History and etymology of Acireale

The question about the origins and antiquity of Acireale is rather complex. According to tradition, the city's development would follow this way: "Xiphonia"> "Akis"> "Jachium"> "Aquilia (Vetere and Nova)> “Jaci” (16th  century) and Acireale. But the “family tree” so made up from the beginning showed evident ambiguities that the progress of studies have increasingly widened.

Let's start with "Xiphonia", which would be directly from the source  of Acireale. According to a theory for a long time supported by some local scholars, especially by Lionardo Vigo (1799-1879), Acireale seemed  was the direct heir of an ancient lost city called "Xiphonia.” Truth to tell,  one dealt with  the subject very casually,  but in reality the issue is very complicated. One of the supporting voucher apparently more solid in support of the existence of “Xiphonia” was a text by Strabo [58-21 BC] (Book VI), who  mentioned a number of cities in sequence: [...] Ai de Katànes (Catania) kai Siracouson  (and Syracuse), Naxos (Naxos) kai Megara  (and Megara) ... kai tò  tes Xiphònias akròterion (and the Promontory of Xiphonia) [...]".

However, this passage of Strabo is not significant for the existence of the elusive “Xiphonia” simply because he, according to some critics, did not mention a “city” with this name, but only the “cape”, which was called “ of Xiphonia”, which today is called “Capo Mulini”. The quote from Stephanus Byzantinus (6th  century AD) would seem more convinced, but he, in his turn, quoted from Ephorus (330-330 BC), who really spoke about  "Xiphonìa Xikelìas polis. Theopompos” [378-300 BC];  or about  “Xiphonia, city of Sicily, as Theopompos handed down.”

The material fact is that Theopompos  was the only ancient writer who mentioned “Xiphonia.” Then, it was alleged that Silius Italicus (28-103 AD) mentioned the city, but in reality Silius Italicus quoted  "Acys", probably referring to the  "Akis" River, without reference to “Xiphonia.” These are just some of the reserves  expressed by the critics  against the opinion of Vigo, according to whom an ancient “Xiphonia” existed: "[...] The thesis of Vigo  found a fierce opponent in Holm (and not in him only), who flatly denied the existence of ‘Xiphonia’ at ‘Capo Mulini’ putting it, such as Cluverius, at 'Capo Santa Croce' [...]" (See A. Pagano-RV Cristaldi, “Scritti di varia umanità”, Parva, 1967: 180 ff.). One of the sharpest critics of Vigo was an anonymous contemporary writer  (who initialled [F.C.]  an articl  in the “Giornale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti per la Sicilia” [1836: 27 ff.]).

He faced up to “Xiphonia”, completely distroying  the theory of Vigo. Referring directly to Vigo, F.C. wrote: [...] I would dare him think that Strabo never named 'Aci Sifonia', and  that  he did not alluded to a city, but to a promontory, which was mentioned, among other things, as a remarkable element situated between Catania and Siracusa.

In fact, he mentions the promontory after the rivers, and never among the cities, of which he had already completed the list. I shall take the liberty of reporting the passage of Book III by Strabo published in Latin by Casalbuono edited in Paris in 1620: 'Urbes Siciliae (...) sunt Messana, Tauromenium, Catana, Siracusae. Quae inter Catanam et Siracusas fuerunt urbes, perierunt Naxus, Megara, ubi etiam ostia fluminum conveniunt, omnibus ex Aetna defluentibus et exitus portibus commodos nanciscentibus; ibi etiam Xiphoniae est promontorium' [The cities of Sicily which look towards the Mount Aetna are Messina, Tauromenio, Catania and Siracusa. Between Catania and Syracuse there were some cities, such as Megara and Naxos, which now have disappeared, and they were situated where now flowing into the sea  the rivers that flow from Mount Aetna, and slowly conclude their course to their mouths; here there is also the promontory of ‘Xiphonia’].

It seems clear that the Greek geographer Strabo speaks here about  the promontory and not on the city. And the cape is not located near Mount Aetna or the rivers that flow out from it, but  between the major things that we encounter between Catania and Siracusa (...) With regard to  Stephanus Byzantinus [p. 32], he says: 'Xiphonia urbs Siciliae, ex Theopompo, cuius apud alios summum est silentium' [‘Xiphonia’ is a town in Sicily, says Teopompo, but about it there is a complete silence by other ancient authors]. I do not seem so prosperous and famous a  city whose name is reminded  only by a single author, and about which no one speaks [...]".

