Ragusa

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Ragusa
coat of arms
Ragusa (Italy)
Ragusa
Country Italy
region Sicily
Free community consortium Ragusa  (RG)
Local name Rausa
Coordinates 36 ° 55 '  N , 14 ° 43'  E Coordinates: 36 ° 55 '18 "  N , 14 ° 43' 10"  E
height 520  m slm
surface 442.37 km²
Residents 73,409 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 166 inhabitants / km²
Factions Vedi
Post Code 97100
prefix 0932
ISTAT number 088009
Popular name Ragusani
Patron saint San Giovanni Battista and San Giorgio
Website Ragusa
Ragusa Ibla
Ragusa Ibla

Ragusa ( Sicilian Rausa ; Latin Ragusia ) is an Italian municipality and city with 73,409 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) on the island of Sicily and the capital of the Free Municipal Consortium Ragusa . It is one of the late baroque towns in the Val di Noto that was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002 .

Location and dates

Ragusa is located in the Monti Iblei at an altitude of 520 m above sea level and is 92 km from Syracuse and 248 km from Palermo .

The districts ( fractions ) of Ragusa are Ariazza, Bellocozzo San Giacomo, Bocampello, Calafato, Carnesala Gargallo, Castellana, Castiglione, Cava Giumente, Cilone, Conservatore, Costa, Cutalia, Donnafugata, Fargione, Gaddimeli II, Galerme, Gallina, Gelso, Genisi , Gisolfo, Granatello, Imperatore, Magnì, Maltempo, Marchesa Monte Margi, Marina di Ragusa , Menta, Mistretta, Monsovile, Montesano, Nunziata, Palazzello, Palazzola, Pendente, Piombo, Ponte di Modica, Pozzi, Pozzillo, Punta Braccetto, Puntarazzi, Salinella, Salomone, Santa Barbara, Sant'Antonino, Serra Garofalo, Soprano, Torre del Mastro, Trebastoni and Tresauro.

The neighboring municipalities are Chiaramonte Gulfi , Comiso , Giarratana , Modica , Monterosso Almo , Rosolini ( SR ), Santa Croce Camerina , Scicli and Vittoria .

history

The area was already in the 3rd millennium BC. Settled. In 2010, a few kilometers southwest of the city, the remains of a settlement from the Early Bronze Age were discovered, the ceramic finds of which can mostly be attributed to the Castelluccio culture . According to later ancient authors, all of Sicily, including the region around Ragusa, was originally inhabited by the Sicans . From the 13th century Sikeler invaded eastern Sicily. They probably founded the Hybla settlement . In the 6th century BC The Greeks, then the Carthaginians conquered the place. After the conquest of Sicily by the Romans , the city grew into a regional center under the name Hybla Heraia .

From the 6th century it was part of the Byzantine Empire . In August 848 the city was sacked and destroyed by the Arabs after, according to Ibn al-Athīr, the residents made peace with the Arabs and left the city to them. In 868 the Arabs finally conquered the city. During the Middle Ages, Normans , Hohenstaufen and Aragonese ruled one after the other .

In 1693 the city was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake and its past, including medieval traces, was destroyed. As part of the reconstruction, two parts of the city were created, one in the area of ​​the original city and one on a rocky plateau located slightly higher in the west.

In 1927 Ragusa became the capital of the province of the same name.

In 1950 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ragusa was established. The episcopal church is the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista .

coat of arms

Description: In blue a gold-armored black eagle with raised wings under a golden serrated crown with a golden cornucopia in the left muzzle and a rod of mercury in the other. Above the shield is a five-towered mural crown and the sign foot on silver tape, the motto in black capital letters : "CREVIT RAGVSIA HYBLǼ RVINIES"

economy

In 1838, asphalt deposits were discovered in the area around Ragusa , and oil deposits in the middle of the 20th century . Important branches of the economy are the extraction of asphalt, the processing of petroleum, agriculture and the production of Ragusano , a type of cheese typical of the region. Tourism is also playing an increasingly important role. The district of Marina di Ragusa , which lies 25 km southwest of the sea and has developed into a lively holiday resort, contributes to this.

traffic

Ragusa is on the state road 115 , via which a few kilometers further east, near Rosolini , the A18 motorway to Catania and Messina can be reached. An extension of the A18 to Ragusa and on to Gela is planned.

Ragusa is on the Canicattì – Syracuse railway line . Here there is a spiral tunnel between the two train stations Ragusa and Ragusa Ibla to overcome the considerable difference in height between the two train stations. It is one of the few spiral tunnels in the world beneath an urban development. Until 1949 Ragusa was the end point of the narrow-gauge railway line Syracuse – Ragusa .

Comiso Airport , which was opened to international traffic in 2013, is about ten kilometers northwest of Ragusa . There are also a number of smaller general aviation airfields in the Ragusa area , including Giubiliana airfield .

Cityscape

The city center consists of two parts that are separated by a gorge. To the east, on the site of the old town, lies the lower town of Ragusa Ibla with magnificent buildings in the style of the Sicilian baroque from the 18th century. A large number of baroque churches and palaces are located here.

On a hill in the west lies the upper town Ragusa Superiore, which was also rather sober and geometrically laid out in the 18th century . Most of the city's residents live here. The Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista stands here next to the city's administrative buildings .

Two districts of the upper town, which are separated by a gorge, are connected by three bridges. The oldest bridge, Ponte dei Cappuccini or Ponte Vecchio , dates from the first half of the 19th century. It is 114 m long and leads over an old quarry at a height of 40 m.

Surroundings

About 20 km southwest of Ragusa is the Castello di Donnafugata , a palace complex from the 19th century with an internationally known winery of the same name.

25 km south of Ragusa is the district of Marina di Ragusa , which is a popular excursion destination for the Ragusani due to its extensive sandy beaches.

Events

  • The patron saint of Ragusa Ibla is San Giorgio , who is honored with a festival on April 23rd.
  • In Ragusa Superiore, San Giovanni is venerated as the patron saint. With the annual celebrations from August 27th to 29th, the carob harvest will also begin in the region.
  • Award of the poet's prize "Città di Ragusa"

Town twinning

The following cities are twin cities of Ragusa:

Born in Ragusa

literature

  • Eva Gründel, Heinz Tomek: Sicily. 5th edition. DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-7701-3476-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
  2. ^ Francesco Cardinale - Giovanni di Stefano - Milena Gusmano - Saverio Scerra: An Early Bronze Age Settlement near Ragusa. In: Pietro Maria Militello - Hakan Öniz (Ed.): SOMA 2011. Proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Mediterrean Archeology, held at the University of Catania 3-5 March 2011 , Vol. 1, Oxford 2015, pp. 227-231.
  3. ^ Railway Atlas of Italy and Slovenia. Schweers and Wall, Aachen 2010, ISBN 978-3-89494-129-1 , p. 111; Tim Parks: Italy to the fullest. Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-88897-971-2 , pp. 241–244.
  4. ↑ Ragusa website

Web links

Commons : Ragusa  - album with pictures, videos and audio files