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Mineo (Catania Province) is a hill town (511 m) 66 km from Catania, it is in the northwest Monti Iblei, on the right of the valley of the River Caltagirone. It has a population of over 5,000 in an area of 244.5 sq km. The postal code is 95044 and the telephone prefix is 0933. It's economy includes agriculture, stock breeding, furniture, and packaging materials.
This is probably the ancient Mene, founded by Ducetius, King of the Sicels, in the 5th century, B.C. and later Hellenized. It was later an Arab stronghold and a feudal city in the Middle Ages as property of the Queen (Aragonese and Spanish rule, 1361-1536). A Meteorogeodynamic Observatory was opened there in the last century. Luigi Capuano (born 1839) was born here and a wonderful museum of his writings and library is open to the public.
I found the town to be friendly and well-kept. The records in the Stato Civile and its Archives are well-cared for and available through very helpful and friendly staff. The town is divided into three quarters (really) which are named after the three main churches (Sant'Agrippina, San Pietro, and Santa Maria Maggiore). Therefore, church records are available in the appropriate church instead of a Chiesa Madre as in most small Sicilian towns.
Churches (Caltagirone Diocese) include the following:
Sant'Agrippina (Chiesa Madre; altered after the earthquake in 1693. It is Eastern Rite.)
Santa Maria Maggiore (rebuilt in the 18th century and is Roman Rite. It is located on the same site as a pagan temple dedicated to the sun god.)
San Pietro (also rebuilt after the earthquake and is Roman Rite.)
S. Cuore di Gesu (Borgo Pietro Lupo suburb)
Families researched in these records include the following:AmatoAngenicaBellinoBiazzoBonaviriBucceriCandiaCarcoCatenaChiaramonteCirroneContiGrecoGulizia Lo CascioLucchesiMaggioreMarcheseSciaraSciareSinatraVichuizze
Last two Sundays in August are the Festa of Santa Agrippina. There is a tribute to Luigi Capuana with theater productions in September.
Links to sites with more about Mineo include:
Italian Wikipedia
Italian Towns
Italian Postal Codes
Sicily Web
Mineo Photos
Catania Provincia
Sicilia
Sicilian Net
My latest book on CD is titled Sicily, Part 1 and Part 2 is now available on 2 CDs. With a file for each town (plus many other files), it relates the history of Sicily as reflected in the photos, records and festivals of its towns. It contains over 2500 text and photo files and can be ordered at CD order.
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© Kathy Kirkpatrick 1997-2012
