Fondachelli-Fantina 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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Messina The Metropolitan City of Messina ( it, Città metropolitana di Messina) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Messina. It replaced the Province of Messina and comprises the city of Messin ...

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 ...

. Situated between

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

and Francavilla di Sicilia, in the southern

Peloritani The Peloritani ( Sicilian: , it, Monti Peloritani) are a mountain range of north-eastern Sicily, in southern Italy, extending for some from Capo Peloro to the Nebrodi Mountains. On the north and east they are bordered by the Tyrrhenian ...

mountains, it is above sea level. The community borders the municipalities of

Antillo Antillo ( Sicilian: ''Antiddu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about southwest of Messina. Antillo borders the following municipalities: Cas ...

and

Rodì Milici Rodì Milici ( Sicilian: ''Rudìa Milici'') is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Messina in Sicily. The comune is located about east of Palermo and about west of Messina. Rodì Milici borders the following municipalities: An ...

. The most populated villages are Rubino, Evangelisti, Chiesa, Figheri and Fantina. It is from Messina. La vallata di Fondachelli Fantina, Sicily

Description

Fondachelli-Fantina is a ''

'' (municipality) in the

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

between

and Francavilla di Sicilia, in the southern

mountains. It rises on an inland area and is above sea level, around the bed of the Patrì river, the mythical Longanus river of the ancient times that arises in the valley. The community borders the municipalities of

and

. The main mountains of this valley are Montagna Grande, Rocca Salvatesta, Montagna di Vernà, Pizzo Russa, Rocche di Durante and Pizzo Vento that form also an astronomic calendar where is possible to observe the

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

. It is composed by more than 15 little villages spread on the slopes of

mountains along the Patrì river whose the most populated are Rubino, Evangelisti, Chiesa, Figheri and Fantina. It is 81 km from Catania, from Messina, from Syracuse, and from Palermo. La vallata di Fondachelli Fantina, Sicily

Developed from a number of rural

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

in the territory of

Novara di Sicilia Novara di Sicilia ( Gallo-Italic of Sicily: Nuè; Sicilian: ''Nuvara'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region of Sicily, located about east of Palermo and some southwest of Messina. Novara di ...

, the collective community attained

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

status in 1950 and called itself Fondachelli-Fantina, a name derived from ''Fondaci'' (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

''funduq'' : "stores" or "warehouses") and ''Fantinia'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''infans'': "child"). It is historically important as one of the last Sicilian municipalities where Gallo-Sicilian survives as a spoken

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

making the town a linguistic island.

History

The area now known as Fondachelli-Fantina always has been quite isolated. Even today, the long, winding road connecting the municipality to the Ionian coast can become impassable during the winter. However, this insularity has aided in preserving the Gallo-Sicilian language, a remnant of the period during the Swabian-

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 ...

domination (1061–1266) when people from Northern Italy migrated to the area. The town passed into the hands of the

Palizzi Palizzi () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about southeast of Reggio Calabria. The southernmost point in mainland Italy lies in Palizzi. ...

family, who held it until 1353, when the Gioiemi of Novara took possession. Between 1720 and 1880, the territory endured heavy mining activity. The 26 scattered mines used a great quantity of lumber, destabilized the land and degraded the mountains. Additionally, continuous flooding had devastating consequences. Major floods in 1880, 1951, 1958 and 1973 continued the territorial

degradation Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradatio ...

. However, administrative autonomy from Novara di Sicilia on 20 June 1950 gave Fondachelli-Fantina

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

powers and control of

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

as well as financial means to begin reforestation efforts and build roads, houses and aqueducts.

Culture

As of March 2009, the population of Fondachelli-Fantina was 1,234 with a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 30 inhabitants per square kilometer. Its

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

is based primarily on

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and ra ...

(cattle, pigs, goats and sheep) and the cultivation of grains, dried fruit, wine grapes and wood, the ''Maiorchino'' is the cheese most famous produced in the zone. On 22 June and the second Friday of July each year, the town hosts cattle fairs which are attended by exhibitors from other communities. The town has four schools: one

pre-school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary scho ...

, two

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s, and one secondary school. Community churches (Messina

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

) include S. Maria della Provvidenza and Santi Angeli Custodi ES Giuseppi. The community celebrates 3 unique feast days: the Feast of the

Patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the town Santissimi Angeli Custodi on the second Sunday of July, the feast of Saint Joseph the first Sunday after mid August and the Feast of Madonna della Provvidenza (Our Lady of Providence) on 8 September. A

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

("Monument to the Fallen") is in the

town centre A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...

on the

Piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

santissimi Angeli Custodi, where social and sporting events are held. The Monument to

Padre Pio Francesco Forgione, OFM Cap., better known as Padre Pio and as Saint Pius of Pietrelcina ( it, Pio da Pietrelcina; 25 May 188723 September 1968), was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a ...

is on via XX Giugno 1950.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities and towns in Sicily