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{{about||the character in William Goldman's novel|The Princess Bride (novel)|use as a surname|Vizzini (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}

{{Infobox Italian comune
| name                = Vizzini
| official_name       = Comune di Vizzini
| native_name         = 
| image_skyline       = Vizzini-Panorama.png
| imagesize           = 
| image_alt           = 
| image_caption       = Panorama of Vizzini
| image_shield        = Vizzini-Stemma.svg
| shield_alt          = 
| shield_size         = 
| image_map           = 
| map_alt             = 
| map_caption         = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_alt     = 
| coordinates         = {{coord|37|10|N|14|45|E|region:IT_type:city(7017)|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| region              = [[Sicily]]
| metropolitan_city   = [[Metropolitan City of Catania|Catania]] (CT)
| frazioni            = Camemi, [[Vizzini Scalo]]
| mayor_party         = 
| mayor               = Salvatore Ferraro
| area_footnotes      = 
| area_total_km2      = 125
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total    =  6330
| population_as_of    = 
| pop_density_footnotes = 
| population_demonym  = Vizzinesi
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m         = 586
| twin1               = 
| twin1_country       = 
| saint               = [[Pope Gregory I|St. Gregory]]
| day                 = 12 March
| postal_code         = 95049
| area_code           = 0933
| website             = {{Official website|https://www.comune.vizzini.ct.it/}}
| footnotes           = 
}}
[[File:Tiled stairs near municipio, Vizzini.jpg|thumb|Salita Lucio Marineo.]]
'''Vizzini''' is a town and ''[[comune]]'' in the [[Metropolitan City of Catania]], on the island of [[Sicily]], southern [[Italy]]. It is located {{convert|60|km|mi}} from Catania in the [[Hyblaean Mountains]], on the most northwesterly slopes of [[Monte Lauro]].

The commune territory is bounded by the comuni of [[Buccheri]], [[Francofonte]], [[Giarratana]], [[Licodia Eubea]], [[Militello in Val di Catania]], [[Mineo]].

== History ==
Bidis, a Roman city mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] and [[Cicero]], stood here in a territory that has been inhabited since prehistoric times.<ref>[http://www.sicilyok.it/larosa/ ''Sicily and Its Islands'', 2004]- [[Ugo La Rosa]] editore {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930141242/http://www.sicilyok.it/larosa/ |date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>

The modern town developed in the [[Middle Ages]] around a now non-extant castle,<ref>[http://www.mondimedievali.net/Libridine/castelsicilia.htm AA. VV., Castelli medievali di Sicilia - Guida agli itinerari castellani dell'isola, Grafiche Renna, Palermo 2001]"VIZZINI - Denominazione: castello o torre di Vizzini; turris Bizini.Cartografia IGM: 273 II N.O. Vizzini. Dati catastali: Vizzini, F<sup>o</sup> 80, partt. 1847, 2049. Bibliografia essenziale:Amico 1855-56. II, pp. 663-66; Maurici 1992. p. 384; SMDS, VII, pp.80-83. C.M.B"</ref> as a [[fief]] of various lords, including the Chiaromontes and the Schittinos, although for many years it was also part of the royal domain.

In 1358, [[Roland of Sicily]] reconquered the area from Vizzini to [[Avola]].

In 1415, the Jewish community of Vizzini was expelled by [[Blanche I of Navarre|Queen Blanca]], and was never permitted to return.

On the 14th of July, 1943 the town of Vizzini was liberated from fascist forces by the British military.  Specifically, by that time Vizzini was occupied by a small detachment of forces from Nazi Germany.  Britain's [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|XXX Corps]] under [[Bernard Montgomery|General Montgomery]] consisting largely of [[M4 Sherman]] Tanks easily overpowered the small group of German tanks that were present in the town.  The town had been in the American occupational zone and this caused some confusion when British forces liberated the town first.<ref>Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, July-August 1943 by Carlo D'Este, pg. 326-328</ref>

== Main sights ==

The Arab layout of the town is evident seen passing from Via Verga to Via San Gregorio Magno and proceeding as far as Largo della Matrice, a square with a modern statue of [[Pope Gregory I|St Gregory]] in the middle and the Chiesa Madre (mother church) of [[San Gregorio Magno, Vizzini|San Gregorio Magno]] at one side.

