History and etymology of Cinisi

We have some  reliable information about Cinisi from Arab times and then from the mid-fourteenth century, but the studies conducted on the territory have allowed scholars to identify an area of ancient settlement, which also had a great military and economic importance in Roman times. The Roman period has given scholars much food for thought.

From the archaeological point of view, in the area of “Torre Molinazzo” (Cinisi-Terrasini) some ancient late-Roman docks  and fragments of pottery of the same age were found. Also  an anchor was found on which V. Giustolisi spoke: "In the Zone D [which] corresponds to the water  north of the top of Molinazzo tower, [to] just 30 metres from the coast, they found a lead anchor stock  (Inv No 352 A). The sample has a straight shape and a quadrangular mooring ring with a breast line in the middle. "(See, V. Giustolisi, “Le navi romane di Terrasini, e l'avventura di Amilcare sul Monte Heirkte”, 1975, p. 41). From the historical point of view, a century-old dispute, which still is a ground for an intense discussion was that on the identification of Mount Heirkte, quoted by Polybius (200-118 BC), and which raised from the outset a considerable interest among experts.

The location of Eircte (Heirkte) was one of the most difficult subjects with which  scholars wrestled since the nineteenth century, when Julius Schubring [1839-1014] ("Historische Topographie von Panormos”, Lübeck, 1870, pp. 24 ff.)  identified Eircte on the Mount Pellegrino.

To simplify this matter, everything started  with a passage from Polybius (1, 56, 1-11), who spoke on a fortress called 'Herkte'. Polybius said that during the first Punic War the Carthaginians of Hamilcar Barca (248-183 BC) camped in a "high place called Heirkte, located on the sea between Palermo and Eryx", while the Romans put themselves in front of Palermo (See on this important topic the article by P.E. Arias, “Un problema di topografia storica alle porte di Panormos ...”,  in "Melanges de l'Ecole française de Rome. Antiquité", Année 1991, Volume 103 Number 103-2, pp. 377-404). Over the years, the hypothesis proposed by Schubring not entirely convinced, so that other sites were assumed; in addition to Mount Pellegrino, some scholars suggested  Mount Palmeto (near Cinisi), Mount Pecoraro, Mounts Belliani, and Mount Castellaccio, a mountain that dominates the current Cinisi (See V. Mangiapane, “Cinisi. Memorie storiche e documenti” Palermo, 1910, p. 9).

At a certain point,  the hypothesis advanced by V. Giustolisi  (“Le navi romane di Terrasini e l'avventura di Amilcare sul monte Heirkte”, Palermo, 1975, pp. 57-60) seemed diriment; in fact, he supposed that Heirkte coincided with Mount Pecoraro.

The new proposal found several consensus; in fact, excluding the identification of Eircte on Mount Palmeto, for the lack of archaeological proofs, and exploring the hinterland of Cinisi and Terrasini, Giustolisi thought to identify Eircte on Mount Pecoraro. Although this highly controversial topic, a decisive speech of Giovanni Mannino, an expert of the area, reported the matter to its origins, according to the suggestion by Schubring, accepted by all historians of Germany, why  Eirkte would Mount Pellegrino:  " I later learned that Holm, a hundred years before me,  similarly concluded: 'It is no doubt that Herkte is Mount Pellegrino near Palermo'. Knowing the mountains of western Sicily, it was easy for me to deny any comparison of the various alternatives proposed to the mountain of Polybius, that is Mount Pecoraro, Mount Palmeto and Mount Castellaccio "(See G. Mannino, “Risultati di ricerche speleo-archeologiche nel territorio di Terrasini”, in “Sicilia Archeologica”, 2004, p. 126).

Beyond the question of the exact location of Heirkte, we observe that the territory of Cinisi was important in Roman times and these ancient relations with Rome also justify the etymological issues, which were and are now highly questionable, because on the one hand some scholars (as M. Amari [“History of the Muslims of Sicily”, 1868, vol. I, p. 160: "Cinisi, land of Arab origin, as appears by the name"]) interpreted Cinisi as an Arabic name, while others, suspecting that the site had a more ancient origin, preferred an etymological Latin origin , which then  the Arabs altered.

