I.T.C. “S. Calvino” - Trapani
Comenius Project
’05 - ’06
Kings Road
Proff. Luigi Clemente / Mariano
Mondello/Elvira Tosto
Studenti: Paola Genovese / Marina Vivona (IV A igea)
TRAPANI
The history of Sicily
.
This beautiful land, described by Goethe as
“an inexpressibly wonderful region”, was
populated by Phoenicians, Romans,
Arabians, Normans, French, Spanish,
Austrians (and other peoples) and each
population has left important marks, today
still visible in our monuments, in the names
of our places and in our traditions.
The prehistory
•
•
•
Erice - Mura Elimo Puniche (VIII-VI sec. a.c.)
•
Isole Egadi - Levanzo - Grotta del Genovese
The graffitis discovered in the caves of Monte
Pellegrino in Levanzo revealed that during the
Paleolithic, the Sicilians lived on hunting and
harvesting.
The men of the Neolithic developed
navigation, the manufacturing of ceramic and
weaving. We can find important testimonies of
this period in Stentinello, San Cono, and
Villafrati.
During the Bronze Age groups of IndoEuropean peoples came to Sicily and with the
aboriginals started the civilization of
Castelluccio, Naro, Filicudi, Syracuse,
Pantalica.
In Sicily there were the Elimis (a legend tells
that Elimo, a Trojan prince, was Enea’s
stepbrother), founders of Erice and Segesta,
and the Sicans who arrived in Sicily during the
III century b.C. probably from Spain and
settled near the river Salso.
The Sicilians introduced the use of the horse
and the copper, the cultivation of the ground
and the cult of the departeds.
Erice: Elim-Punic walls.
The Phoenicians
The Phoenicians invented the legend of Scilla and Cariddi, two
monsters who sank the ships near the Straits of Messina.
The Colombaia. This
tower was built by the
Phoenicians 2500 years
ago.
The Greeks
Attracted by the fertility of the
volcanic regions and by the lands
rich of natural resorts,in 753 b.C.
groups of merchants founded
Naxos. Unlike the Phoenicians ,
the Greeks created not only
commercial emporiums but also
agrarian colonies which reached
the size of big cities: Syracuse
(by the Corinthians), Catania,
Selinunte, Akragas, Gela.
In 480 b.C. the greek cities joined
their forces against
Carthaginians, who were
defeated in Imera.
The following period was culturally
and artistically rich.
Selinunte
Akragas
Syracuse
Mothia – Il
porto fenicio
(The city was
destroied by
the Romans)
•
•
Marsala –
Nave da
guerra
punica
•
The Romans
In 264 b.C. the Mamertini,an Italic
population who had occupied
Messina, challenged by the
Carthaginians, asked for help to the
Romans. This was the First Punic
War. Sicily, except for Syracuse, was
declared a Roman district.
In 218 b.C. the Second Punic War
burst out. The Romans conquered
also Syracuse. They introduced the
latifundium and Sicily, after the Third
Punic War and the distruction of
Cartagena, changed into a district
with a rich agricultural production.
Exhibits and monuments of this
period can be seen in Termini
Imerese, Catania, Tindari, Piazza
Armerina and Taormina.
Piazza Armerina – I mosaici
Taormina – Teatro greco
The barbarians
Marsala
Genserico
• In 440 A.D. Geiseric, king of
the Vandals, docked at
Marsala and destroyd the
whole Sicily. For Rome this
was a heavy defeat, since
Sicily produced much of the
corn necessary to the Italic
peninsula and to Rome.
During the fall of the West
Roman Empire Sicily was
given to Odoacre and then to
the Visigoths of Theodoric.
Teodorico
Odoacre
The Byzantines
•
Monreale – Mosaico bizantino
535 A.D. is the year of the GreekGothic War.
It began during the reign of
Giustiniano, Emperor of the Eastern
province, who wanted to recompose
the integrity of the Roman Empire.
General Belisario cames to Sicily and
quickly conquered the island.
We can find monumental testimonies
in Randazzo, Castelbuono and
Pantalica.
In 660 A.D. Emperor Constanz moved
the capital of the Byzantine Empire to
Syracuse.