We can conclude this history about "Xiphonia" with the words of Professor Maria Nicotra, who, in presenting the“Collezione archeologica della Pinacoteca Zelantea di Acireale”, wrote unequivocally that the local historians, often driven by parochial reasons, "believed" to have found the site of Xiphonia, from which "Akis" would then be derived, but this assumption  joins  today to  " the sphere of myth": "[...] This theory belongs for long-time to  the sphere of myth. And it is now  archaeologically attested the position of recent studies of local history, for which 'Acis-Akis' is the true origin of Aci [Reale] (...) This polis is the immediate precedent of the Roman city already amply attested by the sources and it is now clearly identified with 'Acium' (…), quoted in the 'Itinerarium Antonini”, and it was situated on the road connecting Messina to Catania [...]" (See M. Nicotra, “Collezione archeologica della Pinacoteca Zelantea”, in “Atti e rendiconti dell'Accademia di scienze, Lettere ed Arti dei Zelanti”, 2007, Vol. VI: 204-205).

With regard to "Akis", which the Romans called "Achium”,  it presumably was so named from the "Akis" River, and it was an ancient town of the Siculians, who was accompanied by some Phoenician and Greek traders, who kept the old name of the Sicanian village, and that made it a typically Greek town [about the Sicanian origins of  "Akis" and its etymology  ("arrow", "point" but probably "water"), See some information about the town of "Aci Trezza," in this Website].

But the way of the Roman "Acium" to the current "Acireale" was still very long and often misleading, in which a lot of imagination was added to the historical facts. After Roman times, the facts about Acireale were told more or less like this: because of the incessant earthquakes, the old place where there was "Akis" and then the Roman "Acium"  was abandoned: "[...] Truth to tell, Aci, called 'Xiphonia' (...) had its first existence at “Capo Mulini”, and many times it was damaged by wars, earthquakes and volcanic lava. Then, as stated by Idrisi (1099-1165), it moved and had its site near ‘Acicastello’  such as  ‘Axis’, ‘Acis’, ‘Acium’, [the Arabs called it ‘Al Yag’, ‘Lyiag’ (‘Li Aci’)], ‘Jachium’ and ‘Giachium’.

Then from the eleventh century until the eruption of Aetna in 1329 described by Niccolò Speciale, the town took the name of 'Aquilia', extending it in the plains of 'Aquilio', that is Ansalone, Gazena and other places. Finally, at the beginning of the fourteenth century it changed the site, occupying the plateau where today Acireale is located (See V. Raciti Romeo, “Sulle origini della città di Aci”, in “Atti e rendiconti dell'Accademia di scienze, Lettere ed Arti dei Zelanti”,  Acireale, Vol IV, 1893: 28-29).

Therefore, according to some local historians, an ancient Aquilia existed and indeed there would have been two “Aquilia”, “Aquilia Vetere” "(Old) and “Aquilia Nova” (New). In this sense, many historical and etymological studies were undertaken to better delineate the aspect of this town. But did Aquilia really exist?  About Aquilia  various assumptions arose, and one of the fiercest supporters of the existence of Aquilia was certainly S. Raccuglia (“Storia di Aci dalle origini al 1528 AD (Xiphonia, Akis, Jachium, Aquilia Vetere”, Acireale, 1906 ).

Recently, however, it has been questioned by Salvatore Toti Pennisi, who wrote a very important article. In practice, according to Pennisi, there was never a town called "Aquilia", and rather  there would were two districts, or "hamlets" with this name: ‘Iaci-Aquilia’ [unique among all other cities of Sicily, being divided into several districts, or 'houses' (…) sparsely populated]  (…)  could not be identified as a real town” ( See Salvatore Toti Pennisi, “Nuovi contributi alla storia di Acireale. Il vero significato del toponimo Aquilia”, in “Agorà”, 2001, IV, pp. 20-26 and in “Memorie e rendiconti”, 2001, pp. 7-30). In Conclusion, the term "Aquilia" did not intend a "town" but only a series of "hamlets". Which is widely accepted by contemporary critics; so the prefix “Aci-” is a name of some villages, the territory of which  extended and covers the slopes of Aetna near Catania, and that centred round the  “castrum” of  “Acicastello.”

Therefore, until the sixteenth century Acireale lacked a recognized town and it appeared as an aggregation of hamlets, which formed part of the town of Aci, whose origins lie in the Greek myth of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea [On the question of the hamlets, See the excellent article by G. Vasta, “Svolta nella dibattuta questione della nascita dei 'quartieri che si nomano Aci' in conseguenza del terremoto e della lava del 1169”, in “Memorie e Rendiconti dell'Accademia di Scienze, Lettere e Belle Arti di Acireale” , Acireale, 2003 , Vol II: 293-309.  About the myth of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea, See the article on "Aci Trezza" in this website]. In the early Middle Ages, "Aci" (or "Iachium", "Jaci Castellum", "Jaci") was first occupied by the Arabs and then by the Normans.

