Polizzi Generosa ( Sicilian: ''Pulizzi'') 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

Metropolitan City of Palermo The Metropolitan City of Palermo (; ) is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. It replaced the province of Palermo and comprises the city of Palermo and 82 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). It has 1,194,439 in ...

on the island of

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 town sits in the hills at above sea level. Madonie 4 0050

History

The site of Polizzi shows signs of human occupation dating to the 6th century BC, with archaeological finds including coins from

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) ...

, Carthaginian remains and a Hellenistic

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

. In the 4th century it was a Carthaginian fortress occupied by mercenaries from

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

. The town probably developed as a population centre in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, growing around the castle built by the Norman Count of Sicily Roger I in 1076.

People

People with connections to Polizzi Generosa include: *Fashion designer Domenico Dolce, one half of the

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, ...

clothing company, was born in the town and move to Milan with his parents to start the fashion house. *The writer, journalist and literary critic Giuseppe Antonio Borgese originally came from the town. *The writer,

Carol Lunetta Cianca Carol Lunetta Cianca (born 1898 in Polizzi Generosa – 11 April 2002) was a Sicilian-born American who worked in England and Italy for Allied intelligence forces during World War II. At 100 years of age she published an acclaimed autobiography ...

, was born here in 1898. At 100 years of age she published an acclaimed autobiography that described the back story of her undercover experiences on behalf of the United States during World War II. *Catholic cardinal Mariano Rampolla was born in Polizzi Generosa. When Leo XIII died in 1903, it was widely expected that Rampolla would be elected pope. His candidacy gained momentum until the last moment when the Austrian Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

imposed the veto ''jus exclusivae'' during the conclave. *Director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

's paternal grandparents emigrated from Polizzi Generosa. Scorsese is considered one of the most important film directors. *Filmmaker and musician Antonia Scarpa's family also came from the town. *Character actor Vincent Schiavelli moved to the town, where his grandfather lived, for the final years of his life. Schiavelli was also a food and cookbook writer who wrote about Polizzi Generosa and his roots in ''Many Beautiful Things: Stories and Recipes from Polizzi Generosa''.Many Beautiful Things: stories and recipes from Polizzi Generosa by Vincent Schiavelli (2002 - ) He was also buried there when he died. *

Valentina Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (born 6 March 1937) is a Russian engineer, member of the State Duma, and former Soviet cosmonaut. She was the first Women in space, woman in space, having flown a solo mission on Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. S ...

, the first woman to fly in space, was awarded honorary citizenship of Polizzi Generosa. * Vincenzo Sellaro, MD was born in Polizzi Generosa and in 1905 founded the Order of the Sons of Italy in America in Little Italy, New York. Today, this organization is known as th
Order of the Sons and Daughters of Italy in America
and is the oldest organization supporting Italian Immigrants and Italian Heritage in America.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Extracted Civil Records
Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Palermo {{Sicily-geo-stub