Sciacca

Sciacca
—  Comune  —
Comune di Sciacca
Panorama of Sciacca
Coat of arms
Sciacca Location of Sciacca in Italy
Coordinates: 37°30′33″N 13°5′20″E
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Agrigento (AG)
Frazioni	Lazzarino
Government
• Mayor	Vito Bono
Area
• Total	180.98 km2 (69.9 sq mi)
Elevation	60 m (197 ft)
Population (30 June 2009)
• Total	40,894
• Density	226/km2 (585.2/sq mi)
Demonym	Saccensi, Sciacchitani
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	92019
Dialing code	0925
Patron saint	Holy Mary of Soccorso
Saint day	2 February
Website	Official website

Sciacca (Greek: Θέρμαι; Latin: Thermae Selinuntinae, Thermae Selinuntiae, Thermae, Aquae Labrodes and Aquae Labodes), also Schiacca, is a town and comune in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily. It has noteworthy views of the Mediterranean Sea.

History

Thermae was founded in the 5th century BCE by the Greeks, as its name imports, as a thermal spa for Selinunte, whose citizens came there to bathe in the sulphurous springs of Mount San Calogero, which rises up behind the town. We have no account of the existence of a town on the site during the period of the independence of Selinunte, though there is little doubt that the thermal waters would always have attracted some population to the spot. Nor even under the Romans did the place attain to anything like the same importance with the northern Thermae; and there is little doubt that Pliny is mistaken in assigning the rank of a colonia to the southern instead of the northern town of the name. Strabo mentions the waters (τὰ ὕδατα τὰ Σελινούντια); and they are again noticed in the Itineraries under the name of Aquae Labodes or Labrodes.

Sciacca itself owes its origins to the Saracens, who settled there in the 9th century. Although the origins of the town's name have been much debated, it is thought to have come from the Arabic word "xacca" (شاقة), meaning "water". The Saracens built the original walls and laid out the street grid, which was later expanded by the Normans.

A royal city which had remained faithful to Manfred of Sicily during the Angevine invasion, 1268 it was besieged by Charles I of Anjou and surrendered the following year. After the Sicilian Vespers, it established itself as a free commune. During the Aragonese-Angevine wars it was besieged numerous times, after which the Peralta family took possession of it and obtained by the king of Sicily the right to mint coins. In the following centuries the town was at the center of bloody feuds between rival baronial families (the Luna, of Aragonese origin, and the Perollo, of Norman stock), which nearly halved its population. In 1647 the impoverished town was the seat of an anti-Spanish rebellion.

During World War II the Italian Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force) had a base near Sciacca.

Main sights

Sciacca still retains much of its medieval layout, which divided the town into quarters, each laid out on a strip of rock descending toward the sea. Sciacca has several points of interest, including:

• the Cathedral of Maria SS. del Soccorso (12th century, rebuilt in 1685)
• the Castle of the Counts Luna. Of the Old Castle scarce remains can be still seen.
• church of Santa Margherita
• Chiesa del Carmine
• Church of San Michele (1371, rebuilt in the 17th century)
• Church of Santa Maria delle Giummare
• Palazzo Steripinto
• Palazzo Tagliavia (11th century), in Neo-Gothic style
• Palazzo Perollo (15th century)

Culture

Sciacca's festivals include the Carnival, celebrated during the week before the beginning of Lent (February). The highlight of the festival is the parade of bizarre figures mounted on floats, famous throughout Sicily for their gaudy expressions.

Economy

The economy of Sciacca is mainly based on agriculture, fishing and related food processing industry and tourism.

Sister cities

• Salvador de Bahia, since 2001
• Kırşehir, since 2011
• Mustafakemalpaşa, since 2011

People

• Tommaso Fazello, was born in Sciacca. Authored the first printed history of Sicily De Rebus Siculis Decades Duae, published in Palermo in 1558
• Giovanni Antonio Medrano, one of the architects who designed the San Carlo opera house in Naples in 1737, was born in Sciacca.
• Baroque liturgical composer Cataldo Amodei was born at Sciacca around 1650.
• American singer Jon Bon Jovi aka John Bongiovi father's side comes from Sciacca.
• American baseball player Mike Piazza family origins are in Sciacca.
• Johnny Dundee, world featherweight and Super featherweight champion of the 1920s, who immigrated to America after he was born in Sciacca.
• Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, the airplane designer and builder who created the first monoplane in the United States with an enclosed cabin, was born in Sciacca, Italy.
• The Costa family who ran many American underground facilities during the 1920s have origins from Sciacca.

External links

• Guide to Sciacca (Italian)