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'Serradifalco' (Sicilian: 'Serradifarcu') is a town in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy.
Serradifalco (from ''Serra del Falcone'', "Mountain of the Falcon") was founded in a feudal fief which bore the same name since the late fifteenth century. The town itself was founded in 1640 under permit from King Philip IV of Spain to Maria Ventimiglia, grandmother and governess of Baron Francesco Grifeo, a minor. In 1652, ownership of the Barony and Town passed to the Lo Faso family. In 1666, it became a Duchy under Duke Leonardo Lo Faso, and it remained in control of the House of Lo Faso until the abolition of feudalism in 1812.
Sulfur mining and farming were the most prevalent occupations in Serradifalco after the Italian unification in 1860.
In the great emigration of Sicilians to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Serradifalchesi farm laborers and sulfur miners went to American towns, including Pittston and Robertsdale, where they worked as coal miners; and to Buffalo and its rural environs, where they found employment with the steel plants and railroads, and in the strawberry and corn fields.
★ The ''Chiesa Madre San Leonardo'' completed in 1755 in the roccocò style.
★ The ''Chiesa San Francesco'' (completed 1653). The town's first church and original ''Chiesa Madre''.
★ The ''Palazzo Ducale'', or Ducal Palace, in the town square (Piazza del Barone)
★ ''Lago Soprano'' (Soprano Lake, also called "Cuba"), a migratory fowl preserve with unique hydrology. It was formed only within the past hundred years, and has no surface streams flowing in or out.
★ In the ''Grottadacqua'' district, a Micenean necropolis with prehistoric Sicanian domed tombs.
★ The ''Testa dell'acqua'' (Head of water), an ancient fountain said to be the site of a mythical, magical ''Fiera di mezzanotte'' (Midnight Fair) that appears only once every seven years.
★ Duke Domenico Lo Faso Pietrasanta (1773 - 1863) was the first president of Sicily's ''Commission of Antiquities and Fine Arts''. He was a public benefactor who sponsored the excavation and preservation of Sicilian historical sites including the temple of ''Castor and Pollux'' in ''Agrigento''. He was also a renowned archaeological historian and library curator, who produced the first modern archaeological map of Sicily. In professional circles, he was called simply "Serradifalco". During the "Rivoluzione Federale", a period of political upheaval in Italy, "Serradifalco" helped preserve Sicilian history by sending books on archaeology and architecture to the ''Library of Palermo'' for safekeeping. He was a members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and in 1848 he was the ''President of the House of Commons'' during Sicily's short-lived independence under Ruggeru Sèttimu. Domenico died in Florence in 1863, at the age of ninety.
★ Giuseppe Testa of Campofranco, author of numerous town histories, including ''Serradifalco'' on that comune's 350th anniversary in 1990.
★ Libertino lo Guasto (about 1795 - 1870), patriarch of a large Serradifalchese family, he has dozens of descendants in the United States, including:
★
★ Al Loquasto (Albert John Loquasto, Jr., 1940 - 1991), an Indianapolis 500 race car driver.
★
★ Santo Richard Loquasto (born 1944), an award-winning designer for dance, theatre, and film.
★
★ Colonel Michael Charles LoQuasto, Sr. (born 1960), ''Army War College Fellow'' at ''Old Dominion University''.
★
★ Wendy S. Loquasto, one of Florida's first women attorneys.
★ Partial translation of the book ''Serradifalco'' by Giuseppe Testa.
| Contents |
| History |
| Main sights |
| Notable people |
| External links |
History
Serradifalco (from ''Serra del Falcone'', "Mountain of the Falcon") was founded in a feudal fief which bore the same name since the late fifteenth century. The town itself was founded in 1640 under permit from King Philip IV of Spain to Maria Ventimiglia, grandmother and governess of Baron Francesco Grifeo, a minor. In 1652, ownership of the Barony and Town passed to the Lo Faso family. In 1666, it became a Duchy under Duke Leonardo Lo Faso, and it remained in control of the House of Lo Faso until the abolition of feudalism in 1812.
Sulfur mining and farming were the most prevalent occupations in Serradifalco after the Italian unification in 1860.
In the great emigration of Sicilians to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Serradifalchesi farm laborers and sulfur miners went to American towns, including Pittston and Robertsdale, where they worked as coal miners; and to Buffalo and its rural environs, where they found employment with the steel plants and railroads, and in the strawberry and corn fields.
Main sights
★ The ''Chiesa Madre San Leonardo'' completed in 1755 in the roccocò style.
★ The ''Chiesa San Francesco'' (completed 1653). The town's first church and original ''Chiesa Madre''.
★ The ''Palazzo Ducale'', or Ducal Palace, in the town square (Piazza del Barone)
★ ''Lago Soprano'' (Soprano Lake, also called "Cuba"), a migratory fowl preserve with unique hydrology. It was formed only within the past hundred years, and has no surface streams flowing in or out.
★ In the ''Grottadacqua'' district, a Micenean necropolis with prehistoric Sicanian domed tombs.
★ The ''Testa dell'acqua'' (Head of water), an ancient fountain said to be the site of a mythical, magical ''Fiera di mezzanotte'' (Midnight Fair) that appears only once every seven years.
Notable people
★ Duke Domenico Lo Faso Pietrasanta (1773 - 1863) was the first president of Sicily's ''Commission of Antiquities and Fine Arts''. He was a public benefactor who sponsored the excavation and preservation of Sicilian historical sites including the temple of ''Castor and Pollux'' in ''Agrigento''. He was also a renowned archaeological historian and library curator, who produced the first modern archaeological map of Sicily. In professional circles, he was called simply "Serradifalco". During the "Rivoluzione Federale", a period of political upheaval in Italy, "Serradifalco" helped preserve Sicilian history by sending books on archaeology and architecture to the ''Library of Palermo'' for safekeeping. He was a members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and in 1848 he was the ''President of the House of Commons'' during Sicily's short-lived independence under Ruggeru Sèttimu. Domenico died in Florence in 1863, at the age of ninety.
★ Giuseppe Testa of Campofranco, author of numerous town histories, including ''Serradifalco'' on that comune's 350th anniversary in 1990.
★ Libertino lo Guasto (about 1795 - 1870), patriarch of a large Serradifalchese family, he has dozens of descendants in the United States, including:
★
★ Al Loquasto (Albert John Loquasto, Jr., 1940 - 1991), an Indianapolis 500 race car driver.
★
★ Santo Richard Loquasto (born 1944), an award-winning designer for dance, theatre, and film.
★
★ Colonel Michael Charles LoQuasto, Sr. (born 1960), ''Army War College Fellow'' at ''Old Dominion University''.
★
★ Wendy S. Loquasto, one of Florida's first women attorneys.
External links
★ Partial translation of the book ''Serradifalco'' by Giuseppe Testa.
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