Gela

Gela is a city in the province of Caltanissetta in the south of Sicily, Italy. The city is at about 84 kilometers distance from the city of Caltanissetta, on the Mediterranean Sea. The city has a larger population than the provincial capital, and ranks second in land area. Gela is an important industrial city and port town. One important industry that is located here is that of petroleum refinery. The city can be reached from other cities, like Syracuse and Caltanissetta, by train.

History

Ancient Gela

The city was founded around 688 BC by colonists from Rhodos and Crete, 45 years after Syracuse. The city was named after the river Gela. The Greek had many colonies in the south of current Italy, and for many centuries the Greek influence has been great here. Gela flourished and, after only a century, a group of Geloi founded the colony of Agrigento. The expansion, however, led to economical and social strains, which led the plebs to quit the city and settle in the near Maktorion. However, the revolt was composed by the great priest of Diana and the exiled returned in Gela.

After two centuries of lack of news about the internal politics of the city, the ancient historians mention a tyrann, Cleander, who ruled in 505-498. After his death the power was held by his brother Hippocrates, who conquered Callipoli, Leontini, Naxos, Hergetios and Zancles, the current Messina. Only Syracuse, with the help of Corint and Corcyra, managed to escape the Gelese expansion. When Camarina, a Syracusan colony, rebelled in 552 BC, Hippocrates intervened to wage war against Syracuse. After having defeated the Syracusan army at the Heloros river, he besieged the city. However, in the end he was convinced to retreat in exchange of the possession of Camarina. The tyrann lost his life in 491 in a battle against the Siculi, the native Sicilian people.

Hippocrates was succeeded by Gelo, who, in 484, conquered Syracuse and moved his seat there. His brother Hiero received the rule of Gela. When Theron of Agrigento conquered Himera and a Carthaginian army disembarked in Sicily to counter him, he asked help to Gela and Syracuse. Gelo and Hiero were victorious in the subsequent battle of Himera, in which the Carthaginian leader Hamilcar lost his life.

After the death of Gelo (478 BC), Hiero also moved to Syracuse, leaving Gela to Polyzelos. Thenceforth the history of the city becomees nebulous: it has been suggested the citizens freed from the tyrants and established a democratic government. Many of the Geloi returned from Syracuse in this period, and the city regained part of its power: Aischylos died in this city in 456 BC. Gela was at the head of Sicilian league the pushed back the Atheniese attempt to conquest the island in 424 (see Sicilian Expedition).

In 406 the Carthaginians conquered Agrigento and destroyed it. Gela asked the help of Dionysius I of Syracuse. However, for unknown reasons, the latter did not arrive in time and, after heroic deeds, Gela was turned into ruins and its treasures sacked (405). The survivors took refuge in Syracuse. In 397 they returned home and joined Dionysius II in his struggle for the freedom from the invaders, and in 383 they saw their independence acknowledged.

Under Agathocles (317-289 BC) the city suffered again for inner strifes between the people and the aristocratics. When the Carthaginians arrived in 311, they met little resistance and could capture the city with the help of the aristoi. In 282 BC Phintias of Agrigento, who had founded the nearby omonymous city (next to the modern Licata), destroyed ruthlessly Gela to crush forever its power.

Roman, Byzantine and Mediaeval Gela

The city subsequently disappeared from the chronicles. Under the Roman domination a small settlement still existed, which is mentioned by Virgil, Pliny the Elder, Cicero and Strabo. Later it was a Byzantine minor center. Under the Arab it was known as "City of Columns". The later city was founded in AD 1233 by Frederick II by the name Terranova, by which it remained known until 1928. The new settlement was west of the ancient Gela, andwas provided with a castle and a line of walls. Terranova, also known as Heracles, was a royal possession until 1369, when King Frederick III of Aragon gave it to Manfredi III Chiaramonte. In 1401, however, it was confiscated after the treason of Andrea Chiaramonte, and assigned to several Aragonese feudataries. In 1530 the title of Marquis of Terranova was created for Giovanni Tagliavia Aragona, and in 1561 his son Carlo obtained the title of Duke. The Terranova Aragona held the city until 1640, when the marriage of Giovanna Tagliavia Aragona and Ettore Pignatelli give the possession to the latter's family. The Pignatelli held the fief until 1812.

Modern Gela

Renamed Terranova di Sicilia, in 1927 the city was given back the name of Gela.

During the Allied invasion of Sicily in World War II, Allied forces repelled an Italian and German armored counterattack at Gela in July 1943.

After the war, a large refinery was built in the Gela's territory, as a part of Enrico Mattei's industrial expansion plan. However, if this move favoured a certain economical growth, created huge environmental damage and deprived the city of any touristic appeal. The chaotic building program created huge urbanistic and social problems. In the 1980s the area saw the increasing power of a mafioso association, Stidda, which was protagonist of a long series of violences and homicides.

Recently a development and recovering program has slightly improved the situation of the city. The universities of Catania and Palermo have hopened sets in Gela, and the historical center, as well as the archaeological area, the seaside and the Castelluccio, have been renovated.

Main sights

Akropolis.
Archeological museum.
The Archeological site of Capo Soprano.
Greek temples
The Cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Virgin Assunta, was rebuilt in 1766-1794 over a pre-existing small church of Madonna della Platea. It has two orders façade with Doric and Ionic semi-columns. The interior, with a nave and two aisles, houses a wood with the Transit of the Virgin by Deodato Guidaccia and other 18th centuries canvas.

Bounding communes

External links

Municipalities of the Province of Caltanissetta | 680s BC establishments | Colonies of Magna Graecia | Cathedrals in Italy