Chiaramonte Gulfi
Encyclopedia
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 Ragusa
Province of Ragusa
The Province of Ragusa is a province in the autonomous region of Sicily in Italy, located in the south-east of the island. Its capital is the city of Ragusa, which is the most southerly provincial capital in Italy.-Geography:...
, Sicilia, 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...
. As of 2007 Chiaramonte Gulfi had an estimated population of 8,035.
Geography
Chiaramonte Gulfi is located on a hill-top 15 km north of RagusaRagusa, 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...
at an altitude of 668 m above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. The highest point is on Monte Arcibessi
Monte Arcibessi
Monte Arcibessi is a mountain located in the Sicilian province of Ragusa and is one of the highest peaks in the Hyblaen Mountain chain. It stretches between the Chiaramonte Gulfi and Ragusa communes...
at 907 m.
The town is also called Balcony of Sicily
Balcony of Sicily
Balcony of Sicily refers to the Sicilian town of Chiaramonte Gulfi in the province of Ragusa. The town was given this nickname for its panoramic position, with views over the Valley of the Ippari and its towns and all the way to the Mediterranean sea if looking south, as far as Mount Etna in...
for its panoramic position, with views over the Valley of the Ippari
Ippari
The Ippari is a 28km long river located in the province of Ragusa in south-eastern Sicily.The river rises in the Mount Serra Brugio area of the Hyblaean Mountains, just below Chiaramonte Gulfi at a height of about 800m a.s.l. and "drains" into the Mediterranean Sea south of the fishing town of...
and its towns (Comiso
Comiso
Comiso is an Italian municipality in the Province of Ragusa in Sicily.-Geography:Comiso consists of three boroughs: Comiso, Pedalino, and Quaglio. It lies some 22 km west of Ragusa in the South of Sicily...
, Vittoria, Acate
Acate
Acate is a small town and comune in the south of Sicily, Italy, part of the province of Ragusa. It is located in the Dirillo River valley, 34 kilometers from Ragusa....
) and all the way to the Mediterranean sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
if looking south, as far as Mount Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently standing high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m higher than it was in 1981.. It is the highest mountain in...
in direction north and to the Erean Mountains
Erean Mountains
The Erean Mountains are a mountain chain in central Sicily, southern Italy, mostly located in the central and northern areas of the province of Enna. The highest peak is the Monte Altesina, at 1,192 m over the sea level....
with Caltagirone
Caltagirone
Caltagirone is a town and comune in the province of Catania, on the island of Sicily, about 70 km southwest of Catania. It is bounded by the comuni of Acate, Gela, Grammichele, Licodia Eubea, Mazzarino, Mazzarrone, Mineo, Mirabella Imbaccari, Niscemi, Piazza Armerina, San Michele di...
if looking west.
History
In the area numerous archeological sites from the Bronze ageBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and Iron age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
have been found, as well as ruins dating to the Greek arcaic era
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Hellenistic era
Hellenistic Greece
In the context of Ancient Greek art, architecture, and culture, Hellenistic Greece corresponds to the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek heartlands by Rome in 146 BC...
. Also Roman
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....
, Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and medieval testimonies can be found.
Syracuse, Italy
Syracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in...
in the 7th century BC with the name of Akrillai
Akrillai
Akrillai was an ancient Greek colony located in the modern province of Ragusa where theSicilian town of Chiaramonte Gulfi stands today. The ruins of the old colony can be found in the contrada Piano del Conte-Morana and Piano Grillo...
. Destroyed a first time by the Carthaginians
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...
in 406 BC, it was rebuilt during the Timoleonic era
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:...
. In 213 BC Akrillai was the location of battle in which the Syracusan army, led by Hippokrates, was defeated by the Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
army led by the Consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
. Thenceforth the city of Akrillai was part of the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
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,...
, its name being changed to Acrillae.
The ancient town was destroyed a second time by the Arabs of the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Asad ibn al-Furat
Asad ibn al-Furat
Asad ibn al-Furat was a jurist and theologian in Ifriqiya, who began the Muslim conquest of Sicily.His family, originally from Harran in Mesopotamia, emigrated with him to Ifriqiya. Asad studied in Medina with Malik ibn Anas, the founder of the Malikite school, and in Kufa with a disciple of Abu...
in 827 AD, and the name Acrillae disappeared. The rebuilt centre was known by the Arab name of Gulfi, which means "pleasurable place". In 1299 Gulfi was besieged and captured by Roger de Lauria for 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...
during the War of the Vesper; Manfredi Chiaramonte
Manfredi Chiaramonte
Manfredi III Chiaramonte was a Sicilian nobleman.Of French origins, he was given the County of Modica, then one of the most powerful fiefs in the Kingdom of Sicily, in 1377. He was also made lord of Trapani, Agrigento, Bivona, Licata, Castronovo, Lentini, Palma di Montechiaro and Mussomeli, where...
, who had been named Count of Modica by the Aragonese King Frederick III
Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick II was the regent and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso and James...
, moved the survivors to an upper location, called Baglio, which he fortified and protected with a castle.
In 1593 the town had grown outside the walls and had 5,711 inhabitants. It was nearly entirely destroyed by an 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...
, and was subsequently rebuilt.
Main sights
- Northern Gate or Arco dell'Annunziata, dating to the 14th century.
- Basilica of Santa Maria la Nova, in the main square of the town.
- Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary of Gulfi, located just south of Chiaramonte.
- Church of Santo Vito, on the southern part.
- Church of San John the Baptist, on the highest point of the town.
- Villa comunale, the public gardens of Chiaramonte with a balcony with a panoramic view.
Economy
The local economy is based on agriculture, mainly olives, vineyards, vegetables, almonds and the raising of pigs and cattle. The area of Chiaramonte is also famous for its excellent olive oilOlive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
that gained the Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
.