There are other reasons that lead to believe that Cinisi and its territory had been widely "Romanized." Here there was a "rocky sanctuary called the 'Madonna of the Furi' (the mountains between Cinisi and Carini), whose unusual name probably remember the existence of a previous settlement, a 'chorion' [small village] then disappeared. The hypothesis was formulated by H. Bresc and it is very suggestive and in any case it seems entirely plausible "(See, “Atti della Accademia di scienze, lettere e arti di Palermo”, 1984, p. 168). About the term "Furi ', we observe that the “Gens Furia” had significant business interests in Sicily, and that a “Furius” is attested in Roman brick stamps as an owner in the area: "The valley between Mount Pecoraro, Longa Mountain and the coast of Myrcene in the area of Cinisi (...) is called 'Furi', a place name that could date back to the  noble  'Furius' "(See R. Rizzo, “Papa Gregorio Magno e la nobiltà di Sicilia [" Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) and the nobility of Sicily"], 2008, p. 39 footnote 156). Furthermore, "the name of the estate would prove a link with the 'Gens Furia', whose interests in Sicily are attested by some brick stamps found in Lipari, Eryx and Marsala, bearing the noble 'Furius'" (See "Kokalos", 2004 , p. 225).

The "Romanization" of the territory thus confirms the substance of the doubts  concerning the etymology of Cinisi, which Amari thought of Arab origin. M. Amari wrote: "I prefer the variant 'Agnas', which would be the plural of the Arabic Gins (genus), today Cinisi, located in Edrisi (1099-1166), Chapter VII. It should be noted that Edrisi writes sns (...) but Yakut  writes  'ginnis' "(See M. Amari, “Biblioteca Arabo-Sicula”, Loescher, 1881, Vol 2, p. 670). Noteworthy is that in Arab times this stretch of coast was probably known as 'Sàqiàt Gins', that is the 'bindolo of Cinisi' [= noria, that is a water wheel that has the function of lifting water using the power of a water course ]. "(See, “Sicilia Archeologica”,1974, p. 59). However, it was stressed that "even if Amari, preferring the lesson Agnas, he thinks the plural of Gins (genus), 'spirits', I don’t rule out that it is a Latin or Greek word preserving the inflectional 's'  (...)  It’s likely that Cinisi presupposes, through the Arabic, a form of pre-Arabic origin, but for now I can not tell whether it is a word belonging to the Greek or Latin or ancient substratum (See “Siculorum Gymnasium”, 1986 , p. 136).

In this sense, G. Alessio suggested  that Cinisi derives from the Latin "Cinis-cineris", "ash":  " Even clear voices of Latin or Romance etymology should not be exempt from an Arabic etymology, as Cinisi, from the Latin 'Cinis-cineris' = ash" (See G . Alessio, “L'elemento greco nella toponomastica della Sicilia”, Sansoni antiquariato , Vol I, 1954, p. 8). It has been suggested that the term "ash"  refers to  the ruins of an ancient city situated near Cinisi; in this sense,  it may be possible that it was the  mysterious and untraceable city called "Cetaria”, which, according to Ptolemy (100-175 AD), was so named because of the  existence of a fishing net [See M. Amari, “Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia” ["History of the Muslims of Sicily"], Le Monnier, 1858, pp. 432-433 note 8]. "Around the Tower called Molinazzo in the Middle Ages there was the seaport of Cinisi. However, in the absence of more solid evidence, the location of Cetaria remains uncertain "(See, “Sicilia Archeologica, 1982, p. 60).

However, it is no doubt that the Arabs played an important role in the history of Cinisi. The toponym is mentioned in the Arabic and Latin sources, particularly in a document of Pope Innocent III (1160-1216), who, despite everything, had to enter into diplomatic relations with the Arabs: "The pope entered into diplomatic relations with the Muslims of Sicily (...) This document is also important because it explicitly appoints some places occupied by the Muslims, that the previous sources  vaguely mentioned as 'tutiora sarracenorum oppida' [the  cities very solid of the Saracens] (...) Some Arab sources also recalled Cinisi and another place not easily identificale (...) [However],  the toponyms immediately locatable (Jato, Calatrasi, Cinisi ...) are sufficient to define with  a good approximation  the area occupied by the Saracens in Sicily (F. Maurici, “Uno stato musulmano nell'Europa cristiana del XIII secolo” [“A Muslim State in Christian Europe of the Thirteenth Century”], in "Acta Historica et Archaeologica mediaevalia", Edicions Universitat Barcelona, 1994, p. 267).