The portal on the left flank of the church, in splendid 15th-century Gothic-Catalan style, probably derived from the old Town Hall, destroyed by the earthquake in [[1693 Sicily earthquake|1693]]; in the interior there are late 18th century stuccos and a wooden ceiling by [[Natale Bonaiuto]], as well as two paintings (''The Martyrdom of St. Laurence'' and the ''Madonna delle Mercede'') by [[Filippo Paladini]] (or Paladino), born in [[Florence]] about 1544. Another painting by Paladino, ''The Deposition'' (1607), is in the Chiesa del Convento dei Cappuccini.

Nearby is the church of Sant'Agata, rebuilt in the 18th century on the site of a previous 15th-century building and houses a [[pipe organ]]<ref>[http://www.concordanza.com/misc/si_tipol/si3.html Giusy Larinà -Towards a typology of decorative façades in 18th-century Sicilian organs (This article was published in Italian in Il Canto dell'Aquila, (Centro di Studi Musicali per il Meridione, Caltagirone) July 1990, pp102-111.)Photographs courtesy of Vincenzo Piluso.English translation by N. Waanders 2001]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008103254/http://www.concordanza.com/misc/si_tipol/si3.html |date=8 October 2007 }}</ref> created around 1770.

The church of San Giovanni Battista was built in the 18th century. The stuccos decorating the interior are by Natale Bonaiuto.

The front of the church of Santa Teresa is said to be the setting for scenes from [[Cavalleria Rusticana]], the libretto of which is based on the play of the same name by [[Giovanni Verga]], who lived in Vizzini for a time.

The statue depicting the ''Madonna and Child'' (1527) in the Chiesa dei Minori Osservanti was sculpted by [[Antonello Gagini]].
[[File:Vizzini in spring.jpg|thumb|right|View of Vizzini from the valley below]]

===Religious buildings===
[[File:Church Vizzini.JPG|thumb|right|''Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù''. Original 13th-century church was severely damaged in the [[1693 Sicily earthquake|1693 earthquake]] and rebuilt in the [[Baroque]] style]]
* [[San Gregorio Magno, Vizzini|San Gregorio Magno]], chiesa madre.
* Chiesa dello Spirito Santo
* [[Santa Maria di Gesù, Vizzini|Santa Maria di Gesù]] and convent
* [[San Vito, Vizzini|San Vito]]
* Santissima Annunziata
* San Francesco di Paola
* Santa Maria del Pericolo
* [[San Sebastiano, Vizzini|San Sebastiano]]
* Santa Teresa
* [[Sant'Agata, Vizzini|Sant'Agata]]
* Chiesa del Convento dei Cappuccini
* Monastero Santa Maria dei Greci
* [[Santa Lucia, Vizzini|Santa Lucia]]
[[File:vizzini_Municipio.jpg|Palazzo di città (municipio Building).|thumb]]

===Palaces and other buildings===
* Palazzo di Citta (early 19th century)
* Palazzo Verga (family of the writer)(18th century)
* Palazzo di città (municipio)(Town Hall Building)
* Palazzo Cannizzaro
* Palazzo Passanisi
* Palazzo Cafici
* Palazzo La Gurna
* Palazzo Trao
* Palazzo Gandolfo Maggiore

==Culture==
The writer [[Giovanni Verga]] used Vizzini as the setting for his ''[[Cavalleria Rusticana]]'' and ''Mastro Don Gesualdo'', describing places and scenes that are still recognizable (the prickly pears of [[Cunziria]], and in a sloping alley the house of the Trao family).

