Ucria

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Ucria
Comune
Comune di Ucria
250px
Ucria is located in Italy
Ucria
Ucria
Location of Ucria in Italy
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country Italy
Region Sicily
Province / Metropolitan city Messina (ME)
Government
 • Mayor Giuseppe Giovanni Lembo
Area
 • Total 26.2 km2 (10.1 sq mi)
Elevation 710 m (2,330 ft)
Population [1]
 • Total 1,079
 • Density 41/km2 (110/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Ucriesi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 98060
Dialing code 0941
Patron saint S.S. Cristo della Pietà
Saint day May 3
Website Official website

Ucria is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) east of Palermo and about 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Messina. It is located in the Park of the Nebrodis.

Physical geography

Ucria is a small mountain town, between 710 and 790 metres (2,330 and 2,590 ft) above sea level, in the Nebrodi Mountains. It is the meeting point of three major thoroughfares: the State Road #116 (Capo d'Orlando - Randazzo), the Provincial Road #136 (San Piero Patti - Ucria), and the Provincial Road #139. The last of these passes through Sinagra on the way to the sea at Brolo. The Via Padre Bernardino (Strada Statale #116) bisects the town and provides a nice view of the surrounding mountains and the valley.

History

The finds of prehistoric tools, close to the Rocca di San Marco, and a storage room of Roman coins in the locality Arelluso, are evidence of the habitation in antiquity. The origin of the town dates back to the times of the Greeks, while the name is derived from the Arabic "KERYA" which means "village." The two Saracen towers, one in the outskirts that was to serve as a lookout and one in the north of the town, are an indication that the village already existed at the time of the Arabs, and that it represented a strategic location on the way to the sea. From the towers, a series of passages and tunnels that branch off across the area. Since the year 1000, Ucria was dominated by a castle that passed from one power to another, including Norman, Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese. In the Norman period, Ucria was a fiefdom of Abbo Barresi.

Monuments and places of interest

Religious architecture

  • Mother Church "St. Peter the Apostle"
  • Church of the Virgin Mary
  • Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
  • Church of the Madonna dell' Annunziata
  • Ruins of the Church of St. Maria Della Scala
  • Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
  • Church of St. Michael the Archangel

Company

Demographic trends

Traditions and folklore

  • 'Festival of S.S. Christ of Pity 'Patron of Ucria takes place every year on 3 May, and September 14
  • 'The Emigrant's Day' is held every year on August 14.
  • 'Feast of St. Michael the Archangel' is held every year on the last Saturday of September.
  • 'Feast of Our Lady S.S. del Rosario 'is held every year on the last Sunday of October.
  • 'Show and Festival Mushroom' is held every year on the last Sunday of October.
  • 'Show and Festival Hazelnuts' is held every year in the month of September.

Culture

Museums

  • Pedagogical Museum of Arts and Youth Creativity
  • Typological Museum of Traditional Arts of Sicily
  • Museo della Carta Pesta "Gianpistone"
  • Museum of the Nebrodis ethnohistorian "Antonino Gullotti"
  • Mosaic Nico Nicosia "Comparing the Two Worlds"

Living plant germplasm bank

The Germplasm Bank of Living Plants is located on Via S. Antonio del Prato in the Municipality of Ucria, and includes the adjacent Botanical Garden, dedicated to the illustrious botanist Bernardino da Ucria (1739 -1796). It houses a collection of plant species of therapeutic interest and a variety of seeds of traditional cultivars of endangered fruits. It was also set up a biological laboratory for the protection and multiplication of germplasm for the conservation of biodiversity.

Notable people

Administration

Period First Citizen Party Upload Notes
2013 - in office Giuseppe Giovanni Lembo Civic List Mayor II madate

Twinning

Ucria has signed pact with twinness Gozzano, Italy (No), from May 2014.

Other administrative information

The municipality of Ucria is part of the following organizations supra: agricultural area 2 (Nebrodis north-western)

Institutions

Education

  • Comprehensive School Nursery School, Primary and Secondary 1st Grade

References

  1. All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat.

External links