Balestrate ( Sicilian: ''Sicciara'') is a ''

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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Palermo The Metropolitan City of Palermo ( it, Città metropolitana di Palermo; scn, Cità metrupulitana di Palermu) is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. It replaced the Province of Palermo and comprises the city o ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, located about southwest of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , 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 ...

. As of 31 July 2015, it had a population of 6,505 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute

Istat The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...

Territory

Located in Western

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, on the rail line between

and

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

, Balestrate is exactly in the center of the Gulf of Castellamare. Balestrate borders the following municipalities:

Alcamo Alcamo (; scn, Àrcamu, italic=no) is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilo ...

Partinico Partinico ( Sicilian: ''Partinicu'', Ancient Greek: ''Parthenikòn'', Παρθενικόν) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is from Palermo and from Trapani. Main sights *Church of ''S ...

Trappeto __NOTOC__ Trappeto (''Trappitu'' in Sicilian) is an Italian municipality of 3,123 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, located in the north-west part of Sicily. It is part of the metropolitan area of Palermo. Trappeto is from Pale ...

Coat of arms

The Coat of Arms of Balestrate with its

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

crown, honors "Sicciara," the town’s original name, with the symbol of the

cuttlefish Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...

(“sicci”) so abundant in its waters. The residents of Balestrate still call themselves "sicciaroti" - the "cuttlefish people" - in honour of the old name.

History

The Spanish King Federico III of Aragon gave the territory of Balestrate to the town of

in 1307. According to a local legend, a crossbow (“balestra”) was used to shoot an arrow from the water's edge, its landing point determining the border of the town's environs and giving its eventual name: Balestrate. In 1672, a landowner named Rosalia Leto bequeathed uncultivated lands to the local people on condition that they cultivated them. The small town began to take shape, becoming self-governing in 1829. Its development continued to flourish in large part due to the investments of the English winemaking companies of Ingham, Woodhouse, Whittaker and the Palermitan

Florio The Florio family is a prominent entrepreneurial Italian family who started many lucrative activities in Sicily involving above all the exportation of Sicilian products (such as Marsala wine) in the nineteenth century, in some ways redeeming Sici ...

family. In many ways the early fortune of Balestrate was tied in with the rising popularity of sweet

Marsala wine Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala first received ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1969. The European Union grants Protected De ...

. In previous times it was the place where much of the grape crop was grown for the island's famous

Economy

Today Balestrate's main industry is fishing and tourism. A small town of nearly 6000 most of the year, Balestrate's population swells up to almost 30,000 during the Summer season with vacationing Europeans and Italians from the colder climates seeking the warm water and sun.

Famous people from Balestrate

* Filippo Evola (1812-1897) doctor, rector of Casa Professa. * Giuseppe Bommarito (1944-1983) carabiniere, gold medal for the civil value, in memory.

Demographic evolution

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:6000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:1623 bar:1871 from: 0 till:1851 bar:1881 from: 0 till:2606 bar:1901 from: 0 till:3931 bar:1911 from: 0 till:4237 bar:1921 from: 0 till:4075 bar:1931 from: 0 till:4693 bar:1936 from: 0 till:4707 bar:1951 from: 0 till:5686 bar:1961 from: 0 till:5546 bar:1971 from: 0 till:4753 bar:1981 from: 0 till:5162 bar:1991 from: 0 till:5651 bar:2001 from: 0 till:5693 PlotData= bar:1861 at:1623 fontsize:XS text: 1623 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:1851 fontsize:XS text: 1851 shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:2606 fontsize:XS text: 2606 shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:3931 fontsize:XS text: 3931 shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:4237 fontsize:XS text: 4237 shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:4075 fontsize:XS text: 4075 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:4693 fontsize:XS text: 4693 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:4707 fontsize:XS text: 4707 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:5686 fontsize:XS text: 5686 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:5546 fontsize:XS text: 5546 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:4753 fontsize:XS text: 4753 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:5162 fontsize:XS text: 5162 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:5651 fontsize:XS text: 5651 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:5693 fontsize:XS text: 5693 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

References

External links

Information and Pictures of Balestrate (English)
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Palermo