| Mirabella Imbaccari | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Sicily | |
| Territory | Calatino | |
| Altitude | 518 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 15.3 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 4.595 (2019) | |
| Name inhabitants | mirabellesi | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0933 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 95040 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | St. Joseph and Our Lady of Grace | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Mirabella Imbaccari is a city of Sicily.
To know
Geographical notes
It is approximately equidistant from both Caltagirone (16 km) that from Piazza Armerina (14 km). It is also 29 km away from Gela (the closest outlet to the sea), 46 km from Enna and 75 km both from Catania (his provincial chief scientist) and by Ragusa.
Background
The Imbaccari fiefdom in the Arab period was located in the vast territory of Manzil Khalīl or Malgâ Halīl or Abū Halīl. After the war against the Muslims, the fiefdom was granted by Count Ruggero I d'Altavilla to the most valiant Lombard fighters, but the population remained predominantly Arab. In 1160 among the great feudal lords and the inhabitants of the provinces of the kingdom and above all of the Lombard colonies, discontent, worries and resentment for the permissive policy of William I the Bad towards the Arabs and Greeks rose.
A court conspiracy, led by Matteo Bonello, lord of Caccamo, and by the most influential barons of the kingdom, led to the killing of Admiral Maione da Bari, champion of the policy of peaceful coexistence with the Arabs and the Greeks. Tancredi d'Altavilla of the counts of Lecce and Ruggero Sclavo, rebelled against William I and returned from Palermo, where their revolt had failed, they were helped by the inhabitants of the Lombard hamlets to attack and massacre the Saracens who still lived in the hamlets, destroying them totally. The following year William I, as soon as he learned of the serious insurrection, besieged the rebel hamlets also using the Saracen soldiers ready to avenge the massacre of the previous year. He conquered them and razed them to the ground.
The feudal farmhouse of Imbaccari, from 1296 was divided into Imbaccari Sottano, and Imbaccari Soprano. In the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries Imbaccari belonged to the families of noble inhabitants in Piazza and in the early years of the 15th century, to the de Landolina family living in Caltagirone. In 1425 Giovanni (de) Landolina of Caltagirone was forced to sell Imbaccari Sottano to Gualtiero Paternione (Paternò) and Spadafora V baron of Burgio and I baron of Imbaccari Sottano. The Paternò family continued the possession of the fiefdom for over a century and a half, until 1585, when the baron Giuseppe Maria Paternò and Gravina, baron of Granieri and Raddusa, sold Imbaccari Sottano to Pietro Gaffori, baron of Toscano, keeping for himself Baldo and Plain of Minnelli. Ten years later the baron Paternò Giuseppe Maria e Gravina, asked and obtained from King Philip III of Spain, the "licentia populandi" for his fief to build a "Land", or a town, giving it the name of Mirabella in honor of the family of his wife Eleonora.
In 1624 the son of Giuseppe Maria Paternò and Gravina, bought back the fief of Imbaccari Sottano and in 1630 he obtained the license, from the viceroy Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, to transfer the town there. This transfer was opposed by the city of Piazza which saw its rights violated because it was deprived of part of its tax revenues. After six years of conflict, by paying 200 ounces to the Jurors of Platia, the final agreement was reached to obtain total jurisdiction.
On the death of Vincenzo Paternò Castello, the fiefdom of Imbaccari Sottano passed in 1750 to his eldest son, Ignazio Paternò Castello and Scammacca V prince of Biscari known as the Great (1719-1786), because he was an illustrious patron, archaeologist, numismatist and man of letters as well as founder of the "Biscari" museum of Catania.
In 1862 the royal decree of the king of Italy Vittorio Emanuele II established that the town was called Mirabella Imbaccari. Baron Ignazio divided the fiefdom into small plots and donated both the Baronial Palace to the Istituto delle Suore Dorotee (1928) and the land in the Orto Canale district for the construction of the elementary schools (1930), before joining the Regular Clerics of San Paul, called Barnabites, a Monza.
How to orient yourself
Mirabella Imbaccari: full screen map.How to get
How to get around
What see
- 1 Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Piazza Vespri (facing the Biscari palace along via Trigona), ☎ 39 0933993036. Its façade, with three architectural orders, in Sicilian-Baroque style, outlined by large pilasters with bases and capitals, is adorned with a large and artistic portal with frieze and tympanum, a window with a stone statue of the Madonna and Child, of a large civic clock, a three-light bell tower with round arches, and a terminal tympanum with a cross and acroterii. It was built by Giacinto Paternò at the same time as the construction of the Palace and the 60 houses staggered along the current Via Trigona. During the earthquake of 1693 it suffered a lot of damage, which were repaired by don Luigi Trigona, by whose successor don Ottavio and by other lords or parish priests who have succeeded it was enriched and embellished further.
