Alcamo


Alcamo is the fourth-largest town in the province of Trapani in Sicily, with a population of 45,374 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometres from Palermo and Trapani.
Nowadays the town territory includes an area of 130.79 square kilometres and is the second municipality as for population density in the province of Trapani, after Erice.
Alcamo is bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the north, Balestrate and Partinico on the east, Camporeale on the south and Calatafimi-Segesta and Castellammare del Golfo on the west. Its most important hamlet is Alcamo Marina at about 6 kilometres from the town centre.
Together with other municipalities it takes part in the Associazione Città del Vino, the movement Patto dei Sindaci, Progetto Città dei Bambini, Rete dei Comuni Solidali and Patto Territoriale Golfo di Castellammare.

Geography

Territory

Alcamo is situated in the middle of the Gulf of Castellammare, at 258 metres above the sea level and at the foot of Mount Bonifato, a calcareous complex 825 metres high. At the altitude of 500 metres there is the Nature Reserve of Monte Bonifato.
The territory of Alcamo includes also Alcamo Marina, mainly used as a summer resort.

Climate

The climate is mild, with higher rainfall during winter than summer.
The average annual temperature is 16.9 °C, with higher temperatures in August and lower temperatures in February.
The average annual rainfall is 558 mm. Rainfall is particularly scarcer in July and more abundant in December.
in summer

Etymology

There are discordances about the etymology of the toponym "Alcamo": one of the hypothesis connects the present name to the Arab word al-qama, which would mean "muddy earth" or "rich soil", another supposition is that it had been derived from the name of the Muslim leader who probably founded the town in 828 AD and whose name was al-Qāmūq. According to some people this hypothesis was invented by Leo Africanus who had told this story without consulting any document on the subject. Besides, according to some scholars, the name Alcamo would derive from caccamu, a dialectal word referring to the plant Citrullus colocynthis.

Prehistory

Though there is little information about it, there are evidences that territory of Alcamo was inhabited even in prehistoric times; in one of the most ancient sites, near "contrada" Molinello, they discovered archaeological findings dating back to the Mesolithic, approximately 9,000–6,000 BC and other very old ones dating back to the Neolithic during the archaeological excavations done by the archaeologist Paolo Orsi and the marquis Antonio De Gregorio near the river Fiume Freddo. One of the most important finds is an axe from the Neolithic, kept at the Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi of Syracuse.

Longuro and Longarico

From the quotations by Lycophron we know that in old times there was an inhabited centre called "Longuro" on Mount Bonifato. According to an old story, this settlement was founded by a Greek colony which had escaped from the destruction of the town of Troy.
During the Roman period the inhabitants of Longuro moved to the foot of the mountain so they could practice agriculture in the surrounding lands. The town was called Longaricum; this name appears in the Itinerario di Antonino Pio and would coincide with the Latin name of Longuro.
According to a supposition the two hillocks appearing on the gonfalon of Alcamo would represent both the towns of Longaricum and Longuro.

Origins

Alcamo was founded in 828 by the Muslim commander al-Kamuk, though other sources date its origin to about 972.
The first document mentioning Alcamo is dating back to 1154, in a paper written by the Berber geographer Idrisi who was given this task by Roger II of Sicily in order to get a collection of geographic maps. From a distance longer than an Arab mile, the writer describes the position of Alcamo viewed from the Castle of Calatubo and defines it as a "manzil", that is a hamlet or a group of houses with rich soil and a flourishing market. This hamlet was called "Alqamah" by Arabs.
In a diary of 1185 the Andalusian pilgrim Ibn Jubayr confirms the Arab origin of the town; in fact during his travel from Palermo to Trapani he stopped at Alcamo and describes it as a beleda with mosques and a market whose inhabitants were of Muslim religion.

