Vizzini
Encyclopedia
Vizzini is a town and comune
in the province of Catania
, on the island of Sicily
. It is located 60 km from Catania in the Hyblaean Mountains
, on the most northwesterly slopes of Monte Lauro
.
The commune territory is bounded by the comuni of Buccheri
, Francofonte
, Giarratana
, Licodia Eubea
, Militello in Val di Catania
, Mineo
.
and Cicero
, stood here in a territory that has been inhabited since prehistoric times.
The modern town developed in the Middle Ages
around a now non-extant castle, as a fief of various lords, including the Chiaromontes and the Schittinos, although for many years it was also part of the royal domain.
In 1358, Roland of Sicily
reconquered the area from Vizzini to Avola.
The portal on the left face of the church, in splendid 15th century Gothic-Catalan style, probably came from the old Town Hall, destroyed by the earthquake in 1693
; in the interior there are late 18th century stuccos and a wooden ceiling by Natale Bonaiuto, as well as two paintings (The Martyrdom of St. Laurence and the Madonna delle Mercede) by Filippo Paladini (or Paladino), born in Florence
about 1544. Another painting by Paladino, The Deposition (1607), is in the Chiesa del Convento dei Cappuccini.
Nearby is the Chiesa di Sant'Agata, rebuilt in the 18th century on the site of a previous 15th century building and houses a pipe organ
created around 1770.
The church of San Giovanni Battista is from the 18th century. The stuccos decorating the interior are by Natale Bonaiuto (also mentioned with reference to the Chiesa Madre).
Antonello Gagini
is present in the Chiesa dei Minori Osservanti, with a fine statue of the Madonna and Child (1527).
used Vizzini as the setting for his Cavalleria Rusticana
and Mastro Don Gesualdo, describing places and scenes that are still recognizable (the prickly pears of Cunziria, and in a sloping alley the house of the Trao family).
s, prickly pear
s, vegetable
s, sumac
). Other activities include handmade shoe
s and carpentry
.
of Vizzini Scalo.
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 Catania
Province of Catania
Catania is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania.It has an area of 3,552 km², and a total population of 1,073,881 . There are 58 comunes in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Catania...
, on the island of 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,...
. It is located 60 km from Catania in the Hyblaean Mountains
Hyblaean Mountains
The Hyblaean Mountains are a mountain range in south-eastern Sicily, Italy. They are included in the provinces of Ragusa, Syracuse and Catania, and reaches the highest altitude with Monte Lauro, at 986 m.-Geology:...
, on the most northwesterly slopes of Monte Lauro
Monte Lauro
Mount Lauro is a mountain reaching 986 metres located in south-eastern Sicily belonging to the chain of Hyblaean Mountains, stretching between three provinces of Catania, Ragusa and Siracusa...
.
The commune territory is bounded by the comuni of Buccheri
Buccheri
Buccheri is a town and comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily ....
, Francofonte
Francofonte
Francofonte is a comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy, located about 170 km southeast of Palermo and about 40 km northwest of Syracuse....
, Giarratana
Giarratana
Giarratana is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy....
, Licodia Eubea
Licodia Eubea
Licodia Eubea is a town and comune in the province of Catania, on the island of Sicily. It is bounded by the comuni of Caltagirone, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Giarratana, Grammichele, Mazzarrone, Mineo, Monterosso Almo and Vizzini...
, Militello in Val di Catania
Militello in Val di Catania
-External links:*...
, Mineo
Mineo
Mineo is a town and comune in the Province of Catania, part of the Sicily region in southern Italy. It lies 64 km southwest of Catania, 56 km from Ragusa, 54 km from Gela, and 22 km from Caltagirone. There are approximately 5600 citizens living there.It serves as the center...
.
History
Bidis, a Roman city mentioned by PlinyPliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
and Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, stood here in a territory that has been inhabited since prehistoric times.
The modern town developed in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
around a now non-extant castle, as a fief of various lords, including the Chiaromontes and the Schittinos, although for many years it was also part of the royal domain.
In 1358, Roland of Sicily
Roland of Sicily
Roland was the second-eldest illegitimate son of Frederick II of Sicily by his concubine Sibilla di Sormella. During his father's reign, he lived in the shadows, but he rose to influence in the courts of his half-brother Peter II and his nephews, Louis and Frederick IV, especially as the leader...
reconquered the area from Vizzini to Avola.
Main sights
The Arab layout of the town can be clearly seen passing from Via Verga to Via San Gregorio Magno and proceeding as far as Largo della Matrice, a square with a statue of St. Gregory in the middle and the Chiesa Madre (S. Gregorio Magno) at one side.The portal on the left face of the church, in splendid 15th century Gothic-Catalan style, probably came from the old Town Hall, destroyed by the earthquake in 1693
1693 Sicily earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake refers to a powerful earthquake that struck parts of southern Italy, notably Sicily, Calabria and Malta on January 11, 1693 around 9 pm local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9th...
