Santa Domenica Vittoria

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Comune di Santa Domenica Vittoria
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Messina (ME)
Mayor	Costantino Antonio Pinzone Vecchio

Elevation	1,080 m
Area	19 km²
Population
- Total	1172
- Density	62/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates
Gentilic
Dialing code	095
Postal code	98030

Patron	St. Antonio Abate

Website: www.comunesdv.it

Santa Domenica Vittoria is a town and comune in the Province of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy.

It is situated 7 kilometres north of Randazzo in the Nebrodi Mountain Range. It is 1080 metres above sea level and has views over all of the northern Etna Valley. Although the town is in the Province of Messina it takes the telephone prefix for the Province of Catania as it is on the border between the Provinces of Catania and Messina.

The administrative area of the comune covers 19 square kilometres, but the town itself has an area of approximately 2 square kilometres. The comune borders the following municipalities: Floresta, Montalbano Elicona, Randazzo, and Roccella Valdemone.

Santa Domenica Vittoria is named after a Calabrian Saint, who was a victim of the Roman persecution of Christians under Diocletian.

[edit] The Town Feast

One of the biggest events of the year in the town is the Feast of St. Anthony, the town's patron. The actual feast day is 17 January, but given the cold winters that are usually accompanied by heavy snow and below freezing conditions, it is celebrated on the first Sunday of September. Before the day of celebrations there are seven days of prayer in the local church. On the day of the feast many of the men of the town dress in white and carry a statue of St Anthony in a procession through every street of town and the townspeople traditionally pin money to the statue as it passes by their balconies. The day ends with a fantastic fireworks display and a party in the town's main piazza.