Castronovo di Sicilia | |
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| Comune di Castronovo di Sicilia | |
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 Coat of arms | |
  Castronovo di Sicilia Location of Castronovo di Sicilia in Italy Show map of Italy Castronovo di Sicilia Castronovo di Sicilia (Sicily) Show map of Sicily | |
| Coordinates:37°40′N13°36′E / 37.667°N 13.600°E /37.667; 13.600 | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sicily |
| Metropolitan city | Palermo (PA) |
| Frazioni | Marcatobianco |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Vito Sinatra |
| Area | |
• Total | 201.04 km2 (77.62 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 660 m (2,170 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 2,865 |
| • Density | 14.25/km2 (36.91/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Castronovesi |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 90030 |
| Dialing code | 091 |
| Patron saint | Vitale[4][a] |
| Saint day | March 9[4][a] |
| Website | Official website |
Castronovo di Sicilia (Sicilian:Castrunovu) is acomune (municipality) in theMetropolitan City of Palermo in theItalianAutonomous Region ofSicily, located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast ofPalermo.
Castronovo di Sicilia, alternatively spelled as "Castronuovo" possibly derives its name frommedieval Latincastrum, meaning "fortress", andnuovo meaning "new".Càstro also translates to "castle" inCorsican, an Italian dialect similar toSicilian.
The land surrounding Castronovo di Sicilia has been occupied since antiquity, with excavations having uncovered pottery dating back to the fifth century BCE. The area is rumored to be the site of the ancientSicani city of Crastus. Historians believe that the Falaride tribe of Agrigento had a fortress built that marked the limit between the Carthaginian, Agrigento and Syracuse (Greek) territories. The settlement was demolished by Roman occupiers in retaliation forslave revolts during theservile wars around 105 BCE. The surviving population of Crastus dispersed over the entire territory of present-day Castronovo.[5]
Castronovo likely gets its name from the nearby Castello di Castronovo di Sicilia, a fortress complex fortified by Byzantine occupiers during theMuslim conquest of Sicily. In 1154, the site was recorded by Arab cartographerMuhammad al-Idrisi asQasr nubu.[6] Government records describe the settlement known as "Il Cassero" or "Kassar" as a "partially Hellenized indigenous settlement then occupied in the Middle Ages."[7][8][9] The fortification lies directly above a castle occupied by Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Norman elites over the centuries, now known as Colle San Vitale.[10] Historians have attributed, with "acceptable certainty", a nearby bridge to the Roman period.[6] Liturgical records[11] indicate thatJordan, son of Norman conquerorRoger I, captured the fort (recorded as "Castrum Novum") on his way to capture Muslim Syracuse.
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