; in the interior there are late 18th century stuccos and a wooden ceiling by Natale Bonaiuto, as well as two paintings (The Martyrdom of St. Laurence and the Madonna delle Mercede) by Filippo Paladini (or Paladino), born in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
about 1544. Another painting by Paladino, The Deposition (1607), is in the Chiesa del Convento dei Cappuccini.
Nearby is the Chiesa di Sant'Agata, rebuilt in the 18th century on the site of a previous 15th century building and houses a pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
created around 1770.
The church of San Giovanni Battista is from the 18th century. The stuccos decorating the interior are by Natale Bonaiuto (also mentioned with reference to the Chiesa Madre).
Antonello Gagini
Antonello Gagini
Antonello Gagini was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, mainly active in Sicily and Calabria.Antonello was a member of a family of sculptors and artisans, originally from Northern Italy, but active throughout Italy, including Genoa, Florence, and Rome. The family includes his father, Domenico...
is present in the Chiesa dei Minori Osservanti, with a fine statue of the Madonna and Child (1527).
Religious buildings
- Chiesa dello Spirito Santo
- Chiesa di S. Maria di Gesù
- Chiesa di S. Vito
- Chiesa S. Annunziata
- Chiesa di S. Francesco di Paola
- Chiesa di S. Maria del Pericolo
- Chiesa S. Sebastiano
- Chiesa S. Teresa.
- Chiesa dei Minori Osservanti
- Chiesa di Sant'Agata
- Chiesa del Convento dei Cappuccini
- Monastero S. Maria dei Greci
- Santa Lucia
Palaces and other buildings
- Palazzo di Citta (early 19th century)
- Palazzo Verga (family of the writer)(18th century)
- Palazzo di città (municipio)(Town Hall Building)
- Palazzo Cannizzaro
- Palazzo Passanisi
- Palazzo Cafici
- Palazzo La Gurna
- Palazzo Trao
- Palazzo Gandolfo Maggiore
Culture
The writer Giovanni VergaGiovanni Verga
Giovanni Carmelo Verga was an Italian realist writer, best known for his depictions of life in Sicily, and especially for the short story "Cavalleria Rusticana" and the novel I Malavoglia .-Life and career:The first son of Giovanni Battista Catalano Verga and Caterina Di Mauro,...
used Vizzini as the setting for his Cavalleria Rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
and Mastro Don Gesualdo, describing places and scenes that are still recognizable (the prickly pears of Cunziria, and in a sloping alley the house of the Trao family).
Notable inhabitants
- Giovanni VergaGiovanni VergaGiovanni Carmelo Verga was an Italian realist writer, best known for his depictions of life in Sicily, and especially for the short story "Cavalleria Rusticana" and the novel I Malavoglia .-Life and career:The first son of Giovanni Battista Catalano Verga and Caterina Di Mauro,...
(1840–1922), Italian realist writer. - Lucio Marineo Siculo (1444–1533). Humanists Scholar at the University of Salamanca, Spain, teacher of translating ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
loveLoveLove is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
poetryPoetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, Latin, and GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
lyrics into Spanish. Lived in the court of the Spanish kings Ferdinand and Isabel where he taught Joan Boscà i Almogàver.
Economy
The economy of the commune is mainly agricultural (cerealCereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, prickly pear
Opuntia
Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
s, vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s, sumac
Sumac
Sumac is any one of approximately 250 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in Africa and North America....
). Other activities include handmade shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
s and carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
.
Transportation
The railway station Vizzini-Licodia is situated 6 km outside the city in the frazioneFrazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Vizzini Scalo.
Events
- Procession of "Sorrows" - Good Friday
- "A Cugnunta" - Easter Sunday
- "Ricotta and Cheese Festival" - 23rd, 24th and 25 April
- Festival of San Giuseppe - 19 April
- "Festival of Taste and Odours" - 2 June
- Festival of San Giovanni Battista - 28 and 29 August
- Events VerghianeGiovanni VergaGiovanni Carmelo Verga was an Italian realist writer, best known for his depictions of life in Sicily, and especially for the short story "Cavalleria Rusticana" and the novel I Malavoglia .-Life and career:The first son of Giovanni Battista Catalano Verga and Caterina Di Mauro,...
- July / August - Festival of the Patron San Gregorio Magno - 2 and 3 September
- "Rocksticana" - Rock music festival for emerging groups - September
- Traditional "Festival of the Dead" - 30 / 31 October and 1 November
- "Living Nativity" - December
See also
- House of Siracusa
- Allied invasion of SicilyAllied invasion of SicilyThe Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
- during the Second World War Vizzini was captured on the 14th July 1943.