Killed in 668 because of his tyrannical
attitude, his successor was an
aristocrat Armenian Emperor.
In 669 the son of Costanz brought the
capital back to Costantinople.
The Arabians
Cefalà Diana – Terme
arabo normanne
• In 827 A.D. the Arabians reached
Mazara and in 100 years they
conquered the isle.
The Sicilian capital, Palermo,
became a wonderful metropolis
with lots of Islamic characteristics.
In this period fires and
deforestations created lots of
damages to the territory.
We can find testimonies of this
period in Palermo, Favara, Cafalù,
Diana and Caccamo.
The diffusion of the Arabian culture
is today visible in the toponymy
and in the farming.
The Normans
Monreale – Il duomo
Caccamo – Il castello
• In 1060 the Normans, leaded by
Roberto il Guiscardo and Ruggero
D’Altavilla, reached Sicily.
During this period Sicily was a
prosperous and peaceful reign, the
melting-pot of different populations.
In 1172 William II, called the “Brave”,
ascended the throne and enacted,
with the wedding of Costanza
D’Altavilla and Enrico Barbarossa,
the alliance with Federico
Barbarossa, supporting the
Hohenstaufen’s reign. We can find
testimonies of this period not only in
Palermo, but also in Monreale,
Cefalù, Messina, and Piazza
Armerina.
The Swabians
• In 1194 the Hohenstaufens
conquered the throne. Federico II,
called ”Stupor Mundi”, was one of
the greatest monarchs of the
Middle Age and his court in
Palermo was a place rich of art,
science and literature. He
promulgated in 1231 a new
constitution, a document by which
he underlined for the first time the
will to centralize the government
of the country into the sovereign’s
hands. He took part to the fifth
crusade.
Testimonies are in Siracusa,
Catania, Salemi and Akragas.
Catania – Castello Ursino
The Angioini
• In 1270, when Federico II
died, after the empire of the
English prince Edmund of
Lancaster, which lasted 10
years, the Pope assigned
the crown to Carlo D’Angiò,
who defeated the
illegitimate son of Federico
II. The capital was moved
to Naples.
Carlo D’angiò
Francesco Hayez – I vespri siciliani
The Spanish
• In 1409 , after the Aragona’s
supremacy and after the wedding
of Ferdinando d’Aragona and
Isabella of Castiglia, Sicily was
dominated for 400 years by the
Spanish.
In this period the new emperors
started carrying out important
public works: they renewed the
harbour of Palermo and founded
the a new university in Catania.
Their successors drove the Jews
out of the isle and introduced a
new court called “Sant’Uffizio”.
We can find important testimonies
of this period in Taormina,
Palermo, Syracuse, Enna,
Nicolosi and the Egadis.
Pietro III d'Aragona sbarca a Trapani - manoscritto,
Biblioteca Vaticana
Torre di Ligny , Torre di S. Vito, Torre
di Cofano e Torre di Nubia
Several towers were built during the Spanish period as a defence of the coasts from the Saracen pirates raids.
The house of Savoy and The Austrians
• After the peace of Utrecht
in 1713, Vittorio Amedeo II
of the House of Savoy
became the new emperor
of the region. After only 5
years, in 1718, the
Spanish embarked on an
important campaign to
regain the land, but they
found a big obstacle….the
Austrians.
After the Treaty of Aia,
Carlo VI of Austria
became the new king of
Sicily.
Vittorio Amedeo II di Savoia
Carlo VI d’Austria
The reign of Italy
• In 1860 following to
Garibaldi’s deeds, Sicily
became part of the Italian
reign.
The administration of the
House of Savoy was
ineffective and heavy
taxation caused
impoverishment of the
economy of the South.
This was the period of the
brigandage.
Garibaldi e Vittorio Emanuele II di Savoia
Mussolini’s power
• In 1922 Mussolini became
the most important
government figure of our
nation.
During the Second World
War, Italy fought by the
Germany’s side.
In 1943 in only 38 days
the Americans conquered
Sicily and Mussolini had
to capitulate.
Sbarco in Sicilia
After the Second World War
• In 1946, Sicily was
proclaimed one of the
five regions under
special statute.
The cultural and
economic division
between Sicily and the
North remained the same
and today it’s still a big
problem.