| Caltanissetta | |||
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| — Comune — | |||
| Comune di Caltanissetta | |||
| Caltanissetta Cathedral and the Triton Fountain, located in Piazza Garibaldi, the city's central square | |||
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Caltanissetta
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Italy | ||
| Region | Sicily | ||
| Province | Caltanissetta (CL) | ||
| Frazioni | Villaggio Santa Barbara, Borgo Petilia, Xirbi, Favarella, Santa Rita | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Michele Campisi | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 416 km2 (160.6 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 568 m (1,864 ft) | ||
| Population (January 31, 2004) | |||
| • Total | 60,692 | ||
| • Density | 145.9/km2 (377.9/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | Nisseni | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 93100 | ||
| Dialing code | 0934 | ||
| Patron saint | St. Michael | ||
| Saint day | September 29 | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Caltanissetta (Sicilian: Nissa or Cartanissetta) is a city and comune located on the western interior of Sicily, capital of the province of Caltanissetta. It lies in an area of rolling hills with small villages and towns, crossed by the river Salso.
Caltanissetta is the hub of public transport in the area.
Caltanissetta is also the site of a longwave transmitter (shutdown in 2002) and shortwave transmitter. The mast used for the longwave transmitter may be the tallest structure in Italy.
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Caltanissetta is located in geographically important position dominating the whole valley of the Salso, which extends to include the nearby Enna. Morphologically aligned perfectly matches the surrounding area, very harsh and composition of limestone and clay. The city lies between three hills (Sant'Anna, Monte San Giuliano e Poggio Sant'Elia), which, unwilling to bow, forming a basin into which comprises part of the historical center and the south.
The Maccalube (from "maqlub", a land that turns) are a particular and rare phenomenon of sedimentary volcanism occurring in the area of Caltanissetta Terrapelata, the so-called "Hill of the volcanoes". This is an area of barren hills, with a color ranging from white to dark gray, where there are a number of mud volcanoes around one meter high are at the center of volcanic sediment. The phenomenon is related to the presence of very large clay soils, interspersed with layers of salt water, towering over methane gas bubbles subjected to some pressure. The gas breaks through the soil, rises to the surface, carrying with it sediments of clay and water, giving rise to a cone of clay, whose top is similar to a volcanic crater. In these areas, the consistency of the sludge liquid clay is so as not to allow the formation of real volcanic cones.
Caltanissetta's origins can be traced back to 406 BC, when admiral Nicia of Hamilcar's siege force from Carthage established a fort at the site, later called Castra Nicia (Fort Nicia).
After the Second Punic War, Castra Nicia came under Roman rule, but as in the rest of Sicily, the influence of the invaders remained superficial.
In AD 829, the city was occupied by the Saracens. The similarity of the Carthaginian name to the Arabic word Nissa (meaning "women") resulted in the Saracen name of Qalat al Nissa ("Fort of the Women"), which has since been Italianized to Caltanissetta. The settlement was captured by the Normans in 1086. A charter was granted to the town in accordance with count Roger Borsa's vast plan for the urbanisation of Sicily and the urban plan that is still in evidence today was laid out.
After the Normans the city was under the Hohenstaufen, the Anjou and the Catalan-Aragonese kings, who gave it the title of county. Here Frederick II of Sicily was proclaimed king. The city was the seat of another Parliament who aimed to set the disputes arisen during the reign of Frederick III (1355–1377).
In 1406 Caltanissetta became a fief of the noble Spanish family Moncada, which already owned the estate of Paternò, and subsequently decayed deeply. In 1539 the construction of the Cathedral was started and in 1566 a notable bridge was built over the Salso River. In this period the city began to expand outside the walls, and new quarters (Santa Flavia, San Rocco degli Zingari and San Francesco, which included the medieval village of Arab origin) were created. The quartiers were divided by the construction of two roads that crossed roughly perpendicular to a central square (now Piazza Garibaldi): the Corso Vittorio Emanuele current (west-east) and the current Corso Umberto I (north-south)
On July 8, 1718 the city was assaulted by Piemontese troops, which caused large losses in the population. In 1787 Johann Wolfgang Goethe visited it.
In 1812, after 406 years, the Moncada seignory ended, as the feudal constitution was abolished and Caltanissetta turned into the 22nd Comarca of Sicily. In 1819 it was declared capital of the province, but one year later it was sacked as a punishment for its loyalty to the House of Bourbon. In 1844 it was elevated to a bishopric seat.
After many Nisseni had taken part in his Mille's ("the Thousand's") deeds, Giuseppe Garibaldi entered the city, together with Cesare Abba and Alexandre Dumas, père. On October 22 of the same year a plebiscite declared Caltanissetta part of the new Kingdom of Italy.
After the unification of Italy was involved in a great economic boom largely due to intense mining of sulfur, but it was accompanied by various misfortunes: April 27, 1867 47 people died due to an explosion of fire damp in the mine of Trabonella, 65 miners died in November 12, 1881 in Gessolungo always an explosion, and another 51 in 1911 in Deliella and Trabonella.
In 1875, however, the population rose against the prefect, who was fired. On April 8, 1878, the city was connected to a railway, ending the historical difficulties in reaching it. Three years later the king Umberto I visited Caltanissetta along with his wife Margherita of Savoy and his son Victor Emmanuel III.
During the Second World War, as part of the Allied landing in Sicily, he suffered several bombings (July 1943) during which 351 civilians were killed. On July 10, U.S. troops landed in Gela a week before they entered and occupied the city.
The economy of Caltanissetta remained heavily reliant on agriculture until the 19th century, when a heavy sulfur mining industry began. Soon 275 sulfur mines were created in the Nissena province, employing 32,000 workers. A renowned firm established in the city is the Fratelli Averna SpA, producing a liqueur sold in the whole of Italy and beyond, the Amaro Averna.
The city has long been stricken by poverty, especially the west side.
The city's monuments include:
Caltanissetta is also home to the Museo Archeologico, which holds displays from mostly prehistoric times and include finds from digs conducted in the 1950s, including vases and tools from the Bronze Age and early Sicilian ceramics.
In the neighbourhood of Caltanissetta two other notable monuments can be seen:
Caltanissetta is site of a facility for longwave (inactive) and shortwave broadcasting of RAI.
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