Caltanissetta

Caltanissetta is an Italian town, the capital of the homonymous Free Municipal Consortium in Sicily.

Located in the Sicilian hinterland, at 568 m s.l.m., in terms of resident population it is the ninth city in Sicily, and second in the province after Gela.

Its inhabitants are called Nisseni. The first to inhabit the surrounding area were the Sicani, who settled in various villages starting from the nineteenth century BC, but today's city was probably founded in the tenth century during the dominion of the Arabs in Sicily, to whom we owe the origin of the toponym "Caltanissetta", although alternative hypotheses have also been formulated over time.

Transformed into a fief by the Normans, after various vicissitudes it passed in 1405 under the dominion of the Moncada di Paternò, who were the owners of the county of Caltanissetta until 1812; of the noble family remains the seventeenth-century Palazzo Moncada, in Baroque style.

From the nineteenth century it experienced a notable industrial development thanks to the presence of vast deposits of sulfur, which made it an important mining center; the importance it held in the sulfur sector earned it the nickname "world capital of sulfur", and in 1862 the first mining institute in Italy was opened there.

In the thirties it experienced a period of cultural ferment, despite the censures of fascism, so much so that Leonardo Sciascia called it a "little Athens".

After the Second World War, the mining sector entered into crisis, and with it the entire economy of the territory, which today is mainly based on the tertiary sector.

Among the main places of interest are the ruins of the Pietrarossa castle (probable Arab fortress), the abbey of Santo Spirito (12th century), the Cathedral (16th century), the former Jesuit college with the adjoining church of Sant 'Agata (17th century), the San Sebastiano church (19th century) and several monumental buildings built in the 19th century on the two main courses of the historic center, Corso Umberto I and Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

On Mount San Giuliano, which overlooks the city, is the monument to the Redeemer, while on the Sant'Anna hill stands the Rai antenna, the highest structure in Italy.

The rites of the Holy Week of Caltanissetta are famous, in particular the procession of the vare on Holy Thursday.

It is home to sporting events of national importance, including the historic time trial of the Coppa Nissena and the most recent professional tennis tournament "Città di Caltanissetta".

Map: Caltanissetta