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Sciacca

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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a town and episcopal see of Sicily, on the S. coast, in the province of Girgenti, 45 m. N.W. of Girgenti by road, and about 30 m. direct. Pop. (1906) 24,645. It is surrounded by walls erected in 1400, and has two ruined castles, belonging to the Luna and Perollo families, whose hereditary feuds lasted from 1410 to 1529, some fine medieval palaces, and several interesting churches. The cathedral, founded in 1090, was largely reconstructed in 1686. The convent of Sta. Maria delle Giummare, with its battlemented walls, occupies the former palace of the Saracen governors, and contains a painting of the foundation of the convent by Count Roger. The town has only an open roadstead. It has an important trade in coral.

Three miles E. of the town is the Monte San Calogero (the ancient Mons Cronius) with sulphurous and saline springs and vapour baths, which are still frequented and were known in Roman times as Aquae Larodes or Therinae Selinuntiae (Sciacca is about 15 m. direct S.E. of Selinus). The name Sciacca is Arabic, but of uncertain meaning. The town is the birthplace of Tommaso Fazello (1498-1570), the father of Sicilian history.