History is Origins
Castellammare del Golfo, according to the opinions - by now you consolidate - of historians and geographers, it is born as emporium of the city of Segesta. The place, that is, where the Elimis ancient as mysterious people they practiced their commerces with the foreign ships. The history of the town of the gulf, therefore, identifies each other at least until all’827 AD, when Arab will become - with that of Segesta since of this suffered the same circumstances. In perennial contrast with the Greek of the near Selinunte with which it often engaged bloody battles - the important center elimo always orbitted around the power cartaginese that made some emporium Segestano one of the most important stations strengthened of the northern basin of Sicily. Tramontato in the island the Greek star, the power cartaginese you owe, therefore, to measure with others and well anymore tireless hostile: the Romans. The wars puniches, in fact, were the last action of the circumstance cartaginese and, therefore, also of Segesta but not of the ancient emporium. The winners, in fact, fully understanding importance of it, repopulated him/it, preserving of it and strengthening the military characteristics of it. They were therefore the Arabs that connotarono the center - rechristened To the Madarigs the stairs", perhaps from the mountain that it overhangs the inhabited area - as a fortress, impregnable surrender with the construction of the small fortress and as pole of great commercial importance, with the installation of the tonnara and the loader. Of the following Norman epoch and sveva - between 1071 and 1282 - few news has reached us, but and probable that these last have subsequently and strengthened better To the Madarig that, with the construction of the fortitude on the sea, taking to call Castle to sea; he owes nevertheless, to the aragonesis - which the city passed after the Evening - the definitive setup of the mighty fortification. In the period aragonese (1281 - 1410), therefore, the town was earth baronale of ownership of Fred of Antiochia and became important tied up commercial pole to the export of the wheat. The ulterior development of Castellammare of the Gulf - that with alternate fortunes I preserve his/her quality of I bring - it is, finally from to count to the period that has gone since Six hundred at eight hundred o'clock, when the city saw an increasing notable development. Castellammare, having exhausted today also his/her historical role, it is an important commercial center and in his I bring a notable traffic of export of agricultural products it is developed. Thanks, then, to a patrimony of inestimable value, constituted by the extraordinary naturalistic beauty of his/her coasts and his/her immediate hinterland, Castellammare of the Gulf has proposed justly as important pole of tourist attraction that very you/he/she can offer to his/her visitors. Set in the beautiful gulf of Castellammare, to the feet of a tall, sour rich mountain of luxuriant vegetation, the city degrades where actually softly toward the sea to the penisoletta the castle it rises, between two magnificent beaches of soft sands. The whole inhabited is discovered him/it in an only, extraordinary hit of eye - from his, "belvedere ', place aloft, on the government one, from which with steep serpentine him plain in the city, This enumerates numerous and important monumental good, precise signs of the history of Castellammare,
Historical itinerary
Comes in the city for the Street Crispi, he takes (to the right) the course Garibaldi, the principal longitudinal axle, where, after 400 meters on the right, it is the house of P. Asaro, on whose façade a headstone remembers that in that abode stay Joseph Garibaldi. Even more before, after hundred meters, on the left, it looks out upon, the elegant church of S. Antonio from Padua that preserve a bell' altar devoted to the same Saint and a 1902 valuable organ. He/she anchors on the course Garibaldi, to the left, in the terminal part, the small church of the Purgatory: uncertain the date of his/her construction Urn is known that it already existed in the XV century. In his/her inside, characterized by five altars, some beautiful cloths of the XVII and XVIII have preserved century. After all to the course Garibaldi, turning to the right for plaza Matrix, here still the settecentesca Mother Church,
rehandled in the century XVI and XVII. Devoted to the cult of Maria SS. of the Help, the building is characterized, to the outside, from a beautiful façade, work of the architect and painter Milanese Joseph Mariani. The inside, to three aisles preceded from a hallway with organ, you/he/she has enriched from decorations and marbles: of big merit the frescos on the central time, work performed in 1768 from the painter Giuseppe Tresca. Of big relief, anchor, a Crucifix with Apostles, realized in 1650 from Orazio Ferraro and, to the left of the greatest altar, a splendid simulacro in maiolica of the Madonna of the Help, counted, from some studious, to the school of Luca of the Robbia. From the Matrix it is taken, therefore, on the right, the Street Bridge Castle, where, immediately after the bridge, in the boundaries of the same castle and the beautiful chiesetta of the Rosary, commonly said of her "Madonna of the agnuni." If uncertain and the date of his/her building - some thinks to have been manufactured in 1093, from the Norman ones, but of sure it already existed before 1432 - note and that of the construction of his/her beautiful portal, cinquecentesco, enriched, in the eardrum, from a marmoreal bas-relief of the Gagini, raffigurante the Madonna with his/her/their Child; to the inside you/he/she has preserved a valuable statue wooden raffigurante it "Madonna of the Rosary." The Street Bridge Castle finishes, therefore, in the open space where the small fortress rises, place on a small promontory and aggregate to the first nucleus of the country constituted by suggestive cottages of fishermen. The geographer Arabic Idrisi, lived to the time of the Count Roger, it is the first one to give of it to us news: "any castle is stronger than site - it reports - neither better for the construction that this here, which it encircles a ditch cut in the mountain around. In the castle is entered for a wood bridge that is raised and it is put again as him he/she wants." And, the geographer adds, that was treated of the annex of a more important castle, said Calatamet (Castle of the Baths)", that rose on a rock called To the Hammah.
