Agira
Encyclopedia
Agira is a town
and comune
in the province of Enna
, Sicily
(southern Italy
). It is located in the mid-valley of the River Salso
, 35 km from Enna
. Until 1861 it was called San Filippo d'Argiriò, in honour of its saint, Filippo il Siriaco, or Philip of Agira
.
city of Agyrion ( - Agyrion), or Agyrium, which was ruled by tyrant
s, one of whom, Agyris, was the most powerful ruler in the centre of Sicily. He was a contemporary of Dionysius the Elder
, and with him successfully resisted the Carthaginian
forces led by Mago when they invaded the territory of Agyrium in 392 BC. Agira was not colonised by the Greeks until the Corinth
ian general Timoleon
drove out the last tyrant in 339 BC, settled 10,000 Greeks, according to Diodorus Siculus
, a native of the city, and erected various splendid buildings; no traces remain, as the modern city overlies the ancient one.
Diodorus Siculus credits Heracles
with the foundation of sacred precincts
of Iolaus
and of Geryon
, and the creation of a nearby lake. In the mid fifth century, Agyrium was the first Sicilian city to mint bronze coinage in the Greek fashion.
The Romans
called it Agirium. Under their control it underwent a decline, as a result of the heavy taxation imposed on it. In 1063, it was taken by the Normans
under Count Roger I of Sicily
(Ruggero in Italian
), who defeated the Saracens near the river Salso
. Agira is mentioned by Muhammad al-Idrisi
by the name Shanta Fīlibb (i.e., Saint Philip of Agira
), written as شنت فيلب in the Arabic script.
Agira passed through the hands of the Hohenstaufen
, the Angevines
and Aragon
ese, and in about 1400 it became state property of Sicily. Over the years the town has been influenced by Spanish
and Jewish arrivals, both leaving their architectural mark, the latter a synagogue
.
and two aisle
s, and contains paintings by Olivo Sozzi, the 16th century church of Sant'Antonio da Padova, which also has three naves, the 16th-century church of Sant'Antonio Abate, containing fourteen small paintings of the Venetian school, and the church of San Salvatore, with Gothic
bell-tower.
There is also an Arab–Byzantine castle, later rebuilt by the Hohenstaufen, of which two towers still stand.
Agira is 141 kilometres from Agrigento
, 69 kilometres from Caltanissetta
, 66 kilometres from Catania, 34 kilometres from Enna
(to whose province it belongs), 162 kilometres from Messina, 184 kilometres from Palermo
, 144 kilometres from Ragusa
, 124 kilometres from Siracusa, and 291 kilometres from Trapani
.
The town is a centre of agriculture: productions include cereal
s, almond
s, olive
s, and grape
s. The large areas of pasture
also make possible the breeding of cattle
, sheep, and horses.
The Pozzillo artificial lake lies near the town in a eucalyptus
wood, and provides an important habitat for a large variety of birds, and a way-stage for migrators. Another reserve – the Riserva di Piano della Corte – has been created in the Erei Mountains, and the Mediterranean forest of the Vallone di Piano della Corte is scheduled to become another reserve. The area also contains sulphur springs.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
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 Enna
Province of Enna
Enna is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Enna.It has an area of 2,562 km², and a total population of 177,200 . There are 20 comunes in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Enna...
, 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,...
(southern 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...
). It is located in the mid-valley of the River Salso
Salso River
The River Salso , also known as the Imera Meridionale , is a river of Sicily. It rises in the Madonie Mountains and, traversing the provinces of Enna and Caltanissetta, flows into the Mediterranean at the western end of the Gulf of Gela at the seaport of Licata, in the Province of...
, 35 km from Enna
Enna
Enna is a city and comune located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside...
. Until 1861 it was called San Filippo d'Argiriò, in honour of its saint, Filippo il Siriaco, or Philip of Agira
Philip of Agira
Saint Philip of Agira was an early Christian confessor. There are two parallel stories of this saint which give to possible dates in which this saint lived. Traditionally, through the writings of St...
.
History
Agira stands on the site of the ancient SicelSicels
The Sicels were an Italic people who inhabited ancient Sicily. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, but they rapidly fused into the culture of Magna Graecia.-History:...
city of Agyrion ( - Agyrion), or Agyrium, which was ruled by tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...
s, one of whom, Agyris, was the most powerful ruler in the centre of Sicily. He was a contemporary of Dionysius the Elder
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in what is now Sicily, southern Italy. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Greek colonies...
, and with him successfully resisted the Carthaginian
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
forces led by Mago when they invaded the territory of Agyrium in 392 BC. Agira was not colonised by the Greeks until the Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
ian general Timoleon
Timoleon
Timoleon , son of Timodemus, of Corinth was a Greek statesman and general.As the champion of Greece against Carthage he is closely connected with the history of Sicily, especially Syracuse.-Early life:...
drove out the last tyrant in 339 BC, settled 10,000 Greeks, according to Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
, a native of the city, and erected various splendid buildings; no traces remain, as the modern city overlies the ancient one.
