Sant'Angelo Muxaro (; or ; ) is a (municipality) in the

Province of Agrigento The province of Agrigento (; ) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by the Free Municipal Consortium of Ag ...

in 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 ...

region 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. ...

, located about south 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 north of

Agrigento Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...

. The town was founded and historically inhabited by the

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name *Arbëres ...

community.

History

The early urban origins of this territory remain undefined. An important

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 ...

village arose around the 13th century BC by indigenous people, identified with the

Sicani The Sicani or Sicanians were one of three ancient peoples of Sicily present at the time of Phoenician and Greek colonization. The Sicani dwelt east of the Elymians and west of the Sicels, having, according to Diodorus Siculus, the boundary with ...

. Archaeologically the village constitutes a valid chronological guide for local production of objects from the first native societies to the relationship with the first Greek settlers during the great season of the ''

apoikiai Greek colonisation refers to the expansion of Archaic Greeks, particularly during the 8th–6th centuries BC, across the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. The Archaic expansion differed from the Iron Age migrations of the Greek Dark Ages ...

'' during the 8th - 7th century BC. The town is sitting atop of a hill, partially excavated. To this day a small part has revealed a collection of small and big tombs, varying in size, carved in soft stone. In it proximity many small

necropolises 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 ...

can be found. Four

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

bowls dating from 650 to 600 BC were found in a tomb in the vicinity of the village in the 18th century, by

Paolo Orsi Paolo Orsi (Rovereto, October 17, 1859 – November 8, 1935) was an Italian archaeologist and classicist. Life Orsi was born in Rovereto, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now in the province of Trento in Italy. After studying at a gy ...

. Only one gold bowl remains, now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

's collection. The BM's phiale is decorated with 6 striding bulls and has become a symbol of Sant'Angelo Muxaro. The Archeological Museum of Agrigento, adjacent to the Valley of the Temples, holds a selection of vases found in the vicinity of the village, mainly inside tombs. Following the Ottoman invasion of Albania in the late fifteenth century, the present town was colonized by Albanian refugees. The centre of the town was founded in 1506 with further building in 1511. The town retained a distinct Italo-Albanian or ''

'' culture for many years. In the early 17th century the town was still an ''Arbëreshë'' settlement but now the

Arbëresh language Arbëresh (; also known as ''Arbërisht'') are the Albanian linguistic varieties spoken by the Arbëreshë people of Italy, brought there by several migratory waves of Albanians from Albania and Greece since the Late Middle Ages. Arbëresh var ...

has disappeared from usage. In 1600, the barony was acquired by the Princes of Castelvetrano, D'Aragona and Tagliavia and finally came under the jurisdiction of Pignatelli, Dukes of Monteleone, who kept it until 1812, when feudalism was suppressed in Sicily.

Geography

Sant'Angelo Muxaro borders the following municipalities:

Alessandria della Rocca Alessandria della Rocca ( Sicilian: ''Lisciànnira di la Rocca'') is a ''comune'' and small agricultural town located in the northern part of the Province of Agrigento, west central Sicily, southern Italy. The remains of the 14th century Caste ...

Aragona Aragona ( or ''Raona'') is a commune in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy. It is northeast of Agrigento. It is known mainly for the Macalube natural reserve and for being the Italian municipality with the highest emigration rat ...

Casteltermini Casteltermini is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italy, Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Agrigento. Casteltermini borders the following municipalities: Acquaviva Plata ...

Cattolica Eraclea Cattolica Eraclea (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italy, Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento nearby the Platani (river), Platani river valley. The town w ...

Cianciana Cianciana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located in the middle valley of the Platani river, about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. The Monte Cammarata, elevation abo ...

Raffadali Raffadali is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italy, Italian region of Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. Geography The commune's territory covers an area of around 1.617 he ...

San Biagio Platani San Biagio Platani ( Sicilian: ''San Mrasi or San Brasi'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about north of Agrigento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a po ...

Santa Elisabetta Santa Elisabetta ( Sicilian: ''Sabbetta'') is a small town (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about north of Agrigento. Santa Elisabetta borders the following municipali ...

References

External links

Official website
Arbëresh settlements Cities and towns in Sicily Populated places established in 1506 {{Sicily-geo-stub