Grammichele

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Comune in Sicily, Italy

Coat of arms

Location of Grammichele

37°12′53″N 14°38′11″E / 37.21472°N 14.63639°E / 37.21472; 14.63639CountryItalyRegionSicilyMetropolitan city Catania (CT)Government

• MayorGiuseppe Maria PurporaArea

^[1]

• Total30 km² (10 sq mi)Elevation

520 m (1,710 ft)Population

(31 August 2017)^[2]

• Total13,274 • Density440/km² (1,100/sq mi)DemonymGrammichelesiTime zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

95042

Dialing code0933Patron saintSt. Michael ArchangelSaint dayMay 8WebsiteOfficial website

Grammichele (Sicilian: Grammicheli, Greek: Echetle (meaning "plowshare"); Latin: Echetla, Ochula; Medieval: Occhiolà) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located at the feet of the Hyblaean Mountains, some 13 kilometres (8 mi) from Caltagirone.

History

The town was built in 1693, after the old town of Occhiolà, located to the north of the modern Grammichele, was destroyed by an earthquake. Occhiolà, on account of the similarity of name, is generally identified with Echetla, a frontier city between Syracusan and Carthaginian territory in the time of Hiero II, which appears to have been originally a Sicel city in which Greek civilization prevailed from the 5th century onwards.^[3]

The devastation of the old town was so severe that the feudal landlord of the town, Carlo Maria Carafa Branciforte, Prince of Butari, commissioned construction of a new town, with plans aided by Michele da Ferla. Supposedly the Prince himself sketched out the initial hexagonal layout. In the center of the hexagon is the Piazza Carlo Maria Carafa, faced by the Chiesa Madre (Mother Church), San Michele Arcangelo, and the Palazzo Communale (City Hall). The town of Avola, destroyed by the same earthquake, was also relocated and rebuilt along a hexagonal layout.

On July 15, 1943, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division fought its first battle with the Germans in Operation Husky against elements of Panzer Division "Hermann Goring". The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, Saskatoon Light Infantry (Machine Gun) and the Three Rivers Regiment (tank) all took part in the fighting, which concluded at midday with the town in Canadian hands.

Main sights

To the east of Grammichele a cave shrine of Demeter, with fine votive terracottas, was discovered.^[3] Other sights include the Mother Church; San Michele Arcangelo, dedicated to St. Michael; and the Church of Calvary.

Notable people

Francesco Gargano (1899–1975), an Italian fencer who won a gold medal in the team sabre event at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Agrippino Manteo (1884–1947), a Catanese-American puppeteer who immigrated first to Mendoza, Argentina, and then to New York City, where he performed Sicilian puppet theater plays on a daily basis from the early 1920s until he closed his theater in 1939. <Cavallo, Jo Ann. The Sicilian Puppet Theater of Agrippino Manteo (1884-1947): The Paladins of France in America. Anthem Press, 2023. >

References

^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b Chisholm 1911.

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Grammichele". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 332.