But who were the Arabs who occupied Palermo and  the nearby areas as Cinisi? An interesting contribution to the knowledge of the "first Arabs" who arrived in Sicily is by E. Galdieri, who observes: "[...] With regard to Sicily, we have some interesting data about the diverse composition of the first contingent sent to occupy Mazara del Vallo: “ The flower of Muslim warriors of Africa gathered for a holy war: Arabs, Berbers, especially the tribe of Howara (…) the Persians of the Khorassan '(M. Amari, "History of the Muslims of Sicily," (reprint), ed. Giannotta, Catania 1985, chap. X, p . 186). The permanent presence of the Persians in Sicily was confirmed and reiterated in a study published in English in 1975  and in Italian two years later (1977): 'In 947, at Palermo, the Banu at-Tabari, a noble tribes of Persian origin, rose up against Ibn Attàf '(See A. Amhad., “Storia della Sicilia islamica” ["History of the Islamic Sicily”]) (...) More recently, a strong artistic and cultural Iranian influence was placed at the base of an original, though not entirely convincing, interpretation of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo as ''architectural space''and of the famous cycle of paintings of its ceiling; with regard to  the part that concerns us more closely, it would seem a repertoire having its cultural and formal roots in the Iranian and thus  pre-Islamic world […]” (See E. Galdieri, “Sull'architettura islamica in Sicilia”, in “Rivista degli studi orientali”, Pisa-Roma, 2001, p. 55, footnote 30).

The Arabs made Cinisi an almost impregnable stronghold, so much so that they fiercely resisted the Norman conquest, capitulating after a long siege (Maurici, p. 268). The attack of Count Roger against Cinisi was told in verse by Geoffrey Malaterra (11th century) ["De rebus Gestis Rogerio Siciliae Calabria et comitis et Roberti Guiscardi ducis fratris eius" (About the exploits of Roger, Count of Sicily and Calabria (1031-1101) and his brother Robert Guiscard (1015-1085)]. We propose here the text in the translation by A. Graham Loud: “He himself went with the Calabrians to besiege Cinisi, which had also rebelled against him.

And so at one and the same time he conducted two separate sieges in the same area, and maintained them both most effectively. He moved very shrewdly from one to the other, eagerly pursuing and encouraging them, dealing with every matter himself, leading attacks on the enemy, frightening them sometimes through feints and sometimes by raids, cheering up his own men by generous gifts and even more generous promises to enhamce their loyalty to him, and he continued to do the enemy damage: It was the sixth month; summer marks the campaigning season:/ One looks for ways to do damage, the other seeks to make him retreat./They inflict injuries and receive them. So they pursue each other;/The enemies remain at each others' throats, both equally determined./It was harvest time; this proves a problem for their weary troops./ The crops are burned: this event perturbs the people of Jato./ He now attacks the men of Cinisi, and their situation becomes grave ./ They take counsel, preparing to save the harvest;/ But when force fails, they seek to secure this through diplomacy./They meet the count and try to appease him,/ They make a treaty; they abandon trickery as their defence,/ Their crops are saved and they are reconciled to the count.” ( See G. Malaterra, “The Deed of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily ...”, Unpublished translation by Graham A. Loud, 2005, pp. 52-53).

According to some authors, the ancient Arab hamlet of Cinisi, of which today no trace remains, was situated in the district which now bears the name "Castellaccio", in a strategic position, in a ravine protected from behind the mountains; as Idrisi said, it was a "vast hamlet", built on the coast of a mountain: "[Cinisi is a] vast hamlet, built on the coast of a mountain that [seems] dominate it; it has alongside a very extensive land,  favorable to vegetation, strewn with beautiful pastures "(See M. Amari," Bibliotheca Arabo-Sicula", 1880, Volume 1, p. 82).