With regard to the real history of Acireale, we refer to the studies of M. Donato, who drew a brief but thorough profile of the town.  Professor Donato shows that the toponym “Aci” joines the villages of an extensive wooded area near Mount Etna, which referred to an impregnable “castrum” [fortress] on the sea, a few kilometers from Catania. Aci Bonaccorsi, Aci Castello, Aci Catena, Aci Platani, Acireale, Aci S. Antonio, and Aci San Filippo formed the hamlets of a   "Universitas" (a term that applies to all the people who lived in the hamlets around the "castrum") which were united from their origins.

The history of Acis began with the Norman conquest of Sicily. In April 26, 1092  Count Roger (1031-1101) named as Bishop of Catania Abbot Angerio  and he re-established the Diocese after the Saracen domination, and he assigned to Abbot "Iachium cum omnibus pertinentiis suis." “lachium” was the “castellum Iachium”  with the people who gravitated around it, and the “pertinentiis” were the relative outbuildings, or the so-called "forest of Aci" with its suburbs. Thus, Count Roger in a diploma of 1092, gave the "castellum Jachium" to Anagerio, Abbot of Santa Eufemia in Calabria: “[…] Similiter dedimus praefato Abbati et omnibus successoribus eius quoddam Castellum nomine Jachium cum omnibus pertinentiis suis, et concessi ego Rogerius omnes illos Saracenos  (...) qui tunc temporis erant in civitate Cataniensium et in Castello Jachio […]” ["Similarly, We give to the abovesaid Abbot and all his successors a castle called 'Iachium' with all its  relative outbuildings . I, Roger, also give all the Saracens, at that time lived in Catania and in the castle of 'Jachio'”] ( See  V. Raciti Romeo, “Sulle origini della città di Aci”, p. 44).

In 1169 the territory of Aci was devastated by an earthquake of great magnitude.  The tradition tells that the dispersion of the inhabitants of Aci begun the various districts (or hamlets) that still take the prefix "Aci." Frederick II of Swabia (1194-1250) in 1233 deprived the landowners of their right to Acis and he confiscated the ancient castle of "Acicastello", but in 1266 Charles I of Anjou (1226-1285) returned the castle to the Bishop of Catania. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, at the time of the Sicilian Vespers, the Castle and the “Terra di Jaci” were granted in fief to Ruggero di Lauria (1250-1305). Then, Alphonso the Magnanimous (1396-1458) in 1420 granted the castle  of Jaci to Ferdinando Velasquez  for 10,000 florins.

From that moment Aci  became "a barony in all respects" and Velasquez took the title of  “Baron of Aci.” Around 1434  Aci was again sold by the Sovereign to Giovan Battista Platamone for about 20,000 florins. However, the town managed to escape the feudal rule and it return to the State property, but with Charles V (1500-1558), in need of money, the town appeared again in danger of being sold to some feudal vassal, so Aci redeemed its freedom by paying a large annual tribute to the emperor.

In the sixteenth century "Aci Aquilia" became a  more populous, rich and important town  than the other hamlets.  So “Aci-Aquilia” assumed a prominent role at the expense of the other hamlets;  and it is in this context that came up  the various attempts by local historians to "dignify" the “New Town”, linking its origins to the ancient "Xiphonia" and "Aquilia ". The supremacy of Aci-Aquilia  reinforced during the seventeenth century and into the next century, when the new town had a long dispute with Catania, to control the maritime trade of the coast of Mount Etna. In the seventeenth century the town was ruled by  Princes Riggio  until the advent of the Savoy. We can speak about a substantial urban development  “in the historic period between 1531 and 1642, when Aci-Aquilia was called “Aci Reale",  by law of Philip IV of Spain [1605-1665] (See A. Grasso-P. Raneri, “L'evoluzione storico-urbanistica di Jaci-Aquilia”, in “Logos”, 1995, 3, p. 26).

The sixteenth century was a period of economic growth for Acireale, but it suffered a setback during the earthquake of the late seventeenth century. The town was rebuilt with a typically Baroque style and in 1844  the Diocese of Acireale was erected, which thus escaped the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Catania. After an initial phase in favour of the Bourbons of Naples (1837) the town participated in the struggles for independence, finally entering into the kingdom of Italy (1861) [ See M. Donati, “Vicende storiche dei casali dell'Università di Aci”, in “Memorie e Rendiconti dell'Accademia di Scienze, Lettere e Belle Arti di Acireale” , Acireale, 2000, Vol. X: 39-70].