Medieval age

In the Middle Ages Alcamo was largely inhabited by Muslim people, whose numbers declined after the Norman conquest of Sicily, begun in 1060. Alcamo was divided into four hamlets named San Vito, San Leonardo, Sant'Ippolito and San Nicolò del Vauso. but a series of Arab revolts between 1221 and 1243 led King Frederick II to move most of the Arab population to a colony at Lucera, while Christians from Bonifato came to inhabit the town. In this period the famous poet Ciullo or Cielo d'Alcamo was born.
In 1340 Raimondo Peralta acquired the feud and barony of Alcamo from Peter II of Aragon. Then the barony passed to his son Guglielmo Peralta Sclafani, called "Guglielmone". and afterwards to the Ventimiglia family, Giaimo de Prades, the Cabrera family, the Speciale family, Pietro Balsamo prince of Roccafiorita and finally to Giuseppe Alvarez.
In the 14th century Alcamo had several thousands of inhabitants and hundreds of them had immigrated from different parts of Sicily and Italy, and some also from Spain. During this period, Antonello da Messina moved to Alcamo for three years in order to learn the tanning techniques from the tanner master Guglielmo Adragna di Alcamo, in fact the town was an important pole of development for commerce and handicraft. In particular, it had a massive exchange of wheat and wine with the nearby towns and there were also expert artisans such as bakers, blacksmiths, tanners and weavers. During this century Alcamo was an important centre for wheat storage and sorting. In the same period the writer Giacomo Adragna transcribed the Commentarii in Persium and Pietro d'Alcamo many works from the library of San Martino.

Modern age

At about the year 1500, Alcamo was under the jurisdiction of the captain of justice Ferdinando Vega, who fought against the raiding Turkish pirates. The town was surrounded by defensive embattled walls provided with four gates:
During this period, the town was divided into four-quarters, each one associated with the name of the main church in that area:
The division between these quarters was coincident with the main streets of the town, that are the present Corso 6 Aprile and Via Rossotti and its continuation via dei Baroni Emanuele di San Giuseppe.
In 1535, in coincidence with the visit of the emperor Charles V, coming back from Tunisia, the old Porta Trapani was closed and four gates were opened:
During the 16th century there was a development in education in Alcamo because of the construction of new schools and the activity of expert teachers, in particular the poet and scholar Sebastiano Bagolino. In 1547 the Madonna appeared to some women of the people and an image of Madonna Fons Misericordiae'' was discovered and worshipped as "Our Lady of Miracles".
In the late 16th century, the population was decimated by an infectious disease. and the victims were buried in the cemetery of Saint Ippolito.
In 1667 Mariano Ballo ordered the construction of a theatre, called "teatro Ferrigno", later demolished and rebuilt during the 1960s; after the reconstruction it was first called "cine-teatro Euro" and later "Teatro Cielo d'Alcamo".
During the 18th century, pestilence and popular rebellions occurred in Alcamo again. On the other hand, this age was important for art because of the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, designed by the architects Angelo Italia and Giuseppe Diamante. Its interior was also decorated with 38 frescoes made by the Flemish painter Guglielmo Borremans between 1736 and 1737. In the same period the Church of Saint Olivia was renovated, Saint Paul and Bartholomew's Church was rebuilt, and the Church of the Holy Crucifix was completed together with the monumental church of College some decades later.
The population of the town, gradually recovered from the pestilence and increased to 13,000 in 1798.

