Alcamo
Comune
Comune di Alcamo
Location of Alcamo
Alcamo Location of Alcamo in Italy Show map of Italy Alcamo Alcamo (Sicily) Show map of Sicily
Coordinates: 37°58′40″N 12°57′50″E / 37.97778°N 12.96389°E / 37.97778; 12.96389
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Trapani
Frazioni	Alcamo Marina
Government
• Mayor	Domenico Surdi
Area [1]
• Total	130.79 km2 (50.50 sq mi)
Elevation	256 m (840 ft)
Population  (31 October 2020)Data Table Istat
• Total	44,925
• Density	340/km2 (890/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Alcamese (Italian) Àrcamisi (Sicilian)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	91011
Dialing code	0924
Patron saint	Madonna of the Miracles
Saint day	21 June
Website	Official website

Alcamo (Italian pronunciation: [alˈkaːmo]; Sicilian: Àrcamu, [ˈaɾkamʊ], or Àlcamu) is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometres from Palermo and Trapani.

Nowadays the town territory includes an area of 130,79 square kilometres and is the second municipality as for population density in the province of Trapani, after Erice.^[2]

Alcamo is bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the north, Balestrate and Partinico on the east, Camporeale on the south and Calatafimi-Segesta and Castellammare del Golfo on the west. Its most important hamlet is Alcamo Marina at about 6 kilometres from the town centre. Together with other municipalities it takes part in the Associazione Città del Vino, the movement Patto dei Sindaci, Progetto Città dei Bambini, Rete dei Comuni Solidali^[3] and Patto Territoriale Golfo di Castellammare.^[2]

Geography

Territory

Alcamo is situated in the middle of the Gulf of Castellammare, at 258 metres above the sea level and at the foot of Mount Bonifato, a calcareous complex 825 metres high. At the altitude of 500 metres (near the "Funtanazza") there is the Nature Reserve of Monte Bonifato.

The territory of Alcamo also includes Alcamo Marina, mainly used as a summer resort.

Climate

The climate is mild, with higher rainfall during winter than summer.^[4]

The average annual temperature is 16.9 °C,^[4] with higher temperatures in August (24.8 °C)^[4] and lower temperatures in February (10.3 °C).^[4]

The average annual rainfall is 558 mm.^[4] Rainfall is particularly scarcer in July (4 mm)^[4] and more abundant in December (83 mm).^[4]

• Seismic classification: zone 2 (medium-high seismicity), Ordinance PCM 3274 (20 March 2003)
• Climatic classification: zone B, 1140 degree day^[6]
• Köppen climatic classification: CSa^[4]
• Atmospheric diffusivity: low, Ibimet CNR 2002

History

Etymology

There are discordances about the etymology of the toponym "Alcamo": one of the hypothesis connects the present name to the Arab word al-qama, which would mean "muddy earth" or "rich soil",^[7] another supposition is that it had been derived from the name of the Muslim leader who probably founded the town in 828 AD and whose name was al-Qāmūq (in Arabic: القاموق). According to some people this hypothesis was invented by Leo Africanus who had told this story without consulting any document on the subject.^[8] Besides, according to some scholars, the name Alcamo would derive from caccamu, a dialectal word referring to the plant Citrullus colocynthis.^[7]

Prehistory

Though there is little information about it, there are evidences that territory of Alcamo was inhabited even in prehistoric times; in one of the most ancient sites, near "contrada" Molinello (a country district), they discovered archaeological findings dating back to the Mesolithic, approximately 9,000–6,000 BC^[9] and other very old ones dating back to the Neolithic during the archaeological excavations done by the archaeologist Paolo Orsi (1899) and the marquis Antonio De Gregorio (1917) near the river Fiume Freddo.^[10] One of the most important finds is an axe from the Neolithic, kept at the Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi of Syracuse.^[9]

Longuro and Longarico

From the quotations by Lycophron we know that in old times there was an inhabited centre called "Longuro" on Mount Bonifato.^[11] According to an old story, this settlement was founded by a Greek colony which had escaped from the destruction of the town of Troy.^[12]

During the Roman period the inhabitants of Longuro moved to the foot of the mountain so they could practice agriculture in the surrounding lands.^[11] The town was called Longaricum;^[11] this name appears in the Itinerario di Antonino Pio (=Itinerary of Antoninus Pius, in the 3rd century AD)^[11] and would coincide with the Latin name of Longuro.^[13]

According to a supposition the two hillocks appearing on the gonfalon of Alcamo would represent both the towns of Longaricum and Longuro.

Origins

Alcamo was founded in 828 by the Muslim commander al-Kamuk (after whom it is probably named), though other sources date its origin to about 972.

The first document mentioning Alcamo is dating back to 1154, in a paper written by the Berber geographer Idrisi who was given this task by Roger II of Sicily^[14] in order to get a collection of geographic maps. From a distance longer than an Arab mile, the writer describes the position of Alcamo viewed from the Castle of Calatubo (visible even today from the town territory) and defines it as a "manzil", that is a hamlet or a group of houses with rich soil and a flourishing market.^[14] This hamlet was called "Alqamah" by Arabs.^[15] In a diary of 1185 the Andalusian pilgrim Ibn Jubayr confirms the Arab origin of the town;^[14] in fact during his travel from Palermo to Trapani he stopped at Alcamo and describes it as a beleda (town) with mosques and a market whose inhabitants were of Muslim religion.^[14]

Medieval age

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Alcamo
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