Grammichele
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Grammichele | |
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| Comune di Grammichele | |
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 Coat of arms | |
Location of Grammichele  | |
  Grammichele Location of Grammichele in Italy  Grammichele Grammichele (Sicily) | |
| Coordinates:37°12′53″N14°38′11″E/ 37.21472°N 14.63639°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sicily |
| Metropolitan city | Catania(CT) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Giuseppe Maria Purpora |
| Area | |
| • Total | 30 km2(10 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 520 m (1,710 ft) |
| Population (31 August 2017)[2] | |
| • Total | 13,274 |
| • Density | 440/km2(1,100/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Grammichelesi |
| Time zone | UTC+1(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2(CEST) |
| Postal code | 95042 |
| Dialing code | 0933 |
| Patron saint | St. Michael Archangel |
| Saint day | May 8 |
| Website | Official website |
Grammichele(Sicilian:Grammicheli,Greek:Echetle(meaning "plowshare" ); Latin:Echetla,Ochula;Medieval:Occhiolà) is a town andcomunein theMetropolitan City of CataniainSicily,southernItaly.It is located at the feet of theHyblaean Mountains,some 13 kilometres (8 mi) fromCaltagirone.
History
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The town was built in 1693, after the old town of Occhiolà, located to the north of the modern Grammichele, was destroyed byan earthquake.Occhiolà, on account of the similarity of name, is generally identified withEchetla,a frontier city betweenSyracusanandCarthaginianterritory in the time ofHiero II,which appears to have been originally aSicelcity in whichGreek civilizationprevailed from the 5th century onwards.[3]
The devastation of the old town was so severe that the feudal landlord of the town, Carlo Maria Carafa Branciforte, Prince of Butari, commissioned construction of a new town, with plans aided by Michele da Ferla. Supposedly the Prince himself sketched out the initial hexagonal layout. In the center of the hexagon is the Piazza Carlo Maria Carafa, faced by the Chiesa Madre (Mother Church),San Michele Arcangelo,and the Palazzo Communale (City Hall). The town ofAvola,destroyed by the same earthquake, was also relocated and rebuilt along a hexagonal layout.
On July 15, 1943, the1st Canadian Infantry Divisionfought its first battle in theAllied invasion of Sicilyagainst elements of the GermanPanzer Division "Hermann Göring".TheHastings and Prince Edward Regiment,Saskatoon Light Infantry(Machine Gun) and theThree Rivers Regiment(tank) all took part in the fighting, which concluded at midday with the town in Canadian hands.
Main sights
[edit]To the east of Grammichele a cave shrine ofDemeter,with fine votive terracottas, was discovered.[3]Other sights include the Mother Church;San Michele Arcangelo,dedicated to St. Michael; and the Church of Calvary.
Notable people
[edit]- Francesco Gargano(1899–1975), an Italian fencer who won a gold medal in the team sabre event at the1920 Summer Olympics.
- Agrippino Manteo (1884–1947), a Catanese-American puppeteer who immigrated first to Mendoza, Argentina, and then to New York City, where he performed Sicilian puppet theater plays on a daily basis from the early 1920s until he closed his theater in 1939. <Cavallo, Jo Ann.The Sicilian Puppet Theater of Agrippino Manteo (1884-1947): The Paladins of France in America.Anthem Press, 2023. >
References
[edit]- ^"Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011".Italian National Institute of Statistics.Retrieved16 March2019.
- ^"Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018".Italian National Institute of Statistics.Retrieved16 March2019.
- ^abChisholm 1911.
Sources
[edit]This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Grammichele".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 332.
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