Contemporary age

At the beginning of the 19th century Alcamo's feudal status was abolished and the town became a direct royal possession.
The archpriests Stefano Triolo Galifi and Giuseppe Virgilio, together with the baron Felice Pastore were members of the Sicilian Parliament as representatives of Alcamo. In 1820, during a revolt, there were different murders, sacks, release of criminals from prison and a fire in the municipal archives. and in 1829 many people died of cholera.
In 1843 the construction of the present Town Hall started, on a land of the baron Felice Pastore.
On 6 April 1860, Stefano and Giuseppe Triolo let the Italian Tricolour wave on the town hall, creating groups of volunteers in order to help Giuseppe Garibaldi in the battle of Calatafimi and from Alcamo some dictatorial edicts on Victor Emmanuel II's behalf were issued. Some time later Francesco Crispi prepared the Constitution for the lands set free. Further to this event, Corso Imperiale was named Corso 6 Aprile, in memory of 6 April, in which the volunteers started to be enlisted in Alcamo.
During the Unification of Italy the brothers Triolo of Sant'Anna and Giuseppe Coppola of Monte San Giuliano enlisted many citizens to fight with the Garibaldians in 1860.
At the end of the 19th century, in 1897, public lighting was inaugurated in Alcamo during the traditional feast of Our Lady of Miracles. Among the most important people of this period we have to remind Don Giuseppe Rizzo, a priest who founded the bank called "Cassa Rurale e Artigiana Don Rizzo".
At the beginning of the 20th century the number of citizens in Alcamo diminished abruptly, partially because of the emigration of 36,718 Sicilians abroad and in particular to the United States, but it is possible that the statistics about this year and the previous years were not reliable because the census was carried out without following certain criteria. In the same period the cultivations in the territory of Alcamo were affected by phylloxera and two banks went bankrupt with subsequent economic difficulties for its citizens.
There were also some events linked to the Mafia, such as the murder of Gaspare Cottone, a carter and the death of the 19-years-old Benedetto Guastella during a fire conflict with carabinieri in 1900.
As the Mafia had taken power in the districts of Trapani and Alcamo, the commissary Cesare Mori intervened with a series of arrests and charges against the material executors of the crimes occurred in the area and finally they arrested Vincenzo and Michele Tedesco, brothers, and Baldassare Adragna, considered the heads of the gangs in Trapani's territory.
During the First World War, four hundred citizens from Alcamo died and the following period was characterized by poverty because of monetary inflation and banditry. In 1918 about five hundred people died because of Spanish flu and in the Second World War 213 citizens from Alcamo died or were lost.
The foundation of Società Elettrotecnica Palermitana, whose name was changed into Società Generale Electrica della Sicilia and which installed an important electric workroom in the district of Saint Augustine in Alcamo, dates back to the twenties. The jobs inside this firm were very longed-for because it was the only firm in Trapani Province which had a Health insurance fund and granted holidays. The electric workroom existed until 1963 when it was acquired by Enel and demolished. During the years in which SGES operated, there was an improvement of the electric services in Alcamo's territory, owing also to the realization of several artificial lakes.
During Fascism, the citizens asked the government to appoint Alcamo as the capital of the province, but this request was not satisfied.
On 19 August 1937 the fascist leader Benito Mussolini visited the town, crossing Corso 6 Aprile by an open car and parading through the crowd of his supporters. The visit was due to the inauguration of the railway line between Trapani and Alcamo, completed in the same year. Some weeks later, prince Umberto visited Alcamo too.
On 21 July 1943 the American troops entered Alcamo without any opposition, freeing the town from Italian Fascism.
On 18 December 1944, because of the economic and social discomfort, the citizens raised up, occupied the Town Hall and put its archives on fire.
Since 1960 the town planning system has been greatly expanding, particularly at the foot of Mount Bonifato with the construction of Viale Europa, which is one of the most important street in Alcamo.
At about the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s there was a bloody Mafia war between the clan Greco and the members of the emergent Mafia of Corleone, led by the boss Vincenzo Milazzo in the territory of Alcamo. Vincenzo Milazzo received orders from Totò Riina to eliminate members of the old Mafia and put in command only his trusted men.
Just for this reason the Greco family represented an obstacle: the cause which roused the conflict was the approaching of some members of Cosa Nostra to the rival clan of Grecos. The war bathed the town in blood for about five years and provoked tens of victims. The new Corleone's Mafia prevailed, but the cost to be paid was very high, because a lot of members of this clan died.
During the same period, in which there were armed clashes between the Mafia families, at contrada Virgini in Alcamo, they discovered the biggest heroin refinery in Sicily. Tens of people died in five years, and at the end the Mafia of Corleone prevailed.
While the crimes of the Mafia went on and tens of people disappeared as victims of "lupara bianca", there was a religious revival which led to the birth of several Catholic associations such as Rinnovamento nello Spirito Santo, Neocatechumenal Way and the movement of Comunione e Liberazione. From the last one the parish community of the Church of Jesus Christ the Redeemer originated in the district of Sant'Anna. This religious revival was followed by a new interest into the town's old traditions, mentioned in the works of Roberto Calia and Carlo Cataldo, historians from Alcamo. Carlo Cataldo has also been prized several times both for his historical works and for his dialectal poems which tell Alcamo's folkore.
In the 21st century there was a renovation of Alcamo's architectural context, thanks to the restoration of some important historical buildings such as the Castle of the Counts of Modica, the Theatre Cielo d'Alcamo, the Cine-Theatre Marconi, the Ex Jesuits' College, the Cuba delle rose, the church of College, the façade of Badia Nuova and the old Arab fountain. Thanks also to the intervention of Fondo Ambiente Italiano, it is expected the restoration of the Castle of Calatubo; its chapel and the path leading to the castle have already been cleaned by the volunteers' association "Salviamo il Castello di Calatubo".
Among the works of revaluation of the urban areas there are the restoration of Piazza Ciullo by the architect Gae Aulenti and the realization of an underground car park in Piazza Bagolino, together with the creation of the near suburban park San Francesco.
The interest in environment is also associated with that in the territory, in fact, after the adhesion to the initiative "Rifiuti Zero", Alcamo has been considered an example to be followed for the results got between 2010 and 2013 in the field of waste sorting.

