Acquaviva Platani ( Sicilian: ''Acquaviva Plàtani'') is a hill

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Caltanissetta The Province of Caltanissetta ( it, provincia di Caltanissetta; scn, pruvincia di Nissa or ; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Caltanissetta'') is a province in the southern part of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilia ...

. The name of the town (meaning "Living Water" in Italian) is derived from the numerous natural springs in the area. Until 1862, the town was called simply Acquaviva; the appositive Platani was added to distinguish it from the other three Italian towns named Acquaviva. Platani is the name of the river which flows nearby. The economy is based on agriculture: the production of wheat, olives, almonds, and pistachios are important. Also, cattle and horse breeding, along with sheep farms provide income. Sights include the ''Torre dell'Orologio ''(clock tower) which was built in 1894, and the 17th century ''Chiesa Madre'' (Mother Church), dedicated to Santa Maria della Luce.

Salvatore Quasimodo Salvatore Quasimodo (; August 20, 1901 – June 14, 1968) was an Italian poet and translator. In 1959, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own time ...

, who spent part of his childhood at Acquaviva Platani, writes about the town in his poem "Che vuoi pastore d'aria?", which was included in the ''Nuove Poesie'' collection

References

Municipalities of the Province of Caltanissetta {{Sicily-geo-stub