Santa Maria di Licodia

Santa Maria di Licodia
Comune
Comune di Santa Maria di Licodia
Tower of Palazzo Bruno
Santa Maria di Licodia
Location of Santa Maria di Licodia in Italy
Coordinates: 37°37′N 14°54′E / 37.617°N 14.900°E / 37.617; 14.900Coordinates: 37°37′N 14°54′E / 37.617°N 14.900°E / 37.617; 14.900
Country Italy
Region Sicily
Metropolitan city Catania (CT)
Frazioni Schettino
Government
 • Mayor Salvatore Carmelo Mastroianni
Area
 • Total 26.28 km2 (10.15 sq mi)
Elevation 442 m (1,450 ft)
Population
 • Total 7,600
 • Density 290/km2 (750/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Licodiesi or Licodesi
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 95038
Dialing code 095
Patron saint St. Joseph
Saint day Last Sunday in August
Website Official website

Santa Maria di Licodia (Sicilian: Santa Marìa di Licuddìa ) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Catania, eastern Sicily, southern Italy.

History

Santa Maria di Lodia occupies traditionally the site of the ancient Aetna, a settlement founded by the colonists whom Hiero I of Syracuse had placed at Catania after their expulsion by the original inhabitants in 461 BCE, which absorbed or incorporated an already existing Sicel town named Inessa.

Main sights

  • Chiesa Madre (Mother Church). Of the original medieval building, a bell tower has remained
  • Cherubim Fountain (1757)
  • CAsina del Cavaliere, a Benedictine convent of medieval origin, outside the town.

A large hoard of coins was found also outside Santa Maria di Licodia in 1891.

In the nearby district of Civita is a large elliptical area, enclosed by a wall of masses of lava, which is about 8.5 metres (28 ft) wide at the base and 3 metres (10 ft) high. The ground is covered with fragments of tiles and pottery of the classical period, and it is probably a hastily built encampment of historic times rather than a primitive fortification, as there are no prehistoric traces.

Twin towns

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Santa Maria di Licodia". Encyclopædia Britannica. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 189.


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