Coat of arms

The Coat of arms of Alcamo used since the kingdom of Frederick II of Swabiais a black flying Eagle, crowned by Gold in a Silver range, with three hills below and two Golden Oaks.
A sculpture of the coat of arms is put on a side wall of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, near Porta Palermo.

Main sights

Civil buildings

There are several historical civil buildings in Alcamo:

14th century

16th century

Military buildings in Alcamo include:
by night.
In the territory of Alcamo there are several and interesting archaeological sites:
.

Natural areas

Among the areas of naturalistic interest near Alcamo there are the beaches of Alcamo Marina, the Nature Reserve Bosco di Alcamo on Mount Bonifato and the Segestan thermal baths.
The hot springs are produced by the reclimbing of water of meteoric origin which meets the water of Fiume Caldo. They are seven kilometres far from Alcamo and next to the boundary with the territory of Castellammare del Golfo, a small town which shares this naturalistic attraction with Alcamo.
According to the narration given by Diodorus Siculus, they were created by the nymphs to favour Eracle's rest during his trip from Piloro to Erice.

Hinterland

The surrounding areas include interesting touristic and historical locations like Segesta and Gibellina. The old fishing village of Scopello, from Alcamo, has been referred to as having a remarkable seaside. Another small town considered worth visiting is Castellammare del Golfo which is between these two places.

Society

Demographical evolution

Ethnic groups and foreign minorities

According to the ISTAT data of 1 January 2013, the foreign people resident in Alcamo were 1,258 people corresponding to the 2.58% of the residing population. The most represented nationalities, according to the percentage on the total residing population, were:
The poet Cielo d'Alcamo was the author of the contrasto "Rosa fresca aulentissima". He wrote in vernacular in the 12th century and was from Alcamo.
Many important places of the town, such as the main square, the theatre and the Classical Lyceum founded in 1862, have been named after the famous poet.
of Alcamo
From the cultural point of view, in the following centuries Alcamo saw the rise of activities connected with arts such as the construction of churches and buildings, first in the baroque and then Renaissance style, with the coming of several artists of international level: painters, sculptors and other various artists who embellished the town's image.
Inside the Castle of the Counts of Modica there is a puppet theatre: it has born again thanks to the engagement of Salvatore Oliveri, the grandson of the famous puppet master Gaspare Canino, who worked in Alcamo for about 50 years, continuing the work of Luigi, his father.
They often give performances inside the castles or in the square.
It is also noteworthy the activity of Compagnia Piccolo Teatro, a theatre company founded in 1976, which has seen the rise of some actors and theatre directors.
During the feasts in Alcamo there are often streets entertainers and pedlars selling sweets, dried fruit and different objects in their stands called "baracchelle".

Museums

Alcamo is a town rich with art: inside its churches there are several works which have made it more and more interesting from the artistic point of view. But its museums host very original and interesting material.
Apart from foreign artists, there were clever painters like Giuseppe Renda and Gino Patti; among the living artists we have to mention Turi Simeti, Vito Bongiorno and Gisella Giovenco; famous sculptors were Giuseppe Bambina, Pietro Montana and Nicola Rubino.
Opening hours: Friday 9:30-13:00, Saturday and Sunday 17:00-21:00.
Opening hours: from Monday to Friday 09:00-12:45.

Media

Radio

There is a local radio, Radio Alcamo Centrale, which operates in the territory since 1976.

