Prizzi 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 ...
'' of 5,711 inhabitants 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 ...
Metropolitan City of Palermo, on the island of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. It is located south of the city of
Palermo at an altitude of 1045 m (3,428 ft) above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
on a hill in the upper valley of the River Sosio. Prizzi is surrounded by the ''comuni'' of
Campofelice di Fitalia,
Castronovo di Sicilia
Castronovo di Sicilia ( Sicilian: ''Castrunovu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city ...
,
Lercara Friddi
Lercara Friddi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo.
Founded in 1595 by local feudataries, it is on the slopes of Madore Hill, between the valleys o ...
,
Palazzo Adriano,
Vicari
Vicari is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,997 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics ...
, and the city of
Corleone.
History
Traces have been found of a small
Elymian
The Elymians ( grc-gre, Ἔλυμοι, ''Élymoi''; Latin: ''Elymi'') were an ancient tribal people who inhabited the western part of Sicily during the Bronze Age and Classical antiquity.
Origins
According to Hellanicus of Lesbos, the Elymians ...
settlement, called
Hippana or Hyppana, dating from the 8th-6th centuries BC on the nearby Montagna dei Cavalli. This settlement was later rebuilt in the 4th century BC, by
Hiero I of Syracuse
Hieron I ( el, Ἱέρων Α΄; usually Latinized Hiero) was the son of Deinomenes, the brother of Gelon and tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily from 478 to 467 BC. In succeeding Gelon, he conspired against a third brother, Polyzelos.
Life
During hi ...
, and subsequently inhabited by
Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
,
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
, and
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. Hippana has the highest altitude
Greek theater
Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
known in Sicily. The ancient town of
Comiciana was probably nearby. The town of Prizzi is thought to have been constructed by the refugees of a Roman invasion, but it is better documented to have at least pre-existed the Saracen invasion, when it was controlled by the Byzantines prior to the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
conquest. The name ''Prizzi'' derives from the Greek ''Pyrizo'', meaning "incendiary" as in the context of sending smoke signals, referring to its origin as an important point for fighting off enemy invaders in Sicily. The present town, of
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 ...
origin, was a
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
of Guglielmo Bonello. In 1150, it passed to the
Cistercian Monastery of Sant'Angelo. Between the 13th and 15th centuries, control of the town was disputed by various lords until it finally fell to the Bonanno family, whose fief it was until 1812.
The town is known for its Easter celebration, U Ballu dei Diavoli, or, in Italian, Ballo dei Diavoli.
Ballo dei Diavoli
References
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100522181255/http://www.comune.prizzi.pa.it/paese/tradizioni/pagina_ballo%20diavoli.htm
* :it:Teatro di Hippana
* :it:Prizzi
External links
www.gentracer.com/prizzi.html
Agriturismo e Dintorni - Prizzi
Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Palermo
{{Sicily-geo-stub