MODICA |
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“Modica. Noble, opulent and populated city, seat of the ancient and vast County”.
This 18th century description by historian and clergyman Vito Amore elegantly summarizes the political, economical and cultural importance of this city whose history is rooted in remote ages and events. Historical sources maintain that a town called Motyca, hereabouts, was inhabited by prehistoric peoples, called Sikels, around the 7th century BC., at the time of the Greek Colonization of Sicily; the historian Mario Carrafa, in the 18th century, told of Greek coins discovered the area, bearing the inscription Motayon. Traces of a Roman settlement are clearer, it being perhaps a Roman Città Decumana (that is, liable for tax). Clearer signs were left by the Arabs who conquered a Castle in Mudiqah in 845. The city yet changed its name to Motica, Motuca and Mohac. The Normans, led by Roger of Hauteville, who had driven Arabians from Sicily, took it in the 11th century. He, lately known as The Norman and devoted to St. George, established the cult of this Saint who is now Modica’s patron saint... :: more :: |
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DINTORNI |
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NOTO
In a region populated by olive and almond trees, Noto sits on a plateau dominating the valley of the Asinaro and its citrus plantations. This tiny Baroque jewel endowed with an opulent beauty is the result of a single tragic event: the earthquake of 1693, that, despite bringing death and destruction to this part of Sicily, also sparked a huge effort to rebuild. Previously, the town that stood some 9-10km away (see below Noto Antica) had its origins way back in Antiquity. lt witnessed the birth of Ducetius who, in the 5C, made the Greeks quake in their shoes for having incited the Siculi against his Sicilian nationalist movement. The 1693 earthquake completely destroyed the old town. A broader and less vulnerable site was chosen for the new town, one that might accommodate a straightforward, linear town plan, with intersections at right angles and wide, parallel streets in accordance with the new Baroque taste. Three of the main streets run on an east to west axis, so that they might always be bathed in sunshine...
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PIAZZA ARMERINA
Piazza Armerina is rather overshadowed by the fabulous Roman villa of Casale, yet its attractive historic centre, clustered around a Baroque cathedral, is worthy of interest in its own right.
The town comes to life on 13 and 14 August when the townsfolk don medieval garb in order to re-enact the arrival of the Gran Conte Ruggero d’Altavilla and his troops.
The palio and its legend – It all stems from locals’ admiration for Great Count Roger; In those days, the town was held by the Saracens, the infidels, so the Norman advance in Sicily was considered as a kind of holy war. Very soon, the inhabitants of Piazza rose in revolt acclaiming Roger Guiscard de Hauteville (known in Italy as Ruggero d’Altavilla) as their leader. On arrival, the paid mercenary/condottiere gave the town a banner which earned great admiration from the faithful. This would be furled and put away until the mid-1300’s, when it was recovered and borne with great ceremony to the town church. As if by a miracle, a plague which was then decimating the town, suddenly died out and the banner became a cult object. According to tradition, the standard in question is the one bearing the Madonna delle Vittorie now in the cathedral...
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