Press

The oldest periodical in Alcamo is "Il Bonifato".

Television

The networks in Alcamo are Alpa Uno and Video Sicilia.

Music

There are various musical associations in Alcamo:

Dance

There are different school dances in Alcamo, such as:
The local market in Alcamo takes place every Wednesday morning in Via Tre Santi, near Viale Italia.

Cuisine

Some specialities of cuisine of Alcamo are:

Economy

Alcamo is one of the most important centres in Sicily for wine production, especially Bianco Alcamo D.O.C., made from vineyards with espalier or "tendone" structures and using white common or bright catarratto vines, eventually associated with damaschino, grecanico and trebbiano.
Besides the wine activity there are cattle and sheep breeding, olive growing, cereals and the typical oval melon, with a green wrinkled peel, locally called "miluni purceddu", which has the peculiarity that can be kept longer than other kinds of melon.
In the primary sector it is also significant quarrying, though the tertiary sector has however got the majority of employed people.

Transports and infrastructures

There are two motorway junctions from A29 motorway Palermo-Mazara del Vallo: Alcamo Est and Alcamo Ovest, apart the junction of Castellammare del Golfo which links up with the north entrance to Alcamo. Another motorway junction is from Alcamo Ovest.
Alcamo is crossed by two National Roads: strada statale 113, connecting Trapani with Messina, and strada statale 119, connecting Alcamo with Castelvetrano.
The Railway line doesn't pass through the town centre but along the coast, then inland on the west side. The railway station of Alcamo Diramazione is located near the motorway junction of Alcamo Ovest and the station of Castellammare del Golfo is situated in the territory of Alcamo, precisely at Alcamo Marina.
These State Highways pass through Alcamo:
These Regional Roads of Sicily:
And also these Provincial Roads of the province of Trapani pass through Alcamo:
In the area of Alcamo there are also the following draining roads of the province of Trapani:
Along the National Road Palermo-Sciacca there is the exit "Alcamo" in both directions and is about 30 km from on the south-west side of the town. This exit, wholly located in the territory of Poggioreale, connects with the National Road of Gibellina near the ex railway station and motorway junction of Gallitello through the Provincial road SP9 and the SB0, to the border between the territories of Poggioreale and Monreale.
Alcamo is about 40 km from the airport "Falcone-Borsellino Airport" of Palermo-Punta Raisi and about 50 km from the "Vincenzo Florio Airport" of Trapani-Birgi.

Administration

Twin towns

The most popular and practised sport in Alcamo, as in most Italian towns, has always been soccer; the greatest team is the Alcamo team, which was in the past a protagonist in some football seasons in League C, for its victories against Bari and Crotone, and in League D. Apart various regional trophies, it has won the Coppa Italia Dilettanti in 1996 and the subsequent Supercoppa Italiana Dilettanti. Together with the golden period in League C, these were the most beautiful pages of the football history in Alcamo. A recent society crisis has caused bankruptcy and the team which played in League D had to restart from the First Category League. Today it competes in the regional Eccellenza championship following the 2010 refoundation.
The activity of juvenile soccer is very active, and the Adelkam football school emerges among the various youth teams because it has launched different football players and has won a lot of national and international competitions. Alcamo is also the principal centre of the Costa Gaia International Trophy, a youth football kermess in which a lot of titled teams take part and where many great players of the bigger championships have been the protagonists.
against CUS Cagliari Pallacanestro.
Basket is also very popular and practised, today with better results than football anyway. The female team Basket Alcamo which has obtained important results in its history, has played in the A2 League for eleven years, and has regained the major league in the season 2011–2012. The male team has also obtained good results, but not at the same levels.
The local handball team, Pallamano Alcamo plays its home matches at the Palasport Enzo D'Angelo.

Sport facilities

The town has got several sport facilities, the most important are the stadium Lelio Catella for football and athletics, the Palazzetto dello Sport Tre Santi for Basket and the Palasport Enzo D'Angelo for handball.
There is a private swimpool open to public use where young boys train regularly. In the same facility there is an ice-skating rink.
When Alcamo football team played in League C, the home matches were played at stadium Don Rizzo, which together with Sant'Ippolito stadium, is now used by juvenile and minor teams.

Sports personalities