- There is a valuable sarcophagus that contains the remains of Giuseppe and Innocenza Paternò; a canvas of the Crucifixion, even if unsigned, is presumed to have been painted by Michelangelo da Gangi belonging to the school of the lame di Ganci; another painting depicting the Transfiguration, the work of Michele Salvo da Gangi. To underline the presence (above the old sacristy) of a painting by the Mirabellese artist Vincenzo Di Fazio (1884-1968) depicting the Ascension. The church was renovated in 2006.
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- 2 Monument to the fallen of the First World War, piazza Santa Paola Frassinetti (in front of Palazzo Biscari). Inaugurated in 1938 during the administration of the cav. Benedetto Lo Presti. The monument, made in bronze by Pietro Montana and depicting a mighty soldier supporting a prostrate and afflicted woman, is a gift from the Mirabellesi residing in the United States of America.
- 3 Biscari Palace, piazza Santa Paola Frassinetti. It stands on the highest point in the country. It is of local baroque architecture, with the portal, the jambs and the carved stone windows. From the rounded iron balconies, the coat of arms of the Biscari family house dominates the frontispiece. It is a very large building, with an internal courtyard, or baglio, surrounded by land cultivated with gardens and vegetable gardens, and by the grove on the eastern side. It includes many large rooms that were once used partly as a dwelling and partly as a pantry, kitchen, horsewoman, warehouses.
- 4 Prison (Mirabella Imbaccari Castle), piazza Santa Paola Frassinetti (Attached to the Biscari building). Typical construction with overlapping battlements, similar to medieval castles, which once served as a place of punishment and has now been renovated internally for social activities.
- 5 Giangrande Palace, via Salvatore Politini. It is a block built under the prison or castle on the corner with the current via Politini and via Castello. Its construction dates back to the same period as the Biscari palace or immediately following. You can still admire the portal that opens into via Castello, all in carved stone with pilasters and capitals, and another portal on via Politini, also carved but with different lines.
- 6 Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Via Salvatore Politini, 22, ☎ 39 0933991153. The church was provisionally obtained, in December 1908, from the warehouses of the Politini family after a failed attempt to complete the construction of a second church in 1904. The new construction was made necessary after the earthquake of 8 December of that same year, which made the unsafe mother church unusable.
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- 7 Tombolo Museum, Via Roma, 133. From 1961 to 1974 the Tombolo Exhibition was held in conjunction with the patronal feast and in 1986 it was inaugurated as a permanent exhibition, located in the premises of the former middle school. In 2012 the current Tombolo Museum was inaugurated. There are exhibited precious laces of all shapes and sizes.
- 8 Former railway bridge, via old railroad. Unused bridge of the former Caltagirone-Dittaino railway.
Events and parties
- Carnival. It is an annual event that in the past saw young people having fun at family parties or in public rooms. For several years the carnival has been organized in a more noisy way with parades of allegorical floats and masked groups, an event that ends with an award ceremony and continues with public dances under the marquee in the main square.
- Altars of St. Joseph.
March 19. It is a vow that many people make in honor of St. Joseph by grace received. The altars are decorated in the best way and with the greatest abundance of food. - Journey to Calvary. Good Friday. It is a suggestive procession, which takes place with a large cross carried by a devotee. In the evening, with massive participation, the traditional procession of the Dead Christ and the Addolorata takes place. Characteristic are the Lamentations in the local dialect which are sung on Good Friday during the processions. These are songs modulated on arabesque cadences that recall the mysteries of the Passion and Death of the Lord.
- Feast of the Madonna. last Sunday of August. It is the patronal feast of the town. Popular participation is plebiscite especially during the procession that winds through the streets of the town. Characteristics are the promises with candles and chains on their feet.
- Saint Lucia. 12 and 13 December. In addition to the traditional cuccìa, the Vampa (bonfire) is lit in Piazza Vespri. On this occasion, for several years now, the kennel festival has been held.
March 19. It is a vow that many people make in honor of St. Joseph by grace received. The altars are decorated in the best way and with the greatest abundance of food.What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Moderate prices
- 1 Bar dei Vespri, Piazza Vespri, ☎ 39 3275507908.
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
Useful information
The craftsmanship of the bobbin lace it constitutes a typically local wealth, value and pride of all the women of the town. The tombolo - probably born in China and brought to Italy by Missionary Sisters - it is a very fine fabric obtained from a weave of linen or cotton thread through the rustle of wooden spindles skilfully maneuvered by expert fingers.
In Mirabella Imbaccari they speak a dialect of the Sicilian language of the central type, with evident Gallo-Italic substratum, due to the migrations of Lombard populations in eastern Sicily between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Mirabella Imbaccari
Commons contains images or other files on Mirabella Imbaccari