Diodorus Siculus credits Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
with the foundation of sacred precincts
Temenos
Temenos is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, a sanctuary, holy grove or holy precinct: The Pythian race-course is called a temenos, the sacred valley of the Nile is the ...
of Iolaus
Iolaus
In Greek mythology, Iolaus was a Theban divine hero, son of Iphicles, Heracles's brother, and Automedusa.He was famed for being Heracles's nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the Argonauts...
and of Geryon
Geryon
In Greek mythology, Geryon , son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe and grandson of Medusa, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean. A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region with Tartessos in southern...
, and the creation of a nearby lake. In the mid fifth century, Agyrium was the first Sicilian city to mint bronze coinage in the Greek fashion.
The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
called it Agirium. Under their control it underwent a decline, as a result of the heavy taxation imposed on it. In 1063, it was taken by the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
under Count Roger I of Sicily
Roger I of Sicily
Roger I , called Bosso and the Great Count, was the Norman Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was the last great leader of the Norman conquest of southern Italy.-Conquest of Calabria and Sicily:...
(Ruggero in Italian
Italian language
Italian 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...
), who defeated the Saracens near the river Salso
Salso River
The River Salso , also known as the Imera Meridionale , is a river of Sicily. It rises in the Madonie Mountains and, traversing the provinces of Enna and Caltanissetta, flows into the Mediterranean at the western end of the Gulf of Gela at the seaport of Licata, in the Province of...
. Agira is mentioned by Muhammad al-Idrisi
Muhammad al-Idrisi
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti or simply Al Idrisi was a Moroccan Muslim geographer, cartographer, Egyptologist and traveller who lived in Sicily, at the court of King Roger II. Muhammed al-Idrisi was born in Ceuta then belonging to the Almoravid Empire and died in...
by the name Shanta Fīlibb (i.e., Saint Philip of Agira
Philip of Agira
Saint Philip of Agira was an early Christian confessor. There are two parallel stories of this saint which give to possible dates in which this saint lived. Traditionally, through the writings of St...
), written as شنت فيلب in the Arabic script.
Agira passed through the hands of the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
, the Angevines
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
and Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
ese, and in about 1400 it became state property of Sicily. Over the years the town has been influenced by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Jewish arrivals, both leaving their architectural mark, the latter a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
.
Main sights
The main buildings of note are its numerous churches, most of which contain collections of art works. They include the Norman Chiesa Madre ("Mother Church") dedicated to Santa Maria Maggiore, the Norman church of Santa Margherita, which is the largest in the diocese, with thirteen altars, and which dates from the early 13th century (though it has been much changed since then), the church of St Filippo, which has a naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and two aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s, and contains paintings by Olivo Sozzi, the 16th century church of Sant'Antonio da Padova, which also has three naves, the 16th-century church of Sant'Antonio Abate, containing fourteen small paintings of the Venetian school, and the church of San Salvatore, with Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
bell-tower.
There is also an Arab–Byzantine castle, later rebuilt by the Hohenstaufen, of which two towers still stand.
The modern town
The municipality of Agira has 9,004 inhabitants, with a population density of . It covers 163.11 km², and is 650 metres above sea-level.Agira is 141 kilometres from 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...
, 69 kilometres from Caltanissetta
Caltanissetta
Caltanissetta is a city and comune located on the western interior of Sicily, capital of the province of Caltanissetta...
, 66 kilometres from Catania, 34 kilometres from Enna
Enna
Enna is a city and comune located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside...
(to whose province it belongs), 162 kilometres from Messina, 184 kilometres from 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...
, 144 kilometres from Ragusa
Ragusa, Italy
Ragusa is a city and comune in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with around 75,000 inhabitants. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo and Cava Santa Domenica...
, 124 kilometres from Siracusa, and 291 kilometres from Trapani
Trapani
Trapani is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands.-History:...
.
The town is a centre of agriculture: productions include cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s, olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s, and grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s. The large areas of pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
also make possible the breeding of cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, sheep, and horses.
The Pozzillo artificial lake lies near the town in a eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
wood, and provides an important habitat for a large variety of birds, and a way-stage for migrators. Another reserve – the Riserva di Piano della Corte – has been created in the Erei Mountains, and the Mediterranean forest of the Vallone di Piano della Corte is scheduled to become another reserve. The area also contains sulphur springs.
External links
- Provides the public with quick and easy access to information about Agira
- Agira — from La Sicilia in dettaglio — Sicily in full detail
- Gallery of photographs of Agira
- Richard Stillwell, ed. Princeton Encyclopædia of Classical Sites, 1976: "Agyrion (Agira), Sicily"
- History of Agira