This name derives her from the presence of a source of thermal water that, in the you press, it gushed out. Of this last, Idrisi still said that: "people take the baths in this water that and of the correct heat, sweet and sweet. In the outskirtses they flow rivers and of the coasts that let turn quite a lot mills....". Few or nothing, nevertheless, he/she remains by now of this mythical construction that, probably it rose on the hill that overhung the throat from which the same source gushes out. The actual one, mighty construction of the Castle to sea was built by the Saracens, on the ruins of precedents fortifications and subsequently widened and strengthened from Norman and svevi, so much from to become her most important
fortitude of western Sicily. Continuing for the street Bridge Castle is turned to the right for the stairway that brings Marina to the Cove, where the castle can be admired (side sea), the splendid beam Costamante and the church of Maria SS.
Announced, note already in 1590. You returns, therefore, on the course Garibaldi (in opposite direction) and, passing for the Four Songs, nucleus of the social life, cultural and politics of the city, introduces us (on the right) in the progress Mattarella, where he/she is met (to the left) the complex of the ex Maria's SS Church. of the Agonizzantis and of the Convent of the PPs. Crociferi, risalente in his/her first plant at 1659 o'clock. The building, has been turned today to center of the Town hall and Polyvalent Cultural Center. Continuing on the course Mattarella is reached I pardon her/it he/she knows town villa in the you press of which, in the homonym piazzetta, another sacred building rises, Maria's SS church. of the Graces, risalente to the XV sec. around. In his/her inside, a beautiful icon in marble with a painting on blackboard, raffigurante the Madonna with Child, it goes back to the 18th century and is by some attributed to Pietro Novelli. The Street Rome, overlooking the plaza Madonna of the Graces, crosses in the tall part of the country the street
F. Crispi that you/he/she will be had to take to the right for reaching an ulterior sacred building, the church of St. Joseph, a 1885 construction, in which preserve the beautiful picture of S. Anthony Abbot. Many other are, in the historical center and in the immediate nearness, the buildings that deserve a visit her Church of St. Joseph, on I break down him/it to sea emerald of the Gulf in 1590. You returns, therefore, on the course Garibaldi (in opposite direction) and, passing for the Four Songs, nucleus of the social life, cultural and politics of the city, introduces us (on the right) in the progress Mattarella, where he/she is met (to the left) the complex of the ex Maria's SS Church.
of the Agonizzantis and of the Convent of the PPs. Crociferi, risalente in his/her first plant at 1659 o'clock. The building, has been turned today to center of the Town hall and Polyvalent Cultural Center. Continuing on the course Mattarella is reached the attractive town villa in the you press of which, in the homonym piazzetta, another sacred building rises, Maria's SS Church. of the Graces, risalente to the XV sec. around. In his/her inside, a beautiful icon in marble with a painting on blackboard, raffigurante the Madonna with Child, risalente at 1700 o'clock and from some attributed to Pietro Novelli. The Street Rome, overlooking the plaza Madonna of the Graces, crosses in the tall part of the country the street F. Crispi that you/he/she will be had to take to the right for reaching an ulterior sacred building, the church of St. Joseph, a 1885 construction, in which preserve the beautiful picture of S. Anthony Abbot. The ancient suburb marinaro of Scopello would rise on the site of the mythical city of Cetaria, so call also the exceptional abundance of tunas existing in his/her sea. They were the Arabs, that called that situated Iscubuls, to restructure you the tonnara, destroyed once the city of Cetaria. Today the complex is in disarmament - the terrible fishing of the tuna is not more profitable - but everything and remained perfect efficient mind, from the complex of the stores, to the beam and the residences, to the boats and the nets: silent witness of an ancient civilization marinara by now nearly disappearance in the whole Sicily. The natural environment of the territory of Castellammare and, that of the whole Gulf, is characterized in general, strongly by the splendid coasts tirreni that to rising low, open, few sinuous, to west tall, between you hack and steep - and from a territory of undulated hills on which mighty calcareous bastions of wild beauty impend. The shore of the Gulf, particularly, and now overhung by naked mountainous reliefs, now densely boscati - from which emerges taller, the Inici Mountain (1064 ms. slm), that confer to the whole an aspect of big spettacolarità. All these environments, dress again besides particular importance from the biological point of view, constituting. often. ecological niches of big relief and by now - unfortunately absolutely only in the depressing horizon naturalistic Sicilian.