Canicattì (; scn, Caniattì) is a town 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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Agrigento The Province of Agrigento ( it, Provincia di Agrigento; scn, Pruvincia di Girgenti; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Agrigento'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Follo ...

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 southeast 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 ...

and about east of

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...

. In 2016, it had a population of 35,698.

History

The archaeological remains in the city and in the neighbourhood testify the presence of a settlement before the

Roman age In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. The name of Canicattì is of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

origin, from ', meaning 'clay ditch'. During the conquest of Sicily by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

, the local Muslim lord was besieged and defeated by baron Salvatore Palmieri (1087), a follower of

Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Roger Bosso and The Great, was a Norman nobleman who became the first Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was a member of the H ...

: the latter, as reward, offered him a sword and the lordship over the fief. Under the Palmieri rule the Arab fortress was enlarged, becoming a true castle with a tower. The Normans were followed by the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

and the French Angevines, in turn ousted by the

House of Barcelona The House of Barcelona was a medieval dynasty that ruled the County of Barcelona continuously from 878 and the Crown of Aragon from 1137 (as kings from 1162) until 1410. They descend from the Bellonids, the descendants of Wifred the Hairy. The ...

. In 1448 the fief of Canicattì was ceded by Antonio Palmieri, who was heirless, to his nephew Andrea De Crescenzio, who obtained by king

John II of Aragon John II (Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death i ...

the ''Licentia populandi'', i.e. the permission to enlarge the fief's boundaries, increase its population and administer justice. Under Andrea De Crescenzio Canicattì was a rural community including some 1000/1500 inhabitants, living in the upper part of the town. Andrea De Crescenzio was succeeded by his son Giovanni, who, having no sons, left the barony to his father-in-law Francesco Calogero Bonanno, in 1507. Under the Bonannos the town experienced a considerable demographic growth, and several large edifices and fountains were erected. The Bonanno seigniory started to decline from the later 18th century. In 1819 the last Bonanno left Canicattì to baron Gabriele Chiaramonte Bordonaro. After the riots of 1848 and 1859/1861, and the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

, banks, mills and plants were built in the town, increasing its trades. For the whole 20th century the economy remained based on agriculture (mostly grapes), trades and services. In 1943 it was the seat of the

Canicattì massacre The Canicattì massacre (or Canicattì slaughter) was a massacre that occurred in Canicattì, Italy following its capture by American forces. During the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, eight unarmed Italian civilians were killed by U.S. troops ...

, in which

American troops The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

killed several Italian civilians who were looting a factory and refusing to disperse despite warnings.

Geography

The municipality, located in the eastern area of the province, at the borders with the one of Caltanissetta, borders with

Caltanissetta Caltanissetta (; scn, Nissa or ) is a ''comune'' in the central interior of Sicily, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Caltanissetta. Its inhabitants are called ''Nisseni''. In 2017, the city had a population of 62,797. It is the 14th ...

(CL), Castrofilippo, Delia (CL),

Montedoro Montedoro ( Sicilian: ''Muntidoru'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caltanissetta in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about west of Caltanissetta. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of ...

(CL),

Naro Naro ( scn, Naru ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento, on the island of Sicily, Italy. It is bounded by the comuni of Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Camastra, Campobello di Licata, Canicattì, Castrofilippo, Delia, Italy, Delia, Favara, Ag ...

Racalmuto Racalmuto ( scn, Racalmutu; from the Arabic ''raḥl mawt'', "village of death" or ''raḥl Ḥammūd'', " Hammoud's village") is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian Autonomous Region of Sicily, located about ...

and

Serradifalco Serradifalco ( Sicilian: ''Serradifarcu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy. History Serradifalco (from ''Serra del Falcone'', "Mountain of the Falcon") was founded in the Kingdom of Sicily, in a feudal ...

(CL). The old town of Canicattì is divided into the wards of Borgalino and Badia. Other wards are Acquanova, Rovitelli, and other minor wards named after the local parish churches. Canicattì is 21 km from Favara, 29 from Caltanissetta, 34 from

, 38 from

Licata Licata (, ; grc, Φιντίας, whence la, Phintias or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Ag ...

, 61 from

Enna Enna ( or ; grc, Ἔννα; la, Henna, less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( scn, Castrugiuvanni ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering ...

and 68 from

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; grc, Γέλα) is a city and (municipality) in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province of Ca ...

Main sights

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

San Giuseppe San Giuseppe is the Italian name of Saint Joseph. It may refer to: Places of Italy Municipalities * San Giuseppe Jato, in the Province of Palermo, Sicily *San Giuseppe Vesuviano, in the Province of Naples, Campania * Rima San Giuseppe, in the Provi ...

* Chiesa del Purgatorio * San Francesco * San Domenico * Santa Lucia * Chiesa Madre or

San Pancrazio The basilica of San Pancrazio ( en, St Pancras; la, S. Pancratii) is a Roman Catholic ancient basilica and titular church founded by Pope Symmachus in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond the Porta S ...

* Maria SS. Degli Agonizzanti * Santo Spirito * Santi Filippo e Giacomo * San Biagio * San Calogero * Santa Maria Ausiliatrice * San Eduardo

Transport

Canicattì station is an important hub for local rail transport and, until 2011, it was served by express trains linking Agrigento with

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. It is a junction point between the lines

-Canicattì-

and Canicattì-

- Syracuse and, until the 1950s, the terminus of two

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

lines: the Canicattì-

(a branch of the Agrigento- Favara-Naro-

) and the Canicattì-

Riesi Riesi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caltanissetta in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about south of Caltanissetta. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 11,678 and an area of .All d ...

- Caltagirone.The Canicattì-Riesi-Caltagirone railway on lestradeferrate.it
/ref>

People

Giovanni Canova Giovanni Canova (27 July 1880 – 28 October 1960) was an Italian fencer. He won a gold medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics and a bronze at the 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), offici ...

(1880–1960), fencer *

Gioacchino La Lomia Gioacchino La Lomia (3 March 1831 – 30 July 1905) - born Gaetano La Lomia and in religious Gioacchino Fedele da Canicattì - was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. La Lomia served a ...

(1831–1905), capuchin missionary *

Rosario Livatino Rosario Angelo Livatino (; October 3, 1952 – September 21, 1990) was an Italian magistrate who was killed by Stidda. Biography Livatino was born in Canicattì, in Sicily. After successfully completing high school, he entered the university La ...

(1952–1990), magistrate

References

External links

Official website

History of Canicattì and photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canicatti Cities and towns in Sicily