Ciminna is a Sicilian city in the

Metropolitan City of Palermo The Metropolitan City of Palermo (; ) is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. It replaced the province of Palermo and comprises the city of Palermo and 82 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). It has 1,194,439 in ...

, located approximately southeast of its capital,

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , 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 province. The ...

. The city's economy is derived mainly from

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and traditional crafts. The artist and Franciscan priest Pasquale Sarullo was born in Ciminna.

History

Its ancient history shows evidence of

Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

and

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

settlements as well as

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

and Norman rule. There are Greek ruins overlooking the town which may be a temple to Demeter (Mother Earth), dating back to the time before Jesus. The family of

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player Anthony Rizzo was originally from Ciminna, as were the maternal grandparents of American director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

Culture

The mountaintop city's vibrant culture is centered on its annual festivals and religious processions. These include the ancient La Festa del SS. Crocifisso (Feast of the Holy Crucifix), for one week culminating on the Sunday and Monday of the first weekend of May (held every year since 1651); and the Feast of San Vito, patron saint of the city, held in early September. Other processions and festivals include the Feast of San Sebastian (January 20); Il Carnevale di Ciminna (Carnival similar to Mardi Gras); The Feast of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph, March 16–19); Riti della Passione: La Settimana Santa a Ciminna (The Rites of the Passion & Holy Week before Easter); U Prucettu d'ì Malati (April 19); the Feast of San Francesco di Paola (April 22–26) 2009; The Solemn Feast of the Body of God (Solennità del Corpus Domini (third week of May); The Feast of Mary of the Rosary (Maria SS. del Rosario, last Sunday of September); The Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the "Triumph" procession (Maria SS. Immacolata e "U Triunfu", Dec. 8 and the Saturday night following). In 1963,

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

chose Ciminna as the backdrop to the film '' The Leopard'' (Il Gattopardo, by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa) which starred

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with hi ...

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...

and

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938), known as Claudia Cardinale (), is an Italian actress. Born and raised in La Goulette, a neighbourhood of Tunis, Cardinale won the "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia" competition ...

References

Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Palermo {{Sicily-geo-stub