==People==
* [[Giovanni Verga]] (1840–1922), Italian realist writer.
* [[Lucio Marineo Siculo]] (1444–1533).<ref>[[Joan Boscà i Almogàver]] was a student of Lucio Marineo Siculo from Vizzini, Italy</ref><ref>[http://www.comune.vizzini.ct-egov.it/La_Citt%C3%A0/Biblioteche/biblioteca.asp Biblioteca Comunale "Lucio Marineo"]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703124314/http://www.comune.vizzini.ct-egov.it/La_Citt%C3%A0/Biblioteche/biblioteca.asp |date=3 July 2009 }}</ref> [[Renaissance Humanism#Humanists|Humanists]] Scholar at the University of Salamanca, Spain, teacher of translating [[Italian language|Italian]] [[love]] [[poetry]], [[Latin language|Latin]], and [[Greek language|Greek]] lyrics into Spanish. Lived in the court of the Spanish kings [[Catholic Monarchs|Ferdinand and Isabel]] where he taught [[Joan Boscà i Almogàver]].<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/pss/3039259 JSTOR: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 3 (Autumn, 1997 ), pp. 701-722:# Marineo Siculo: A Protagonist of Humanism in Spain(Erika Rummel)] {{dead link|date=May 2014}}</ref>
* [[Matteo Agosta]] (1922–1964) was an Italian politician who represented the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democracy]] party in the [[Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]] from 1958 to 1964.

==Economy==
The economy of the commune is mainly [[agricultural]] ([[cereal]]s, [[opuntia|prickly pear]]s, [[vegetable]]s, [[sumac]]). Other activities include handmade [[shoe]]s and [[carpentry]].

==Transportation==
Buses travel to and near Vizzini regularly from surrounding cities [[Catania]] and [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]]. Major operators include AST and ETNA.

The railway station Vizzini-Licodia is situated 6&nbsp;km outside the city in the [[frazione]] of [[Vizzini Scalo]].

==Events==
* Procession of "Sorrows" – Good Friday
* "A Cugnunta" – Easter Sunday
* "Ricotta and Cheese Festival" – 23, 24 and 25 April
* Festival of San Giuseppe – 19 April
* "Festival of Taste and Odours" – 2 June
* Festival of San Giovanni Battista – 28 and 29 August
* Events [[Giovanni Verga|Verghiane]] – July / August
* Festival of the Patron San Gregorio Magno – 2 and 3 September
* "Rocksticana<ref>[http://www.rocksticana.infovizzini.it Rocksticana, concorso musicale per gruppi emergenti]   {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119150544/http://www.rocksticana.infovizzini.it/ |date=19 November 2008 }}</ref> " – Rock music festival for emerging groups – September
* Traditional "Festival of the Dead" – 30–31 October and 1 November
* "Living Nativity" – December

==See also==
* [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] – during the Second World War Vizzini was captured on 14 July 1943.<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Montgomery.html Biography: Bernard Law Montgomery: jewishvirtuallibrary.org]</ref>
* [[Di Blasi Industriale]] - is an Italian manufacturer of folding bicycles, tricycles, mopeds and scooter based in Vizzini, Sicily.

==Twin towns==
* {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Cerignola]], Italy
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Aci Catena]], Italy
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Livorno]], Italy

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
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==External links==
* {{in lang|it}}[http://www.comune.vizzini.ct-egov.it/ Official website of the Comune di Vizzini] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329185718/http://comune.vizzini.ct-egov.it/ |date=29 March 2016 }}
* {{in lang|it}}[http://www.infovizzini.it InfoVizzini.it – "The website of the Citizens of Vizzini"]
* {{in lang|en}}[http://www.vizzinesi.org/ Vizzini Genealogy](Birth / Marriage / Death indices 1820-1860 / Military Draft Index 1840-1913) {{404|date=June 2022}}([https://web.archive.org/web/20211229112101/https://www.vizzinesi.org/ Archived])
* {{in lang|en}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20071008103254/http://www.concordanza.com/misc/si_tipol/si3.html Towards a typology of decorative façades in 18th-century Sicilian organs (Page 3)][http://www.concordanza.com/misc/si_tipol/si4.html (Page 4)]
* {{in lang|en}}[http://320thbg.org/1943_missions.html B-26 320th Bomb Group 1943 Missions] – 10 July 1943 – Vizzini (Sicily) (Mission No.44 No. Aircraft 22) – [http://320thbg.org/mission_pdfs/mission_046.pdf Scanned pdf] copy of the Mission Summary and [http://320thbg.org/strike_photo_pages/strike_44.htm strike photo].
* {{in lang|en}} [http://www.tourofsicily.com/slideshow/photo-gallery-of-vizzini/ Vizzini - A Small Sicily City] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929120447/http://www.tourofsicily.com/slideshow/photo-gallery-of-vizzini/ |date=29 September 2015 }}

{{Province of Catania}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Catania]]
[[Category:Vizzini| ]]