Favara, Sicily

Favara Fabaria
Comune
Comune di Favara
Panorama of Favara Panorama of Favara
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Favara in the province of Agrigento Location of the municipality of Favara in the province of Agrigento
Favara Location of Favara in Italy
Coordinates:
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province / Metropolitan city	Agrigento (AG)
Government
• Mayor	Rosario Manganella (since June, 2011)
Area
• Total	81,88 km2 (3,161 sq mi)
Elevation	338 m (1,109 ft)
Population (August 31, 2014)
• Total	32,721
• Density	4.0/km2 (10/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Favaresi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	92026
Dialing code	0922
Patron saint	St. Anthony of Padua
Saint day	June 13
Website	Official website

Favara is a town and comune of south central Sicily (Italy), in the province of Agrigento, 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-east of Agrigento by road, with which it forms a conurbation.

The town has a considerable agricultural trade, and there are sulfur and other mines in the neighborhood.

It is regionally famous for the Easter Lamb, a local pastry produced there from almonds and pistachios.

Territory

The town is located on the slope of a 533 m hill, Monte Caltafaraci, locally known as the Muntaggnedda (little mountain in Sicilian). The average elevation is 338 m, with a minimum of 20 m and a maximum of 533 m. Favara is part of the agricultural region #5 Agrigento seaside hills (Italian: Colline litoranee di Agrigentocode: it is deprecated ). The local climate falls into the Csa category of the Köppen climate classification, i.e. a warm Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers and temperate winters, with temperature rarely dropping below 0 °C.

History

The first signs of human habitation of the area can be dated to the late copper age (2400-1990 a.C.), with monochrome red pottery in the Malpasso style found in a cave in contrada Ticchiara. An excavation of a later burial site (1900-1450 a.C.) from contrada Grazia Vicina has yielded gray achromatic ceramic with connection to the Conca d'Oro style (late copper age in the Palermo region) and to archaic forms of the Castelluccio style (early Bronze Age in central-southern Sicily). Another burial site has been identified in contrada San Vincenzo, which can be dated to the middle Bronze Age (around 1450 a.C.).

Remains of a fortification dating to the period of the Greek colonies in Sicily can be found in contrada Caltafaraci. Following the Roman and Byzantine domination, the Saracen established themselves in Sicily in the 9th and 10th century. A settlement flourished in contrada Saraceno and many traces of their domination can still be found in the denomination of local geographical places. The name of the town itself originates from the Arabian fawwāra (Arabic: ﻓﻮﺍﺭة‎‎), meaning “Gurgling pool of water”.

During the subsequent Norman domination several large structures were built, among others the Chiaramonte Castle, also known as the Medieval Palace. In the 14th century the castle passed to the Chiaramonte family, from which it took its current name. In the 15th century, although protected by city walls, the town underwent a period of population decline, especially between 1439 and 1464. This trend was reversed from 1478 to 1497. In the 16th century the efforts of the De Marinis family contributed to a greater development of Favara.

In the 19th century, in the background of the unification of Italy and up to 1883, Favara was the main hub of a large criminal organization known as Fratellanza di Favara.

In contemporary history, the mayor of Favara, Gaetano Guarino, was murdered on May 16, 1946, by unknown perpetrators.

Main sights

It possesses a Castle of the 11th- to 15th-century noble Chiaramonte family, erected in 1280.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: