Caccamo
History
The official founding of Caccamo was not until 1093, when the Normans started to build the castle on a rocky spur overlooking a cliff, Castello di Caccamo. The castle itself is actually now being slowly converted into a museum. On the ground level of the castle is a restaurant "A Castellana". Submerged within the Rosamarina lake is a stone bridge built in 1307 on the road that once linked the town with Palermo. The city contains an attractive 11th-century cathedral, which was remodeled in 1477 and 1614. On the side of the cathedral are two churches. The Chiesa dell'Anime del Purgatorio (Church of the Souls of Purgatory) features some stucco work in the eastern end and an 18th-century organ. In the downstairs are catacombs where the skeletons of a number of townspeople lie in niches along the wall, a burial practice that lasted from the 17th century up to 1863.
Since the 1950s the town itself has lost almost half of its inhabitants to emigration. Caccamo holds some great views of the surrounding countryside, including the Rosmarina artificial lake, which was created by a controversial dam built in 1993.
Notable people from Caccamo
- Giovanni "John" Stanfa, Italian-American mobster (former boss of Philadelphia crime family) and uncle of Antonino Giuffrè.
- Antonino "Nino" Giuffrè, Italian mobster (high-ranking member of Corleonesi) and nephew of John Stanfa.
References
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
External links
- Caccamo page on netgalaxy.it Archived 2014-06-17 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
- Caccamo page on sicilyweb.com (in Italian)
- Database of Caccamo families
- City of Caccamo web site Reference
- Caccamo on See Palermo
- Sito Fotografico Caccamo
- Photos of Caccamo