Porto Empedocle ( scn, 'a Marina) is a town and ''
comune'' in Italy on the coast of the
Strait of Sicily, administratively part of 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 ...
. It was named after
Empedocles, a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of the city of
Akragas
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 ...
(present-day
Agrigento), in his day a
Greek colony in Sicily. The primary industries of Porto Empedocle are
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, ironworking,
pharmaceuticals and rock salt refining.
Physical geography
Climate
Porto Empedocle is the second ''comune'' with the lowest amount of
degree days in Italy. It is in the climatic zone A of the .
History
Born as a port zone in the old Girgenti, today called
Agrigento, under the name of Marina di Girgenti (seashore of Girgenti), since in the 15th century it was the main cereal trading centre of the region. From 1549 to 1554, by order of the viceroy Vega, Torre del caricatore of Girgenti, already known during the ancient times (as it probably already existed before the Angevin period), was restored. It had been built to protect against the
Saracen pirates, together with the whole system of the
Coastal towers of Sicily.
The tower was later again restored by
Charles III with the help of Bishop . This restoration was completed only in 1763. In 1853, during the government of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies the town obtained
independence by becoming chief town of the decurionato under the name of Molo di Girgenti. Then, in 1863, the town changed its name into Porto Empedocle in memory of the Agrigentine philosopher
Empedocles.
In 2003, the town changed its official denomination to Porto Empedocle Vigata, after the name of the fictional town where the novels by
Andrea Camilleri, Italian writer and native of the town, about
detective Inspector Montalbano are placed. However, the decision was revoked in 2009.
The main
church is Parrocchia Maria SS. del Buon Consiglio, which is located in the center of the town. The
marl Scala dei Turchi is located nearby, on the coast of
Realmonte.
References
External links
"Porto Empedocle becomes Vigata" Repubblica.it
"Parrocchia Maria SS.del Buon Consiglio"
Cities and towns in Sicily
Coastal towns in Sicily
Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy
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