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| Notes for Origin of SCIACCA | ||
| General Sicilian History4 The earliest migrants to Sicily had to have come by sea since geologists assure us that there never was any land bridge connecting Sicily to anywhere. The first arrival of humans came around 20,000 BC! There is evidence of Stone Age peoples in three (3) areas along the Northern Coast --- Termini Imerse, Palermo and Trapani and in the southeastern corner of the island. Their stone tools link them with the various cultures of central and western Europe and so do their drawings, especially the engravings on cave walls on the tiny island of Levanzo off Trapani [this was probably still connected to the main island at that time], and in Monte Pellegrino near Palermo. The naturalistic animal and human figures from Levanzo, mostly of profiles, are in the same tradition as the cave drawings of the Rhone Valley and of central and southern Spain. The Monte Pellegrino drawings, had a far greater number of human figures grouped in unusual or complicated positions and seem more directly linked to southern Spain. A radiocarbon date near 10,000 BC had been gotten for the Levanzo area, but the chronology as a whole is still obscured, as is the historical development within Sicily during the long Palaeolithic era. A major problem to really studying the era is the relative absence of burial finds. Only two groups have really been discovered in the San Teodoro cave on the coast between Palermo and Messina, and in the stone-age necropolis slightly inland from Syracuse at Pantalica. Pantalica is perhaps the most spectacular of pre-Greek centers. Rock tombs there are numbered by thousands, and cover a time-span from the 13th to the 3rd Century BC. It should be noted that there is some debate on the actual age of this area, but all agree that it was a Pre-Greek colony. According to one reliable source, not long before 3,000 BC a slow transformation was happening in the central Mediterranean region. The emergence of peasant communities, still largely dependent on stone tools, began the new-found arts of agriculture, domestication of animals, and pottery. Two unpainted specimens of pottery from Liguria can be dated to the period 4600-4200 BC, and they are some of the oldest specimens found in the central Mediterranean. They were about 1000 years after their Greek counterparts. The earliest genuine Neolithic culture seems to be the one now known as Stentinello, named after a village of that name near Syracuse. The burial grounds of these people was the Pantalica! The tombs that they created consisted of chambers cut into rock, often with a sort of ante-chamber; interestingly the two rooms formed a structure similar to Sicilian peasant ovens. They are so similar that some archaeologists actually call them "oven shaped tombs" or in Sicilian "tombi a forno". The pre-historical period of Sicily, before Greek records, reveal that Sicilian Culture did have an impact on the Greek Invaders. Besides the obvious, i.e. the land had been cultivated and cleared to a reasonable degree [in ancient times the island was densely forested], the Greek settlers found wives among the natives and also a labor force [possibly used as a slave work force i.e. no Unions]. One historian does not believe that there were any significant lasting effects of the peoples who preceded the Greeks. Even in religion the impact appears to have been mostly topographical. The Greeks, like their predecessors, maintained cults associated with such natural phenomena as hot springs, with the dark subterranean powers, which was not surprising on an island which is dominated by the highest volcano in Europe -- Mt. Etna just outside of Catania. Etna was never completely dormant but, there are not more than 12-14 serious eruptions attested to during the whole period of antiquity, only one of which [in 122 BC] was heavily destructive. Earthquakes, even more surprisingly are virtually unrecorded! One instance of continuity from Sicilian to Greek Culture is noteworthy, the Cult of the Palici! The Greeks converted this cult into their own Sons of Zeus. At a place, now uninhabited, about 25 miles west of Catania, just off the main inland road to Caltagirone the cult flourished. In the crater of an extinct volcano there is a small lake in which the water bubbles and gives forth gaseous vapors, hence it present name, Laghetto di Naftia. If a considerable number of Greek and Roman writers are to be believed, the waters were once more active, with two (2) geyser-like jets constantly in evidence. This water allegedly had miraculous powers. It could judge right from wrong [something few politicians have been able to do since then] with the gods promptly punishing anyone who swore a false oath there. Some say the punishment was death and others say with blindness --- hence the saying --- "Blind Justice"! SCIACCA I have gathered this information from various sources and have attempted to verify the accuracy of all the facts. The further back in time we go, the more difficult it is to separate fact from folklore, thought most Sicilian folklore has its base in the facts! Sciacca's origin has been traced as far back as 628 BC. The mythical founder of the city is said to have been Kokalos, King of the Sicani. It is one of the most ancient thermal resorts on the Mediterranean. It was known in "Siceliot" times for its sweating caves (located in Mount Kronio, below St. Calogero's sanctuary, where handmade pre-historic objects have been found) and for its thermal waters. The Romans gave it the name Thermae Siluntinae or Aquae Larodae, and the Arabs called it "as-Shaqqah", hence the current name Sciacca! Ancient Greek Temples are but a short drive east or west, with the most well preserved outside of Greece, located in Agrigento about a 30-40 minute drive along the coast. Numerous peoples have invaded this city over the centuries (Romans, Byzantine, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, Austrians, etc.). During the middle ages, Sciacca, already famous for its natural resources, was the seat of powerful noble families who rendered it an impregnable fortress. Parts of the walled city can still be seen today. From 1400 to 1529 it was the stage of a real civil war, which brought it sad fame. It was called the Case of Sciacca, in which the Perollo family and the Luna family