CANICATTINI
BAGNI
Canicattini
Bagni is located in the Siracusa province at 360m asl and has a
population of about 7,800 inhabitants. It stretches on the lower
slopes of the Iblean Mountains near the impressing Cave (caves)
of the former fief of S. Alfano.
It
was founded in the late-1600s by the Marquis Mario Daniele, possessor
of the fiefs of Bagni, Canicattini and Bosco, who was granted by
the Spanish rulers the permission to establish a new hamlet that
would be called Bagni di Canicattini.
Following
the terrible earthquake of 1693, it saw a demographic growth most
due to the migration in town of many people from the ravaged towns
of the Noto Valley.
In
the city vicinity are some Byzantine necropolises – namely
at Cozzo Guardiole and S. Elama – and christian and prehistoric
ones – at S. Alfano and S. Martino districts.
The
town main street, being in the older part of the town, is scattered
with some lovely buildings, including the 1700’ Chiesa Madre,
restructured in the second half of the 19th century, with a rather
simple interior and a single nave, the Palazzo Comunale, the Chiesa
delle Anime Sante and several noble palazzi with finely decorated
façades.
The
city surroundings provide spots for beautiful excursions like the
Ponte di S. Alfio – a 1700’s structure with a single
arcade, built of the local natural stone and facing onto the Cava
Cardinale –, the Cava Cardinale itself, offering a fine naturalistic
landscape characterized by beautiful woods and farms.
|
