Sferracavallo

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Coordinates: 38 ° 12 '  N , 13 ° 17'  E

Sferracavallo fishing port

Sferracavallo ( Sicilian : Sferracavaddu ) is a suburb ( borgata ) of Palermo on the north coast of Sicily . It belongs to the Circoscrizione Tommaso Natale - Sferracavallo and is 12 km from the city center on the SS 113 Settentrionale Sicula .

geography

The fishing village is located on the bay of Sferracavallo northwest of Palermo, between Monte Gallo on the eastern side and Monte Billiemi in the west.

Parts of the place near the small peninsula Punta Barcarello on the eastern edge of the town belong to the environmental zone C (slightly protected area) of the Riserva naturale orientata Capo Gallo . At the Punta di Barcarello there is the western access to Zone B (middle protected area) of this nature reserve .

history

Bone finds and scratched drawings from the surrounding grottos show that people were settled in this area as early as the Stone Age 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. For modern times, written sources date a settlement of people around the year 1350 on the eastern edge of the place. They were mostly fishermen, but they also grew wine , myrtle and sumac spices .

To protect against piracy , two watchtowers were built in the fifteenth century: one in 1417 on the tonnara of Punta Matese, another unknown construction date on Monte Billiemi. The latter had to be demolished in the 1960s for the construction of the A29 motorway to the nearby Falcone Borsellino Palermo Airport .

origin of the name

On a map by Battista Agnese from 1553, the place is still referred to as Marsaldino . This goes back to the Arab geographer Rogers II , al-Idrisi , who lists a number of landing sites west of Palermo. Interdisciplinary studies have shown that Sferracavallo is the Marsà aṭ-ṭīn (slate port) called by Idrisi.

In terms of folk etymology, today's place name Sferracavallo is traced back to the road that connected the northwestern part of the island with Palermo and led through the town. This street was in the 17th and 18th centuries. Century got so bad that the horses of the travelers coming from Palermo were stripped of their horseshoes ( sferrare un cavallo "take the horseshoes off a horse"). However, until the 20th century, the donkey was the main load, train and mount animal on the island of Sicily; the toponym "Sferra Cavallo" is also attested in Fazellus 1538 and Camilliani 1598. In the form of "Isferracavallu" the name can already be found in notarial files from 1456.

Road links

At the same time, a via publica (public road) is mentioned, which led from Palermo there and on towards Carini . To what extent this is about the course of the ancient Via Valeria , which connected the places on the north coast of Sicily, has not yet been archaeologically investigated. Public transport routes are, however, already mentioned in documents from the beginning of the Norman rule for this area. A trazzera (mule track; Sicilian name for side paths) over the ridge of Monte Billiemi to Criullas , where it met the main road again, is partially preserved.

In the middle of the 18th century the main street was extended and renewed. In honor of the then viceroy Eustachio di Laviefuille, it was named "Via Eustachia".

Culture and sights

Since the 19th century, the place has been used by Palermitans as a summer resort in the hot months. Some of the Art Nouveau villas ( villini Liberty ) built at that time are still preserved.

The Palermo Youth Hostel (IYHF) is located on Monte Billiemi on the west side of the bay. The place also has a campsite.

economy

Fishing is still an important source of income for the residents. The place is known for its gastronomy, which specializes in freshly caught seafood.

Festivals

Arcs for the feast of the patron saints
Gioco sull'antenna

Patron saints are the saints Cosmas and Damian , in their honor a festival is celebrated in the last week of September. The highlights are:

  • Gioco sul antenna , a competition between two families. A bar, which is attached vertically above the water and at the end of which a flag is attached, is rubbed with soft soap. The party that manages to get the flag wins.
  • The children's procession : young people carry a stretcher with wooden sculptures of the two saints (vara) through the streets of the village. Then there is a festival with cultural performances and finally a fireworks display.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Francesca Mercadante, Da Balarm Palermo a Giazîrah Isola , p. 47.
  2. ↑ Francesca Mercadante, Da Balarm Palermo a Giazîrah Isola , pp. 23–56.
  3. ↑ a b http://www.sferracavallo.com/storia4.cfm .
  4. ↑ Francesca Mercadante, Da Balarm Palermo a Giazîrah Isola , p. 50.
  5. ↑ Francesca Mercadante, Da Balarm Palermo a Giazîrah Isola, p. 94.
  6. ↑ Francesca Mercadante, Da Balarm Palermo a Giazîrah Isola, p. 97 (picture).

literature

  • Francesca Mercadante, Da Balarm Palermo a Giazîrah Isola. Il Porto di Gallo ritrovato. Analisi storico ambientale degli approdi del medioevo arabo-normanno nel territorio ad Occidente di Palermo dall'itinerario geografico di al-Idrisi. Barqua - Marsa at-tin - Ghalah - Giazirâh . Palermo: Edizioni del Mirto 2001

Web links