the Normans captured Palermo, they preferred to move their headquarters to higher ground, back to the Cassaro. The Kalsa became an Arab neighborhood with markets and mosques, but eventually, just as in the rest of Sicily, Islam would disappear from the island by the early 13th century.


World War II and later

The Kalsa district was heavily bombed during World War II, and was abandoned for decades. It attracted poor
squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...
, many of whom lived in the bombed-out ruins. Sicilian-American novelist Dodici Azpadu describes it as an "Arab ghetto." The area has since been revitalized and is home to art galleries, restored churches and palaces, and other tourist attractions.Dummett (2015), p. 128.


Geography

Kalsa is delimited by: *Via Maqueda to the west *Via Lincoln to the south *Foro Italico to the east *Via Vittorio Emanuele or Cassaro to the north


Culture

On summer evenings, Kals'art, an arts festival, is held in the streets of Kalsa.


Sights


Monuments


Notable people

* Dodici Azpadu, New-York born American novelist. Her family emigrated from Kalsa. *
Paolo Borsellino Paolo Emanuele Borsellino (; 19 January 1940 – 19 July 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of ...
, anti-Mafia judge. *
Tommaso Buscetta Tommaso Buscetta (; 13 July 1928 – 2 April 2000) was a high-ranking Italian mobster and a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He became one of the first of its members to turn informant and explain the inner workings of the organization. Buscetta p ...
, Mafia boss and pentito. *
Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
, anti-Mafia judge. * Leandro Rinaudo, football player and manager.


References

{{Authority control History of Palermo Tourist attractions in Palermo Zones of Palermo