Menfi 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 ...
'' (municipality) in the
Province of Agrigento in the
Italian region
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. ...
, located about southwest 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 ...
and about northwest of
Agrigento.
The town lies some from the south coast of Sicily, between the rivers
Belice and
Carboj. In 1910, a full third of the population of the town of Menfi had emigrated to the United States.
Other major recipients were
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, and
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
.
Main sights
*A tower (''Torre Federiciana''), which is the remains of a medieval castle built by
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in 1238, perhaps over an Arab fortification.
*''Chiesa Madre'' ("Mother Church"), built in the 18th century but destroyed by an earthquake in 1968. It was later rebuilt.
*Church of St. Joseph (1715).
The remains of an
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
prehistoric settlement were found in the 1980s outside of the town.
Twin towns
*
Canelli, Italy, since 1997
*
Chivilcoy, Argentina, since 1999
*
Ettlingen, Germany, since 2004
Notable People
Joe Masseria, former
Boss of the
Genovese Crime Family
The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and Ne ...
References
External links
*
Official website*
Cities and towns in Sicily
{{Sicily-geo-stub