Carini Attractions
Communications
SS 113 and A 29 Palermo-Castellammare del Golfo, leaving at the junction of Foresta; railroad station.
Location
Carini is situated in the mountains to the west of Palermo, 6km/4mi from the Golfo di Carini. It is much visited in the summer by people from Palermo.
History
The area was inhabited as long ago as the Stone Age, as finds in the surrounding limestone caves testify. In historical times the site of the present-day town was occupied by the small Sican settlement of Hykkara, which belonged to the enemies of Segesta. As a result the Athenians, who were in league with Segesta, conquered it in 415 B.C. and sold off the inhabitants as slaves. Among them was the seven-year-old Lais, daughter of Timandra, the lover of the Athenian, Alcibiades. She came to Corinth, where she became one of its greatest hetairai, and then went on to Thessalia. Here she was murdered in Aphrodite's shrine by the other women, who envied her. She was buried on the Peneios.
Sights
On the cathedral square there stand two churches - the Baroque cathedral and the Chiesa di San Vito, in which a picture of San Vito dating from the 14th century is to be found. The castle is also 14th century and in its chapel there is a statue of the Madonna by Andrea Mancino.
SS 113 and A 29 Palermo-Castellammare del Golfo, leaving at the junction of Foresta; railroad station.
Location
Carini is situated in the mountains to the west of Palermo, 6km/4mi from the Golfo di Carini. It is much visited in the summer by people from Palermo.
History
The area was inhabited as long ago as the Stone Age, as finds in the surrounding limestone caves testify. In historical times the site of the present-day town was occupied by the small Sican settlement of Hykkara, which belonged to the enemies of Segesta. As a result the Athenians, who were in league with Segesta, conquered it in 415 B.C. and sold off the inhabitants as slaves. Among them was the seven-year-old Lais, daughter of Timandra, the lover of the Athenian, Alcibiades. She came to Corinth, where she became one of its greatest hetairai, and then went on to Thessalia. Here she was murdered in Aphrodite's shrine by the other women, who envied her. She was buried on the Peneios.
Sights
On the cathedral square there stand two churches - the Baroque cathedral and the Chiesa di San Vito, in which a picture of San Vito dating from the 14th century is to be found. The castle is also 14th century and in its chapel there is a statue of the Madonna by Andrea Mancino.
Museum of Natural History
In the Museum of Natural History there is a collection of birds, fossils, mussels and insects.
Terrasini, Italy
(Near Carini)
Proceeding from Villagrazia di Carini along the SS 113 coast road westwards past the headland of Punta Raisi, the little town of Terrasini (pop. 8,500) is reached, situated in the coastal plain. Here, on a rocky plateau, the Villagio Turistico has been built, a luxurious holiday village, 25 hectares/ 60 acres in size, with slipways into the sea and a bus connection with the small beach 3.5km/2mi away.
