Cianciana
Encyclopedia
Cianciana is a comune
(municipality) in the Province of Agrigento
in the Italian
region Sicily
, located in the middle valley of the Platani
river, about 70 km south of Palermo
and about 25 km northwest of Agrigento
. The Monte Cammarata (1,579 m), part of the Monti Sicani
chain, is nearby.
Cianciana borders the following municipalities: Alessandria della Rocca
, Bivona
, Cattolica Eraclea
, Ribera, Sant'Angelo Muxaro
.
.
Cianciana itself was founded on October 4, 1646 as Sant'Antonio di Cianciana, under the aegis of the Joppolo feudal family. In 1713 it had 2,303 inhabitants.
The town was featured on the UK Channel 4 show "Location". Within the town there has been an increase in British and a growing multinational population buying homes.
It is becoming a very popular town for expatriots with a growing number moving there permanently.
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:...
(municipality) in the Province of Agrigento
Province of Agrigento
Agrigento is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. It has an area of 3,042 km², and a total population of 454,370...
in the Italian
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...
region 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,...
, located in the middle valley of the Platani
Platani
Platani , known in ancient times as Alico is a river in southern Sicily, Italy. It is the fifth longest in the island after Imera Meridionale, Simeto, Belice and Dittaino, with a course of 103 km, and the third for drainage basin with 1,785 km², after the Simeto and Imera Meridionale...
river, about 70 km south of Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
and about 25 km northwest of Agrigento
Agrigento
Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
. The Monte Cammarata (1,579 m), part of the Monti Sicani
Monti Sicani
The Monti Sicani are a mountain chain in the central-southern Sicily, southern Italy, included between the Agrigento and Palermo. The name also indicates a series of comuni lying in the area....
chain, is nearby.
Cianciana borders the following municipalities: Alessandria della Rocca
Alessandria della Rocca
Alessandria della Rocca is a comune and small agricultural town located in west central Sicily in the northern part of the Province of Agrigento, in Italy. Many of the town's inhabitants emigrated to the United States, particularly Tampa, Florida, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
, Bivona
Bivona
Bivona is an Italian comune in the Province of Agrigento, Sicily.-Geography:Bivona is located at the feet of the Monti Sicani, in the mainland of Agrigento, on the boundary with the province of Palermo...
, Cattolica Eraclea
Cattolica Eraclea
Cattolica Eraclea is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 80 km south of Palermo and about 20 km northwest of Agrigento nearby the Platani river valley....
, Ribera, Sant'Angelo Muxaro
Sant'Angelo Muxaro
Sant'Angelo Muxaro is an Arbëresh comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 70 km south of Palermo and about 20 km north of Agrigento...
.
History
According to local chronicles, a town known as La Ferla existed in the area in 1269. This was likely destroyed by an earthquake. Archaeological excavations have found traces of Roman temples and other constructions, including a "castle" called Casaletto di Chincana, whence the name given to the area in the feudal era of the Kingdom of SicilyKingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
.
Cianciana itself was founded on October 4, 1646 as Sant'Antonio di Cianciana, under the aegis of the Joppolo feudal family. In 1713 it had 2,303 inhabitants.
The town was featured on the UK Channel 4 show "Location". Within the town there has been an increase in British and a growing multinational population buying homes.
It is becoming a very popular town for expatriots with a growing number moving there permanently.
Monuments and places of interest
Cianciana and its territory, contains valuable evidence of its past and numerous places of interest as well as an artistic nature.Religious Architecture
There are several building for Catholic worship. The two buildings below no longer exist.- Church of the Blessed Sacrament (fifteenth century). It was built between 1584 and 1608 in the feud between the current Cianciana C.so Vittorio Emanuele and Via Fidanza. After the construction of the Mother Church, it was used as a hall of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Today the original building no longer exists, but a new one is home to the Oratory Youth Gerlando Don King.
- Church of San Gaetano (eighteenth century). It was built in the eighteenth century by the efforts of Father Felix Vincent Sedita near Mount Calvary. The church was demolished more than a century ago.
Churches
- Holy Trinity Mother Church (17th century). The church was built by Baron Jerome Ficarra in 1640 and completed by the Joppa family. Originally it had a nave and in 1823 two aisles were added. The vault of the nave was frescoed by the painter Caramel De Simone in 1839.nside there are, among others, two works of art: the statue of St. Anthony of Padua, the famous sculptor Jerome Bagnasco and the statue of marble of the Madonna Free Sick of school Gagini. Attached to the church is the Chapel of the Blessed Lady of Sorrows and Holy Cross, built in 1741 , which houses a large painting of Father Fedele Tirrito, The Deposition.
- Carmine Church ( XVIII century ). The church has a small nave, with a facade that features a triple lancet window placed above the portal. The apseApseIn architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
is decorated with small floral stucco and fresco painters of Galeoto and Farruggia . - Purgatory Church (18th century). The church is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory and located in the town centre next to the Clock Tower. It was built in 1716 . The building of neoclassical style, is characterised by a portal in the limestone above which contains a fake rose painting. It houses a valuable statue of the Risen Christ School of Bagnasco.
- St. Anthony Church (17th century). The church was built by Prince Joppa was given to the Friars Minor, was opened for worship in 1866. It has adjoining rooms for a convent. The building is rectangular, has a single nave ending in an apse. The construction can be described as an example of Sicilian Baroque. The Church contains, in addition to fine wooden statues, a painting of St. Anthony of Padua, painted on wood and a large painting representing the Madonna apparel painted by Accursio Tower. In 1962, after nearly a century of shabby neglect, the church was reopened and erected as a parish.