Lentini Attractions
Location
Lentini, the Leontinoi of antiquity, is situated on the northern edge of the Monti Iblei and on the southern edge of the Plain of Catania. The plain around Lentini was well known even in ancient times for its fertility, and today the production of citrus fruits is still important in economic terms.
History
The Leontinoi of ancient times was, like its parent town Naxos and Catane (Catania), with which it is contemporary, an Ionian Greek settlement. With Catane already established to the south of Naxos, the Ionian area of influence was pushing further and further to the southwest, when Leontinoi was founded from Naxos in 730 B.C. In the sixth century, when the tyrant Panaitios ousted the oligarchy which had held power up until then, the town extended its sphere of influence westwards, apparently peacefully. The fifth and fourth centuries B.C. were marked by conflicts with the Dorian towns of Gela and Syracuse. Hieron I of Syracuse resettled the people who had been driven out of Naxos and Catane in Leontinoi. The town then sent a delegation under the leadership of the renowned orator Gorgia to Athens, where they were to ask for help against Syracuse. The two expeditions which Athens then sent both ended in failure, Syracuse expelled the inhabitants after 413 and towards the end of the fifth century Leontinoi was for part of the time uninhabited, until a new influx from Chalcis arrived. Dionysios I then resettled most of the inhabitants in Syracuse. Leontinoi was then to lose its independence irrevocably. In 214 it was conquered by Marcellus and became part of the Roman Empire, but nevertheless it acquired no importance. In later periods it was destroyed, first by the Arabs in 848, then by the earthquake (1693), both times being rebuilt.
Around 1210 Giacomo da Lentini, the notary of Frederick II and an important poet, was born.
Lentini, the Leontinoi of antiquity, is situated on the northern edge of the Monti Iblei and on the southern edge of the Plain of Catania. The plain around Lentini was well known even in ancient times for its fertility, and today the production of citrus fruits is still important in economic terms.
History
The Leontinoi of ancient times was, like its parent town Naxos and Catane (Catania), with which it is contemporary, an Ionian Greek settlement. With Catane already established to the south of Naxos, the Ionian area of influence was pushing further and further to the southwest, when Leontinoi was founded from Naxos in 730 B.C. In the sixth century, when the tyrant Panaitios ousted the oligarchy which had held power up until then, the town extended its sphere of influence westwards, apparently peacefully. The fifth and fourth centuries B.C. were marked by conflicts with the Dorian towns of Gela and Syracuse. Hieron I of Syracuse resettled the people who had been driven out of Naxos and Catane in Leontinoi. The town then sent a delegation under the leadership of the renowned orator Gorgia to Athens, where they were to ask for help against Syracuse. The two expeditions which Athens then sent both ended in failure, Syracuse expelled the inhabitants after 413 and towards the end of the fifth century Leontinoi was for part of the time uninhabited, until a new influx from Chalcis arrived. Dionysios I then resettled most of the inhabitants in Syracuse. Leontinoi was then to lose its independence irrevocably. In 214 it was conquered by Marcellus and became part of the Roman Empire, but nevertheless it acquired no importance. In later periods it was destroyed, first by the Arabs in 848, then by the earthquake (1693), both times being rebuilt.
Around 1210 Giacomo da Lentini, the notary of Frederick II and an important poet, was born.
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Biviere di Lentini
Biviere di Lentini was a lake rich in fish, situated on the plain to the northwest of Lentini, and was the largest natural lake in Sicily. It was drained dry in the 1920s. Reminders of its existence are afforded by the numerous arms of an extended canal system running through the area, which is now used for agricultural production.
Carlentini, Italy
(Near Lentini)
Carlentini (228m/748ft; pop. 13,000) lies 3km/2mi to the south of Lentini. Its name derives from the Emperor Charles V, who founded it in 1551.
People from areas infected by malaria settled back here, but it never attained the importance of the older Lentini.
People from areas infected by malaria settled back here, but it never attained the importance of the older Lentini.
Castle
To the north of the Archeological Zone in Lentini, Frederick II had a castle built on the site of an ancient building.
Chiesa Madre
The Chiesa Madre in Lentini (built in the 17th century, altered at the end of the 18th century) is a three-aisled church built over the site of an early Christian hypogaeum (third century); in it an icon depicting the Virgin Mary is kept.
Francofonte, Italy
(Near Lentini)
The little country town of Francofonte (13km/8mi southwest on the SS 194) lies at a height of 281m/929ft and numbers 14,000 inhabitants. It is known for its orange groves. The town center is dominated by the Chiesa Madre with works by Spagnoletto, and also by the Baroque Palazzo Comunale. The town also has a medieval castle.
Palagonia, Italy
(Near Lentini)
The town of Palagonia (26km/16mi northwest of Lentini on the SS 385) numbers 14,000 inhabitants and is situated 200m/650ft up where the Monti Iblei end and the Plain of Catania begins. On the SS 385, just 1.5km/1 mi before the town, stands the hermitage of San Febbronia with a small basilica, in the apse of which can be seen Byzantine frescoes dating from the sixth/seventh centuries.
