Carini
Carini (Hyccara or Hyccarum, Ὕκαρα and Ὕκαρον ) is a city and comune in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, 12 mi by rail west-northwest of Palermo. It has a population of 37,752.
Timaeus, in the thirteenth book of his work Histories, said that it was called Hyccara because the first men who arrived there found a species of fishes which were called hycae (ὕκας).
Hyccara reached its maximum splendour in the second half of the 5th century BC. It became an important maritime emporium and was very popular with the Phoenicians who brought numerous products and metals unknown to Sicily. War broke out between Athens and Syracuse after the Athenians came to Sicily to aid Segesta and Selinunte, enemies of Syracuse. In 415 BC Nicias with 5,000 Athenian warriors attacked and destroyed Hyccara. Its inhabitants were enslaved and sold at the Catania market, among them the girl Lais, who later became a famous courtesan in Corinth.
The Hyccarini who escaped the massacre and slavery built the second Hyccara (calling it Iccara) away from the sea nearer the mountains and among the woods in the locality now called San Nicola, around 370 BC. The territory was also colonised and inhabited by numerous Carthaginians, attracted by the fertility of the soil, to protect which they built the so-called Wall of Carini. The practice of agriculture and trade soon brought wealth to the city, where sumptuous houses were built, many of which had mosaic floors which still remain today. Under Roman rule, after the defeat of the Carthaginians (264 BC), a long period of peace followed, during which agriculture in particular flourished. The first important event, mentioned by the historians of Rome, is the stay of the emperor Antoninus Pius.
The Catacombs of Villagrazia are the largest in western Sicily which prove that a large early Christian community existed between the fourth and seventh centuries AD. It was also large enough support a bishopric complex nearby at San Nicola, probably connected to the large settlement there.
The first historical mention of a bishop of the see is in two letters of Pope Gregory the Great, in the 6th century, one addressed to Bonifacius of Reggio Calabria, the other to Barbarus of Carini. But many signs, including local catacombs, show that a Christian community existed at Carini from the 3rd century. A lead seal bears the name of a Felix, bishop of this see. One of Gregory the Great's letters show that the diocese was incorporated into that of Reggio Calabria in September 595, but by 602 it was again under its own bishop. A Bishop John of the see took part in a synod at Rome in 649. The last testimony to its existence dates from the 8th century, and the Muslim conquest of Sicily, which began in 827, brought it to an end as a residential bishopric. As a result, Carini/Hyccara/Hyccarum is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.
Timaeus, in the thirteenth book of his work Histories, said that it was called Hyccara because the first men who arrived there found a species of fishes which were called hycae (ὕκας).
Hyccara reached its maximum splendour in the second half of the 5th century BC. It became an important maritime emporium and was very popular with the Phoenicians who brought numerous products and metals unknown to Sicily. War broke out between Athens and Syracuse after the Athenians came to Sicily to aid Segesta and Selinunte, enemies of Syracuse. In 415 BC Nicias with 5,000 Athenian warriors attacked and destroyed Hyccara. Its inhabitants were enslaved and sold at the Catania market, among them the girl Lais, who later became a famous courtesan in Corinth.
The Hyccarini who escaped the massacre and slavery built the second Hyccara (calling it Iccara) away from the sea nearer the mountains and among the woods in the locality now called San Nicola, around 370 BC. The territory was also colonised and inhabited by numerous Carthaginians, attracted by the fertility of the soil, to protect which they built the so-called Wall of Carini. The practice of agriculture and trade soon brought wealth to the city, where sumptuous houses were built, many of which had mosaic floors which still remain today. Under Roman rule, after the defeat of the Carthaginians (264 BC), a long period of peace followed, during which agriculture in particular flourished. The first important event, mentioned by the historians of Rome, is the stay of the emperor Antoninus Pius.
The Catacombs of Villagrazia are the largest in western Sicily which prove that a large early Christian community existed between the fourth and seventh centuries AD. It was also large enough support a bishopric complex nearby at San Nicola, probably connected to the large settlement there.
The first historical mention of a bishop of the see is in two letters of Pope Gregory the Great, in the 6th century, one addressed to Bonifacius of Reggio Calabria, the other to Barbarus of Carini. But many signs, including local catacombs, show that a Christian community existed at Carini from the 3rd century. A lead seal bears the name of a Felix, bishop of this see. One of Gregory the Great's letters show that the diocese was incorporated into that of Reggio Calabria in September 595, but by 602 it was again under its own bishop. A Bishop John of the see took part in a synod at Rome in 649. The last testimony to its existence dates from the 8th century, and the Muslim conquest of Sicily, which began in 827, brought it to an end as a residential bishopric. As a result, Carini/Hyccara/Hyccarum is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.
Map - Carini
Map
Country - Italy
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| Flag of Italy | |
Italy was the native place of many civilizations such as the Italic peoples and the Etruscans, while due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the country has also historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures, who immigrated to the peninsula throughout history. The Latins, native of central Italy, formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC, which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People. The Roman Republic initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula, eventually expanding and conquering a large part of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. By the first century BC, the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became a leading cultural, political and religious centre, inaugurating the Pax Romana, a period of more than 200 years during which Italy's law, technology, economy, art, and literature developed.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| CA | Catalan language |
| CO | Corsican language |
| FR | French language |
| DE | German language |
| IT | Italian language |
| SC | Sardinian language |
| SL | Slovene language |