PATTI
Generic information
Province of: Messina
Elevation: 157 m
Population: 13,500
GPS coordinates
Latitude: 38.141212
Longitude: 14.965923
Map
Web site
Italian version: www.sicilianelmondo.com
Photos
Description
Patti is a town in North-Eastern Sicily, southern Italy, administratively part of the province of Messina, on the western shore of the gulf of the same name. It has 13,224 inhabitants as of December 31, 2004, and it is distant 76 km from Messina.
It is connected to the rest of Sicily by train, via the Patti-San Piero Patti train station, located on the railway line Messina-Palermo, and the A20 Palermo-Messina highway. It is still known for the ruins of Tindari, famous for its ancient Greece theatre, and the Villa Romana.
History
It stands near the site of the ancient Tyndaris, a Lacedĉmonian colony that had a very flourishing commerce; the magnificent temple of Mercury in the latter city was despoiled by Verres. By the time of Pliny the Elder, the sea had encroached greatly upon the shore, and after the foundation of Patti, Tyndaris was almost entirely abandoned; there remains only the church of Santa Maria del Tindaro, with a Franciscan monastery.
The current town name derives from the name given by its inhabitants after they moved there, following an earthquake that destroyed Tindari, forcing them to find another place to settle. The new site was named Ep' Aktin (??' ?????, Greek for 'on the shore'), from which the contracted name "Patti" derives.
The city was rebuilt by Count Roger, after the Saracens had been driven from Messina (1058). The town was founded by the Norman king Roger II of Sicily in 1094. Patti is also famous for its large sandy beaches.
Patti was destroyed by Frederick of Aragon about 1300, on account of its attachment to the House of Anjou; rebuilt in the 16th century, it was later sacked by the Ottoman Turks.
Main sights
* Ruins of Tindari
* Remains of a Roman Villa (3rd century AD)
* Necropolises of Monte (10th-8th centuries BC) and san Cosimo (3rd millennium BC-9th century BC)
* Cathedral (10th century), housing the sepulchre of Adelasia Countess of Sicily, wife of Roger I.
From Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patti,_Italy&oldid=270591818>.