Menfi
| Menfi | ||
|---|---|---|
| Comune | ||
| Comune di Menfi | ||
 | ||
| ||
  Menfi | ||
| Coordinates: 37°36′N 12°58′E / 37.600°N 12.967°E | ||
| Country | Italy | |
| Region | Sicily | |
| Province | Agrigento (AG) | |
| Frazioni | Porto Palo, Lido Fiori, Capparrina, Bertolino di Mare | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Michele Botta | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 113.2 km2 (43.7 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 109 m (358 ft) | |
| Population (30 September 2009)[1] | ||
| • Total | 12,808 | |
| • Density | 110/km2 (290/sq mi) | |
| Demonym | Menfitani | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 92013 | |
| Dialing code | 0925 | |
| Patron saint | St. Anthony | |
| Saint day | 13 June | |
Menfi is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 70 km southwest of Palermo and about 60 km northwest of Agrigento.
The town lies some 3 km from the south coast of Sicily, between the rivers Belice and Carboj. In 1910, a full third of the population of the town of Menfi had emigrated to the United States [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/offers.html?url=%2Fchicagotribune%2Faccess%2F387332051.html%3FFMT%3DAI%26FMTS%3DABS%3AAI%26type%3Dhistoric%26date%3DMay%2B05%252C%2B1910%26author%3D%26pub%3DChicago%2BTribune%26desc%3DThe%2BWide%252C%2BWide%2BWorld.]. There was a particularly large community of Menfi emigrants in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York City. On Starr Street in this neighborhood in Brooklyn, the emigrants established "The Flower of Menfi", which was also named the "Menfi Social Club", for Menfi emigrants and their families. The club was located at 28 Starr St. in Brooklyn, NY. On April 16, 1927, "The Flower of Menfi", described as "an organization of young men in Brooklyn", publicly sent a telegram to Governor Fuller asking for clemency in the openly anti-Italian American trial of Sacco and Vanzetti. . On October 27, 1933, the newspaper "The Brooklyn Sun" also noted that the "Menfi Social Club" was hosting a "political program" for Raymond V. Ingersoll, who was then running to be the Brooklyn Borough President, which he became in 1934 .
Main sights
- A tower (Torre Federiciana), remain of a medieval castle built by Frederick II of Hohenstafen in 1238, perhaps over an Arab fortification.
- Chiesa Madre ("Mother Church"), built in the 18th century but destroyed by an earthquake in 1968. It has been later rebuilt.
- Church of St. Joseph (1715).
Remains of an Iron Age prehistoric settlement have been found in the 1980s outside the town.
