Comiso
Encyclopedia
Comiso is an Italian
municipality in the Province of Ragusa
in Sicily
.
in the South of Sicily. The main productive sectors are agriculture (wine and vegetables) and trades, including smithery, cabinet making and marble work.
Neighboring communities are: Chiaramonte Gulfi
, Ragusa and Vittoria.
.
Under the Byzantines a new borough began to grow on Comiso's present site around the monasteries of St. Nicolò and Saint Blaise, expanding further under the later Norman and Aragonese domination of Sicily. It was later a fief of the Chiaromonte
, Cabrera
and Naselli families: the latter, counts of the city from 1571, boosted the economy of the city and built new district outside the ancient walls.
Comiso was devastated by the 1693 earthquake
and rebuilt on the same spot as the old ruins in the Sicilian Baroque
style.
The United States Air Force deployed Ground Launched cruise missile
s (GLCM) to Comiso Air Base in June 1983. The missiles were eventually dismantled after the Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed by the former Soviet Union and the United States on 8 December 1987. The last 16 GLCMs left Comiso Air Base in 1991.
line. The train journey to Ragusa is 30 minutes, to Syracuse 2 hours 30 minutes, and to Licata 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Comiso Airport
is located only 5 km north of the town and it should re-open in 2009.
The main roads serving Comiso are the SS.115 (Sud Occidentale Sicula) and the SS.514 (di Chiaramonte).
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...
municipality 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:...
in 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,...
.
Geography
Comiso consists of three boroughs: Comiso, Pedalino, and Quaglio. It lies some 22 km west 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...
in the South of Sicily. The main productive sectors are agriculture (wine and vegetables) and trades, including smithery, cabinet making and marble work.
Neighboring communities are: Chiaramonte Gulfi
Chiaramonte Gulfi
Chiaramonte Gulfi is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicilia, Italy. As of 2007 Chiaramonte Gulfi had an estimated population of 8,035.-Geography:...
, Ragusa and Vittoria.
History
Comiso has in the past been incorrectly identified with the ancient Greek colony of CasmeneCasmene
Casmene was an ancient Greek colony located on the Hyblaean Mountains, founded in 644 BC by the Syracusans at a strategic position for the control of central Sicily...
.
Under the Byzantines a new borough began to grow on Comiso's present site around the monasteries of St. Nicolò and Saint Blaise, expanding further under the later Norman and Aragonese domination of Sicily. It was later a fief of the Chiaromonte
Chiaromonte
Chiaromonte is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata....
, Cabrera
Cabrera
Cabrera means goatherd in Spanish and Catalan. It may refer to:Places:* Cabrera, Balearic Islands* Cabrera, a town in the northeast of the Dominican Republic* Cabrera, Cundinamarca, a town in Colombia* Cabrera, Santander, a town in Colombia...
and Naselli families: the latter, counts of the city from 1571, boosted the economy of the city and built new district outside the ancient walls.
Comiso was devastated by the 1693 earthquake
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 rebuilt on the same spot as the old ruins in the Sicilian Baroque
Sicilian Baroque
Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture that took hold on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the 17th and 18th centuries...
style.
The United States Air Force deployed Ground Launched cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
s (GLCM) to Comiso Air Base in June 1983. The missiles were eventually dismantled after the Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed by the former Soviet Union and the United States on 8 December 1987. The last 16 GLCMs left Comiso Air Base in 1991.
Main sights
- Hot Springs, first constructed during the Roman era, with remnants of mosaics dating from the 2nd century CE.
- Mother Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, from the 15th century, greatly damaged by the earthquake of 1693. It has a nave and two aisles, with rich internal decorations dating from the 17th century. The high altar has a painting representing the Nativity of the Virgin, attributed to Carlo MarattaCarlo MarattaCarlo Maratta or Maratti was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition stemming from Raphael, he was not exempt from the influence of Baroque painting...
. - Church of San Filippo Neri (16th century), with the annexed Oratory.
- Church of San Francesco dell’ImmacolataFrancis of AssisiSaint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
, built in the 13th century, with a quadrangular cloisterCloisterA cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
was added in the 15th century. The church houses the burial chapel of the Naselli barons, with a funerary monument of Baldassarre II Nasellil attributed to Antonello GaginiAntonello GaginiAntonello 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...
. - The Neoclassicist Church of the AnnunziataAnnunciationThe Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
(16th century), rebuilt from 1772 to 1773 when a baroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
façadeFacadeA facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
was added. The interior has precious artworks dating from the 15th century onwards, as well as a marble font by Mario RutelliMario RutelliMario Rutelli was an Italian sculptor. Studying at the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo and then in Rome under Giulio Monteverde, his masterwork is the "fontana delle Naiadi" in piazza dell'Esedra in Rome, which Benito Mussolini called "exaltation of eternal youth, the capital's first salute to...
(1912). - Castello Naselli, originally an octagonal ByzantineByzantiumByzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
fortress renovated in the 14th century. - Peace PagodaPeace PagodaA Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii , a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order...
: on 24 May 1998, the Reverend Gyosho Morishita of the Nipponzan-MyōhōjiNipponzan-MyohojiNipponzan Myōhōji , founded in 1917 by Nichidatsu Fujii, is a new religious movement that emerged from the Nichiren sect of Japanese Buddhism....
Buddhist Order dedicated a stupaStupaA stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
at Comiso, near the NATO base.
Notable people
- Salvatore AdamoSalvatore AdamoSalvatore, Knight Adamo, simply known as Adamo is a Belgian – Italian composer and singer of ballads, mainly in French, but also in other languages such as German, Italian and Spanish. He had commercial success during the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, but...
- Gesualdo BufalinoGesualdo BufalinoGesualdo Bufalino , was an Italian writer.Gesualdo Bufalino was born in Comiso, Sicily. He studied literature and was, for most of his life a high-school professor in his hometown...
- Salvatore FiumeSalvatore FiumeSalvatore Fiume was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect, writer and stage designer. His works are kept in some of the most important museums in the world, among which the Vatican Museums, the Hermitage of Saint Petersburg, the Museum of Modern Art of New York, the Pushkin Museum of Moscow and...
- Giuseppe Bellio (Italian-American Mafioso)
Transportation
Comiso is connected to the nearby towns and cities by bus service and has a train station, which lies on the Syracuse - LicataLicata
Licata is a city and comune located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River , about midway between Agrigento and Gela...
line. The train journey to Ragusa is 30 minutes, to Syracuse 2 hours 30 minutes, and to Licata 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Comiso Airport
Comiso Airport
Comiso Airport , also known as Vincenzo Magliocco Airport is located in the Sicilian province of Ragusa, 5 km from Comiso and 15 km from Ragusa. It changed from military to civil use during 2005-2008...
is located only 5 km north of the town and it should re-open in 2009.
The main roads serving Comiso are the SS.115 (Sud Occidentale Sicula) and the SS.514 (di Chiaramonte).
External links
- Article at ragusa.net
- Photographs and descriptions of some Sicilian Baroque churches - scroll down for Comiso