were fierce rivals for over a century. Insults, murders and suicides took place with such regularity and rapidity as to thrust it into chaos, fear and bloodshed the entire citizenry who were divided between the two factions. The end of the feud exemplified the violence. Giacomo Perollo was killed and dragged around the city tied to a horse's tail, while his rival, Sigismondo Luna, fled to Rome, where the horror of his crime never left him until he committed suicide by jumping into the Tiber River. The sanctuary or Basilica di San Calogero, located on Monte Kronio, about 7 kilometers outside of Sciacca proper and mentioned earlier, dates back to the 16th Century, and is Baroque in style. It was built in honor of a hermit (Calogero = handsome old man), who came from far off Constantinople to live and dedicate himself to prayer and meditation. He isolated himself in the caverns beneath the mountain (they can be visited today). To this day stories abound about his miracles and good works which contributed to his being made a Saint, and the patron saint of Sciacca. Numerous members of my family have been named Calogero or the feminine version Calogera. The nickname for Calogero is Lilo (normally Charles or Carl in English); for Calogera it is Lila (normally Lillian in English -- my mother's name). Ceramica have played an important part in Sciacca's history. Pottery from the 7th Century BC have been found. In the 15th Century, the tiles for the famous Cathedral of Monreale, outside of Palermo, were manufactured in Sciacca. Sciacca was surrounded, several times, by walls and fortified with castles (there are traces of the Luna Castle extisting today) but was frequently troubled by internal struggles between local vassals. In the historic center, around which the modern city has been extensively developed, there are some late-medieval and late-Baroque monuments, the latter including the duomo (Cathedral). Sciacca's most famous building is Palazzo Steripinto (late 15th century --- early 16th). The ashlars (diamond shaped stone facings) on the facade recall the "palazzo dei Diamanti" in Ferrara (1492-1565) but some have likened its general stylistic system to the almost contemporary Palazzo Sanseverino in Naples, and others have linked it with Catalan (Spanish) architecture of the same time period. Sciacca has five (5) city gates. The walls of the city can be seen preserved in several locations, and some of the gates are still in use today. In Piazza Carmine there is one of the gates, Porta San Salvatore, which dates back to the period when Sciacca was an aspired fortress. The gate leads to the Chiesa del Carmine(1817) a reconstruction of an ancient 13th century Norman Church. It is neo-classical in style. Porta Palermo, the western gate to the city, follows the old road to Palermo. It is still the most used exit from Sciacca today, with thousands of cars going through it regularly. Festivals! There are numerous festivals celebrated each year in Sciacca, and I will try and mention some of the most notable. · Carnival begins two (2) days before Shrove Tuesday (the Sunday before Ash Wednesday). It is Sciacca's own Mardi Gras, and there is a colorful procession of allegorical floats built by local craftsman. The family in Sciacca always talks about visiting at this time of year. · Festival of the Patron Saint is celebrated on the 1st & 2nd of February. There is a procession in honor of the Madonna of Succor, patroness of the city, who is carried around the town on the shoulders of barefoot sailors. It is a recurrence of the day in which the Madonna of Succor freed Sciacca and its inhabitants from the plague of 1626. There is a concurrent celebration in the city of Norristown, PA, where there is a large Sciaccatani population! · St. Peter and St. Paul (June 29th). This festival is in honor St. Peter, who is the patron saint of the fishermen. It takes place at the port which is one of the more characteristic parts of Sciacca. "L'Antinna" is one of the most popular competitions. It consists of retrieving a flag which the contestant cannot reach until he has managed to get to the end of a long soap-covered pole stretched over the sea. Many of the competitors slide off into the water, to the great amusement of the spectators. · Ferragosto (Aug. 15th). There are many song and folk manifestations during this three (3) day holiday. They usually take place in the Piazza Saverio Friscia and in the Piazza Scandaliato. The common prefixes of Italian surnames ___________________________________ The common prefixes of Italian surnames have at least three different sources. 1) Patronyms: The prefix "di" (meaning "of" or "from") is often attached to an otherwise ordinary christian name to form a patronym. di Benedetto (for example) is the Italian equivalent of Benson, di Giovanni is Johnson, and di Miceli is Michaleson. Most ineteresting is the fact that such patronyms often derive not from the name of a paternal ancestor, but from a favored saint or religious figure. Saint Dominic (for example) the founder of the Dominican order gives us di Domenico, Didomenici, Menico, Menicossa... literally hundreds of related patronyms. 2) Location: The prefixes "da" and "di" (again meaning "of" or "from") are often associated with a place of origin. Examples include da Vinci and di Napoli. This often evolved from a nickname for someone who was "from" a place, but no longer lived there. (di Sciacca) 3) The prefixes "la" and "lo" (meaning "the") was often derived from nicknames. Giacomo la Greca, for example, means Jimmy the Greek. But in the mid 19th century, the prefix was widely attached to older names in Sicily (at least) where it meant "of the family of." For example, my Furia ancestors began naming their children la Furia, meaning "of the family Furia." It was quite a fashionable thing to do, and the name stuck. At the same time, the Licata family was becoming la Licata, the Greco family was becoming lo Greco, it was an absolute epidemic. Over time, the prefixes could often be dropped again, or sometimes combined to become a single name (like Dimiceli, or Diliberto). Often siblings would go through lives with different forms, or change them almost willy nilly from one document to the next. The Sciacca's concerned here were probably di Sciacca until the di was dropped at some point. | ||
| Last Modified 6 Mar 1999 | Created 12 Apr 2001 |