Alcamo

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Alcamo
coat of arms
Alcamo (Italy)
Alcamo
Country Italy
region Sicily
Free community consortium Trapani  (TP)
Local name Àrcamu
Coordinates 37 ° 58 ′  N , 12 ° 58 ′  E Coordinates: 37 ° 58 ′ 0 ″  N , 12 ° 58 ′ 0 ″  E
height 256  m slm
surface 130 km²
Residents 45,406 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 349 inhabitants / km²
Post Code 91011
prefix 0924
ISTAT number 081001
Popular name Alcamesi
Patron saint Madonna dei miracoli
Website Alcamo

Alcamo is a town and municipality in the Free Community Consortium Trapani in the region of Sicily in Italy with 45,406 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019).

Location and dates

The city is located 50 km east of Trapani and 66 km southwest of Palermo . The municipality covers an area of ​​130 km². Alcamo is on the SS113 from Palermo to Trapani and has a motorway connection to the A29 and a rail connection. The inhabitants live from agriculture, the wine industry and travertine mining . The seaside resort of Alcamo Marina is located on the approximately 7 km long stretch of beach in the north of the territory of Alcamo, and thus on the Gulf of Castellammare .

The neighboring municipalities are Balestrate ( PA ), Calatafimi Segesta , Camporeale (PA), Castellammare del Golfo , Monreale (PA) and Partinico (PA).

history

In 1340 the Alcamo Castle was built by the Ventimiglia family . From this point on, the city also developed. Before that, there was a station in its place on the Palermo - Syracuse road , which was of Arabic origin and was named Manzil Alqameh.

Attractions

  • Church of San Francesco d'Assisi: built in 1348, has been rebuilt several times since then
  • San Tommaso Church from the 15th century
  • Church of Maria Santissima Assunta: the building originally dates from the 14th century, but the cathedral was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries. The interior of the cathedral is shaped like a cross and three naves. The naves are separated by 14 red marble columns. There are valuable frescoes in the church by Guglielmo Borremans (made between 1735 and 1737). Also worth seeing is an altarpiece by Antonello Gagini .
  • Santa Chiara Church is the Church of the Poor Clares . Inside, two statues of Giacomo Serpottas, Caritas (charity) and Fortitudo (bravery).
  • Sant'Oliva Church in Piazza Ciullo d'Alcamo, the center of the city. In the church there is a statue of St. Oliva and a painting "Liberation of Souls from Purgatory"
  • Alcamo Castle from the 14th century with a diamond-shaped floor plan; was also a prison; today it's a museum.

  • Church of San Francesco d'Assisi

  • San Tommaso Church

  • Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta

  • Altar retable by Gagini from 1519

  • Sant'Oliva church

  • The castle in Alcamo

  • Fontana araba

  • Alcamo Marina Beach

Viticulture at Alcamo

Alcamo is known for the wines grown there.

Personalities

The poet Ciullo d'Alcamo was born here. Among other things, he wrote the poem Rosa fresca aulentissima between 1231 and 1250 , one of the first literary references in Italian . Archbishop and diplomat Salvatore Asta (1915-2004) and football player Antonino Asta (* 1970) also come from Alcamo.

Franca Viola (* 1948), who was born here, became known in 1966 because she refused to marry her rapist. According to the legal situation at the time, the perpetrator would have remained unpunished and the “honor” of the raped woman would have been restored.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
  2. ^ Ettore Ferrari: La Storia di Franca Viola. ilpost.it, January 10, 2018, accessed October 9, 2018 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Alcamo  - collection of images, videos and audio files