The Vittoria Plain, also called ''Ipparino'', is a broad and sweeping plain which makes up the western part of the

province of Ragusa The Province of Ragusa ( it, Provincia di Ragusa; Sicilian: ''Pruvincia 'i Rausa'') was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily in southern Italy, located in the south-east of the island. Following the abolition of the Sicilian provinces, ...

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

Geography

The Vittoria

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

has an extension of appr. 420 km² and is bounded on the south-west by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, on the east by the Hyblean Mountains and on the north-west by the river

Dirillo The Dirillo, or Acate, is a river in Sicily which springs from the Hyblaean Mountains and flows through the areas of Vizzini, Licodia Eubea, Mazzarrone, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Acate, Vittoria, Gela. It enters the Strait of Sicily south-east of the t ...

and the low hills of

Mazzarrone Mazzarrone ( Sicilian: ''Mazzarruni'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania. Mazzarrone borders the following municipa ...

. It rises to an altitude of 245 m (803 ft), with an average elevation of perhaps 100 m (330 ft). The climate can be uncomfortably hot in the summer, with temperatures of 40 °C being common. The rainfall on the plain is significantly lower than in the mountains. The main rivers are the

running on the north and the

Ippari The Ippari, anciently called the ''Hipparis'' ( grc, Ἲππαρις) is a long river located in the province of Ragusa in south-eastern Sicily. The river rises in the ''Mount Serra Brugio'' area of the Hyblaean Mountains, just below Chiaramonte ...

running on the southern part. In the plain there is also another river, the Rifriscolaro.

Population

The main city is Vittoria lying on the western part of the plain. Other towns on the plain are

Comiso Comiso ( scn, U Còmisu), is a comune of the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. As of 2017, its population was 29,857. History In the past Comiso has been incorrectly identified with the ancient Greek colony of Casmene. Under the Byza ...

and

Acate Acate ( Sicilian: ''Acati'' or ''Vischiri'') is a small town and ''comune'' in the south of Sicily, Italy, part of the province of Ragusa. It is located in the Dirillo River valley, from Ragusa. Until 1938 it was called Biscari, and its histo ...

Agricultural cultivations

It is one of the most important agricultural areas in

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

given the presence of numerous farms dedicated to serriculture that supply the Vittoria fruit and vegetable market, which is among the largest and most important in Italy and Europe. In addition to fruit and leaf vegetables, grown in the western part of the plain, there are agriculture citrus fruit with the cultivation of aranci and

lemons The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...

in the central part and l '

olive growing The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family (biology), family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as '' ...

and

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

in the eastern part.

Geography

Population

Agricultural cultivations

References

See also