ALCAMO
Half way between Trapani and
Palermo is where Alcamo is situated. It was originally founded
by the Arabs and was known as Manzil Algamah under the Muslim
command of al-Kamuk (828), following an Arab invasion in Sicily
(827).
Passed over to the Normans (1060) and therefore to the Swabians
together with the entire region, the suburb was always inhabited
by Arabs, who were the protagonists of a series of revolts
against Federico II, finally ordering his deportation.
Alcamo only flourished under the Aragonese. After a feud it
was entrusted to the Ventimiglia population, who instigated
the construction of the Castle of the Counts of Modica (1350),
carried out by brothers Manfredi and Enrico Chiaromonte.
During the 15th Century, the City was enclosed by walls, to
protect itself from the continuous incursions by Saracen pirates
who ceased only after defeat by the Turks at Lepanto (1570).
Scourged by repeated periods of pestilence, Alcamo flourished
once again, both artistically and economically in the 18th
Century, during which many of its religious buildings were
constructed, including that of the Chiesa Madre (Mother Church).
Alcamo therefore became part of the Reign of Sicily, and after
the Napoleonic era, part of the Reign of the Two Sicilies
under the Bourbons, until final annexation to the Reign of
Italy (1860).
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