Cerami ( Sicilian: ''Cirami'') 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 ...

'' in

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

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, part of the

Province of Enna Enna ( it, Provincia di Enna; Sicilian: ''Pruvincia di Enna''; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Enna'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. It was created in 1927, out of parts of the Provinces of Caltanise ...

. The town itself is perched on a mountaintop above sea level. A river also named

Cerami Cerami ( Sicilian: ''Cirami'') is a ''comune'' in Sicily, southern Italy, part of the Province of Enna. The town itself is perched on a mountaintop above sea level. A river also named Cerami flows through this area. Cerami produces cereals, ...

flows through this area. Cerami produces cereals, olives, grapes, and almonds. It also is known for cattle breeding and sheep herding. It holds a Cattle Fair during the month of August.

History

Cerami was founded by the Greeks as part of

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...

in the fourth century BC. The name Cerami derives from the Greek term ''Keràmion'', that means

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

. The territory hosts several archeological areas, such as the Raffo district where remains of a Greek necropolis were discovered. A hilltop town, Cerami was the location of a major battle between

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 ...

and Muslims in 1063, during the Norman conquest of the Island by

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 ...

son of

Tancred of Hauteville Tancred of Hauteville (c. 980 – 1041) was an 11th-century Norman petty lord about whom little is known. He was a minor noble near Coutances in the Cotentin. Tancred is also known by the achievements of his twelve sons. Various legends arose ...

. According to historian

Goffredo Malaterra Gaufredo (or Geoffrey, or Goffredo) Malaterra ( la, Gaufridus Malaterra) was an eleventh-century Benedictine monk and historian, possibly of Norman origin. He travelled to the southern Italian peninsula, passing some time in Apulia before entering ...

, after being besieged in the neighboring town of

Troina Troina ( Sicilian: ''Traina'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Enna, Sicily, southern Italy. It is located in the Nebrodi Park. History Excavations have proved that the area of Troina was settled as early as the 7t ...

for four months, Roger and 136 ferocious Norman knights took to the field of Cerami and faced approximately 50,000 Muslim soldiers. The apparition of St. George was said to have materialized on a white horse carrying the sign of the cross on his lance and charging into the enemy where their array was the most dense. Malaterra claims the Normans slaughtered 35,000 of the enemy. According to English historian

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...

, even accounting for 5 or 6 men at arms accompanying each Norman knight into battle, and even accounting for the Normans' superior martial training, the victory was either miraculous or fabulous.Edward Gibbon, ''Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire'', Volume 3, Chapter LVI, page 1977 A similar trope is associated with the miraculous appearance of St James the Moorslayer ( Santiago Matamoros) during the putative

Battle of Clavijo The Battle of Clavijo is a mythical battle, which was believed for centuries to be historical, and it became a popular theme of Spanish traditions regarding the Christian expulsion of the Muslims. The stories about the battle are first found centu ...

in Spain. Nevertheless, the Normans went on to capture the island. The current community rose approximately in the 11th century, and it belonged to the Count of Policastro, Simone d'Altavilla, and then to his son Manfredi. It was conquered by the Arnaldo family, and was subsequently bestowed to the Antiochia family, thus to the Manna noblemen. In 1336, the town was acquired by noblemen Rosso, who beheld it until the abolition of the feudal rights. During the Second World War, the hamlet briefly served as headquarters for the U.S. 1st Infantry Division as it prepared to assault German strongpoints located north and south of

Main sights

The most important landmarks are: *

Sant'Ambrogio Sant'Ambrogio may refer to the following entities in Italy: * Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, a church in the Milan * Sant'Ambrogio, Florence, a Roman Catholic church in Florence * Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, a municipality in the Turin * Sant'Ambrogio di ...

- 16th-century Mother church (chiesa madre) of the town, dedicated to Saint Ambrosius, preserving a statue of the ''Madonna and Child'' by

Antonello Gagini Antonello Gagini (1478–1536) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, mainly active in Sicily and Calabria. Antonello belonged to a family of sculptors and artisans, originally from Northern Italy, but active throughout Italy, including Gen ...

*Madonna del Carmelo - gothic architecture church *San Benedetto della Badia -baroque Church once attached to a functioning Benedictine Abbey. The church houses a Byzantine icon of the Madonna.

References

Municipalities of the Province of Enna 4th-century BC establishments in Italy Populated places established in the 4th century BC {{Sicily-geo-stub