History and etymology of Aci Trezza
Aci Trezza is a relatively “new” town, having been born in the seventeenth century, and not very wide, but it has a name that poses significant problems of interpretation for scholars. With regard to the first part of the name, or "Aci", the most common guess is that it derives from the river "Akis", mentioned not only by various Greek and Latin authors (Ovid. Met., XIII, 750; Sil. Ital ., XIV, 221-226) but also by Al-Idrisi (1099-1165), the Arab geographer at the Court of the Norman King Roger (1095-1154): "[…] To Catania six miles. To ‘Al-anqinah’ (‘Ognina’) three miles. To 'gazair Liag' (the islands of Aci, today 'Rocks of the Cyclops') three miles; to the river of Aci three miles […] "(See Al Idrisi, “L’italia descritta nel ‘Libro di Ruggero’”, edited by M. Amari, Salviucci, 1883: 67).
Some interesting thoughts on this name was due to an article by G. Libertini published in the early twentieth century, in which he informed that in the village of Casalotto was discovered a stone with a bilingual (Greek and Latin) inscription, which mentioned precisely a small town named "Akis" [“Aci”]: "[...] In the third line is worth of mention the presence of the name of 'Aci' ("Akidos"). Some Greek writers mention only the river that flowed in this Etnean area, the etymology of which was inquired into its ‘rapid and linear’ flow [...]" (See G. Libertini, “Sicilia. Scoperte a Casalotto”, in “Atti della Reale Accademia dei Lincei”, “Notizie degli scavi dell'antichità”, Rome, 1922: 495 ).
As pointed out Libertini, the etymology of "Akis" refers to the concept of something that "fast and straight" moves forward "like an arrow", or in Greek "Akis" (spear, arrow) and "Ake" (point). Thus the river “Akis” was so named being as swift as an arrow (See M.A. Marchi, “Dizionario tecnico, etimologico e filologico”, Milan, Pirola, 1828: 7). However, the question of the etymology of "Akis" is far from a foregone conclusion, and as we will see, the resolution of this problem includes important historical implications about the origins of the town called "Akis", located on the same river. In the "Etymological Dictionary of the Italian Language" we read: "[...] 'Akis', or a sharp tool, connected with 'Ake' = Latin 'acies', 'point'. A kind of dagger or sword with a blade usually a bit curved down, of which made use the old hosts of the Medes, Persians and Scythians [...]" (See O. Pianigiani,“Vocabolario etimologico della Lingua italiana”, Segati, 1907: 14).
More recently, G. Caracausi notes that "Aci" could come from the Arabic “a qul”, meaning “thornwood” (See G. Caracausi, “Dizionario onomastico della Sicilia”, Palermo, Epos, 1994, Vol. I: 13), while C. Saporetti (“Saggi su il Ghilgameš”, Simonelli, 2003: 204 note 236) stresses that we must accept the fact that in the “Dizionario di toponomastica” (1990) it is said that the term is certainly a word of ancient substratum, possibly of Sicanian origin, with the 'exclusion' of the Greek 'Akis'. If we get shot of the Greek etymology, we're really on the high seas. But the Saporetti’s suggestion in regard to a Sicanian substrate of “Akis” is a solid argument. In fact, there are some important historical and linguistic data that would suggest a possible etymology derived from the ancient Sicanian language.
Meanwhile, it is necessary to point out that there is a close relationship between the ancient Sicanians and the Ligurians, as already Thucydides narrated (VI, 2), who told the Sicanians-Ligurians of Iberian origin migrated to the island of “Trinacria” (Sicily) , which for them was called “Sicania.” With the regard to the term "Akis", it really seems of Sicanian origin. Today we have very sophisticated investigation tools; in this sense the book by C. Beretta ("The names of Rivers, Mounts, sites. Prehistoric Linguistic Structures", Hoepli, 2003: 301), is very useful, because it analyzes the toponymy connecting it with the ethnic origin of the Ligurians. He notes that "the radicals of the place names reveal essentially the presence of Pre-Indo-European peoples throughout Liguria" (p. 261).
Now we’ll go on to look the problem about the Sicaniand and "Akis" from a different point of view. In the Sicanian area, with regard to "Akis", we have the typical masculine and feminine reduplication "Akis-Akessa". This languistic datum allows us to qualify "Akis" as a typical "Sicanian" term; in fact, “ we attach to the Sicanian substrate the place-names ending in ‘-essos’, which also have the feminine gendre, as ‘Akis-Akessa’” [See, U. Pestalozza, “Pagine di religione mediterranea”, Principato , 1945, Vol. 2: 92 and “Kokalos”, 1965: 229]. Let us now consider some Indo-European roots as "Ak" and "Akw", “ meaning ‘water’ in the Indo-European languages” (See M. Cortelazzo, "Guide to the Italian dialects”, Cleup, 1979: 13).
