Caltavuturo is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the Province of Palermo

Province of Palermo

The Province of Palermo is a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. The Province of Palermo has 82 comuni , 1,239,272 inhabitants, and is 4,992 km² .-External links:...

, Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The neighboring comunes are Polizzi Generosa

Polizzi Generosa

Polizzi Generosa is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo on the island of Sicily, southern Italy...

, Scillato

Scillato

Scillato is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 60 km southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 671 and an area of 30.8 km²....

 and Sclafani Bagni

Sclafani Bagni

Sclafani Bagni is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 50 km southeast of Palermo....

.

History

According to many scholars, the name and origin of the town are traced back to Arab rule (the name derives from the Arabic word Qal'at Abi l-Thawr (stronghold of Abu Thawr), named after a Muslim leader that controlled the area. Others instead maintain that the name derives from the Arabic word "kala" (rock) and the Sicilian "vuturu" (vulture) so going to take the meaning of "Rock of vultures."

The town was the site of the so-called Caltavuturo massacre

Caltavuturo massacre

The Caltavuturo massacre took place on January 20, 1893, in Caltavuturo in the Province of Palermo , when during the celebration of Saint Sebastian, some 500 peasants returning from the symbolic occupation of 250 hectares of communal land were dispersed by soldiers and policemen, killing 13 and...

on January 20, 1893, when local authorities killed 13 and wounded 21 peasants that had occupied communal land that they claimed was theirs.