Troina ( Sicilian: ''Traina'') 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 Enna, in the Italian 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. ...

. It is located in the Nebrodi Park. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

History

Excavations have proved that the area of Troina was settled as early as the 7th millennium BC (a farm dating from that period, and a later necropolis). Of the Greek town (most likely known as Engyon) parts of the 4th-century-BC walls remain, while from the Roman age are baths. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

it was a

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 ...

stronghold and during the Islamic period the religious and moral capital of the Greek and Christian Orthodox part of Sicily; Roger I of Sicily had in its castle (which he captured in 1061) also a start base of his conquest of the island. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Troina was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

between the Allies and the Axis forces. The town was mostly destroyed during the six-day fighting (31 July – 6 August 1943). In 2021 the town began selling homes for as little as one euro in an effort to lure residents and increase the population size.

Main sights

Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

* San Silvestro

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Troina is twinned with: * Coutances, France

References

External links