This very ancient Indo-European root is the basis of many names of rivers [as “Secca” (Akw), “Tanagon” (Akw), “Bruchi” (Akw)], but also of mountains and sites inhabited by the Ligurians . C. Beretta mentions dozens of place names, rivers and mountains of Liguria called "Akw" (See pp. 289-303). Therefore "Akis" means "water" ("Akw"), and "Akis" is not a Greek, but a Sicanian name, and it does not mean "point" but just "water" . Established that "Akis" is not of Greek origin, we must also add that it may not even be of Phoenician origin, as we read in some book. In fact, according to some scholars, "Akis" is a name of Phoenician origin: "[...] in the current hamlets of ‘Reitana’, ‘Ansatane’ and ‘Capomulini’ there was a Phoenician 'emporium' favored by the proximity to the river Acis. This small town is documented in the Roman Imperial age, in the itineraries with the name of 'Akis', and numerous archaeological evidences confirm the continuity of it until the Byzantine age (the fortress of ‘Aci Castello’) to protect the coast and settlements [... ] "(See “Architettura judaica in Italia”, Flaccovio, 1994: 142).
Instead, it is very likely that things are different. A plausible interpretation is that the Phoenicians, as then the Greeks, simply "merged" with the Sicanian inhabitants of "Akis", keeping the old place-name. But the Greeks were far more powerful than the Sicanians and Phoenicians, and they left an indelible mark in "Akis." The Greeks basically "took over" the ancient Sicanian name, giving it a new meaning etymologically linked to their legends, history, and myths, forever “eclipsing” the old Sicanian etymology, which just interpreted “Akis" only such as “water.” G. Devoto, with an intelligent remark, said that "[...] 'Ak', 'Ap', 'Up', are the objective definition of ‘water’ (...) The water of the great rivers stirred the imagination of primitives because it is the symbol (…) of vitality, healing, cleansing and purification, susceptible of religious interpretations [...] "(See G. Devoto, “Origini Indoeuropee”, Sansoni, 1962: 238).
Well, the waters of the river "Akis" suggested a famous Greek legend, sung by a host of poets, about the love of Aci and Galatea (etymologically “Galàteia”, or “milky-white”) who, according to the Greek-Sicilian myth, saw her lover killed by Polyphemus, who, in love with her and mad with jealousy, crushed Aci under a rock. The Greek myth tells about the affliction of the nymph Galatea, who changed the blood of Aci into " fast waters as an arrow", which flee gurgling under the rocks that with their weight crushed the hapless lover. Metaphorically we can say that the rock of Polyphemus (= the Greeks) "crushed" for ever the ancient indigenous Sicanian culture (= “Akis” = water), causing the complete victory of the "point" against “water.”
On the other hand, the “Kingdom of Polyphemus”, where even today we can see the "Rocks of the Cyclops", was “a pointed land”, as Ulysses said. While Ulysses was in the cave of the Cyclops, the latter asked him to show him his landing place. And Ulysses answered: "Where your land ends and enters the sea with a ‘big point’" (now called “Capo Mulini”).
With regard to the "Trezza" place-name (known in Sicilian dialect such as "Trizza"), many critics seem to accept the conclusions of E. Blanco, according to whom the term means "the place where they worked the braid [“treccia”] cord" (See E. Blanco, "Trizza. Origins", Acireale, Sicilgrafica, 1993: 370). This etymology is almost certainly correct, because in this area, in the early seventeenth century, there were several manufactories run by some merchants from Acireale who just produced the braid cord. According to E. Blanco, "Aci" was added to "Trezza" in the second half of the seventeenth century, “ […] as a 'scaro', or ‘harbour’ of the town of ‘Aci Sant'Antonio e Filippo’, which in 1640 succeeded in breaking awayfrom ‘Casale d’Aquilia”, the future town of ‘Acireale’.” In conclusion, we can translate the name of ‘Aci Trezza’ such as the “Harbour of the braided cords”, which fits perfectly for a village essentially made up of a community that for centuries worked the braid cords, and then devoted itself primarily to fishery.
The history of "Aci" Trezza is therefore relatively recent, even if the territory, as we have seen, is connected to events relating to the mythical Cyclops Polyphemus and Ulysses. According to studies, in 1639 the community of ‘Aci Sant’ Antonio e Filippo’ got to break away from “Aci Aquilia” becoming a feud of Prices Riggio of Campofiorito. Since Aci Trezza is close to the sea, Princes Riggio created in this area, in front of the “Faraglioni” [stacks], a small commercial port which served the public interest. The rule of Princes Riggio lasted for about a century, from the second half of the seventeenth to the late eighteenth century. They built a church which was later destroyed by the earthquake of 1693. The present church dates from the late eighteenth century.
After the Riggio, Aci Trezza passed to the Bourbons, who joined the village to “Aci Castello.” The country's economy was tied during the nineteenth century and part of the twentieth to the fishery; in recent years the small village had a substantial property development linked to tourism and the tourism industry today is undoubtedly very first as a source of income of the country .