Vizzini
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:'''''Vizzini''' was also the name of a character in William Goldman's novel [[The Princess Bride]].''
{{Infobox CityIT
|img_coa = Vizzini-stemma2007.jpg
|img_coa_small = yes
|official_name = Comune di Vizzini
|region = [[Sicily]]
|province = [[Province of Catania|Catania]] (CT)
|elevation_m = 586
|area_total_km2 = 125
|population_as_of = [[December 31]], [[2004]]
|population_total = 7017
|population_density_km2 = 57
|timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]], [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]+1
|coordinates = {{coor dm|37|10|N|14|45|E|region:IT_type:city(7017)}}
|frazioni = Camemi,[[Vizzini Scalo]]
|telephone = 0933
|postalcode = 95049
|gentilic = Vizzinesi
|saint = [[Pope Gregory I|St. Gregory]]
|day = [[March 12]]
|mayor = Vito Saverio Cortese (From:2002[[May 28]])
|website = [http://www.comune.vizzini.ct-egov.it/ Comune di Vizzini]
|}}
'''Vizzini''' is a town and [[comune]] in the [[province of Catania]], on the island of [[Sicily]]. It is located 60 km from Catania in the [[Hyblaean Mountains]], on the most northwesterly slopes of [[Monte Lauro]].
The commune territory is bounded by the comuni of [[Buccheri]], [[Francofonte]], [[Giarratana]], [[Licodia Eubea]], [[Militello in Val di Catania]], [[Mineo]].
[[Image:Vizzini-Panorama.png|thumb|right|200px|Panorama of Vizzini]]
== History ==
Bidis, a Roman city mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] and [[Cicero]], stood here in a territory that has been inhabited since prehistoric times.<ref>[http://www.sicilyok.it/larosa/ ''Sicily and Its Islands'', 2004 - [[Ugo La Rosa]] editore]</ref>
The modern town developed in the [[Middle Ages]] around a now non-extant castle,<ref>[http://www.mondimedievali.net/Libridine/castelsicilia.htm AA. VV., Castelli medievali di Sicilia - Guida agli itinerari castellani dell'isola, Grafiche Renna, Palermo 2001]"VIZZINI - Denominazione: castello o torre di Vizzini; turris Bizini.Cartografia IGM: 273 II N.O. Vizzini. Dati catastali: Vizzini, F° 80, partt. 1847, 2049. Bibliografia essenziale:Amico 1855-56. II, pp. 663-66; Maurici 1992.. p.384;SMDS,VII,pp.80-83.
C.M.B"</ref> as a [[fief]] of various lords, including the Chiaromontes and the Schittinos, although for many years it was also part of the royal domain.
In 1358, [[Roland of Sicily]] reconquered the area from [[Vizzini]] to [[Avola]].
== Main sights ==
The Arab layout of the town can be clearly seen passing from Via Verga to Via San Gregorio Magno and proceeding as far as Largo della Matrice, a square with a statue of [[Gregory I|St. Gregory]] in the middle and the Chiesa Madre ([[Gregory I|S. Gregorio Magno]]) at one side.
The portal on the left face of the church, in splendid 15th century Gothic-Catalan style, probably came from the old Town Hall, destroyed by the earthquake in 1693; in the interior there are late 18th century stuccos and a wooden ceiling by Natale Bonaiuto, as well as two paintings (''The Martyrdom of St. Laurence'' and the ''Madonna delle Mercede'') by Filippo Paladini (or Paladino), born in [[Florence]] about 1544. Another painting by Paladino, ''The Deposition'' (1607), is in the Chiesa del Convento dei Cappuccini.
Nearby is the Chiesa di Sant'Agata, rebuilt in the 18th century on the site of a previous 15th century building and houses a [[pipe organ]] created around 1770.
The church of San Giovanni Battista is from the 18th century. The stuccos decorating the interior are by Natale Bonaiuto (also mentioned with reference to the Chiesa Madre).
[[Antonello Gagini]] is present in the Chiesa dei Minori Osservanti, with a fine statue of the ''Madonna and Child'' (1527).
===Churches===
*Chiesa dello Spirito Santo
*Chiesa di S. Maria di Gesù
*Chiesa di s. Vito
*Chiesa S. Annunziata
*Chiesa di S. Francesco di Paola
*Chiesa di S. Maria del Pericolo
*Chiesa . Sebastiano
*Chiesa s. Teresa.
*Monastero S. Maria dei Greci
==Culture==
The writer [[Giovanni Verga]] used Vizzini as the setting for his ''[[Cavalleria Rusticana]]'' and ''Mastro Don Gesualdo'', describing places and scenes that are still recognizable (the prickly pears of Cunziria, and in a sloping alley the house of the Trao family).
==Economy==
The economy of the commune is mainly [[agricultural]] ([[cereal]]s, [[prickly pear]]s, [[vegetable]]s, [[sumac]]). Other activities include handmade [[shoe]]s and [[carpentry]].
==Transportation==
The railway station Vizzini-Licodia is situated 6 km outside the city in the [[frazione]] of [[Vizzini Scalo]].
==Events==
*Procession of "Sorrows" - Good Friday
*"A Cugnunta" - Easter Sunday
*"Ricotta and Cheese Festival" - 23rd, 24th and 25th of April
*Festival of San Giuseppe - 19 April
*"Festival of Taste and Odours" - 2 June
*Festival of San Giovanni Battista - 28th and 29th August
*Events [[Giovanni Verga|Verghiane]] - July / August
*Festival of the Patron San Gregorio Magno - 2nd and 3rd September
*"[http://www.rocksticana.infovizzini.it Rocksticana]" - Rock music festival for emerging groups - September
*Traditional "Festival of the Dead" - 30th / 31st October and 1st November
*"Living Nativity" - December
==References==
<references/>
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==External links==
*{{it icon}}[http://www.infovizzini.it InfoVizzini.it - "The website of the Citizens of Vizzini"](please note this is not the official comune site)
*{{en icon}}[http://vizzinesi.org/ Vizzini Genealogy](Birth / Marriage / Death indices 1820-1860 / Military Draft Index 1840-1913)
*{{en icon}}[http://www.concordanza.com/misc/si_tipol/si4.html Towards a typology of decorative façades in 18th-century Sicilian organs]
*{{en icon}}[http://www.energy-business-review.com/article_news.asp?guid=C53671BD-84D7-43C8-AFAD-62A86FF55DE5 Endesa inaugurates first Sicily wind farm (in Vizzini)]
{{Province of Catania}}
[[Category:Municipalities of the Province of Catania]]
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