According to Maurici (“Castelli Medievali in Sicilia”, 1992, pp. 83-86), it is possible to suppose a doubling of Cinisi: " one was the regular residence of the population, located down the hillside, as evidenced by Idrisi and glazed ceramic findings, the other located at the top, perhaps normally uninhabited and inhospitable (...) but well protected and defensible. " It seems that Cinisi survived the Norman conquest: "After the Norman conquest, in 1093, Cinisi was included in the diocese of Mazara; its name, followed by the words 'cum omnibus suis pertinentiis' [with all its appurtenances] was cited (...) together with the names of some large settlements as Partinico and Carini. We can therefore assume that the hamlet of Cinisi survived the Norman invasion "(See M. Giuffrè, “Città nuove di Sicilia, XV-XIX secolo ...”, Vittorietti, 1979, p. 56). Things went differently under the reign of Frederick II of Swabia (1194-1250). We know that "Cinisi was remembered among the rebel strongholds against Frederick II of Swabia "; in this context he made a fierce repression in some places of Mount Jato, which presumably also involved Cinisi, which  "was destroyed" (See “Sicilia archeologica”, 1985, p. 75).

The destruction of the hamlet led to a kind of downgrading of the area; the medieval documents  continued to talk about the "hamlets", but in reality they were reduced to mere "tenimenta terrarum," “that is about fiefs without population and stable settlement structures (...) The land of Cinisi and the Muslims’ fortress remained, after 1250, almost depopulated: in 1263 [Cinisi] is called 'tenimentum terrarum cuiusdam casalis quod  vocatur Chinnisi' [plot of land of a hamlet called Cinisi] ( See F. Maurici, “Federico II e la Sicilia: i castelli dell'imperatore”,  1997, p. 102 and 126).

We have more accurate sources on Cinisi in the second half of the thirteenth century, when the estate was governed by Matteo Pipitone[o]. The Pipitono belonged to the aristocracy of Palermo and Matteo Pipitono  "appeared in 1263, when, how squire of King Manfredi (1232-1266) received a concession, witouth feudal service, the hamlet of Cinisi", once belonged to Rainaldo da Palermo: “ Manfridus Dei Gratiae Rex Siciliae. Per presens privilegium notum fieri volumus universis fidelibus nostris tam presentibus quam futuris quod Mattheus Pipitonus de Panormo vallettus et fidelis noster Majestati nostre humiliter supplicavit (…) bona que quondam Raynaldus de Panormo (...) videlicet quoddam tenimentum terrarum cuiusdam casalis quod vocatur Chinnisi, in quo sunt arbores carrubarum, amigdalarum et ficuum; et domus una sita … Panormi ” [Manfred, by the grace of God King of Sicily.

With this privilege we want to make known to all our present and future subjects that Matteo Pipitono of Palermo, our faithful squire, begged [to obtain] the property formerly belonged to the deceased Raynaldo of Palermo (...) that is the land of a hamlet called Cinisi where there are carob, almond and fig trees, and a house at Palermo] ( See “Re Manfredi conferma a Matteo Pipitono la concessione di un tenimento di terre in Cinisi”. Lagopensile, Giugno 1263, VII indizione, in Giuseppe Paolucci, “ La giovinezza di Federico II di Svevia e i prodromi della sua lotta con il Papato”, in “Atti della Reale Accademia di scienze, Lettere e Belle Arti di Palermo”, Classe di scienze morali e politiche (1901), Palermo, 1902, pp. 50-51 ). After the death of Matteo, the "tenimentum" of Cinisi was divided equally among the sons of Matteo Pipitono, Corrado, Nicola and Matteo (See E.I. Mineo, “Nobiltà di stato: famiglie e identità aristocratiche del tardo Medioevo : la Sicilia” , 2001, pp. 148 ff.).

As we have seen, the term "tenimentum" ["terrarum"], generally signified a semi-desert estate, but as pointed out by E.I. Mineo, the "tenimentum" of Cinisi was " of major economic sense (...) and in the first decades of the fourteenth century it would be repopulated " (p. 149). We can therefore speak of a new village, which corresponds to the current Cinisi, only after important historical events in the area, that is when  the Monastery of “San Martino delle Scale” obtained the privilege of repopulating some large "tenimenta" completely unsettled. After the Pipitone, another owner of the  "tenimentum" of Cinisi was in 1382  judge Fazio de Fazio [Facio de Facio], who later donated it to the Monastery of “San Martino delle Scale”, the origins of which date back to 1347 (its history was illustrated by Cardinal Ludovico de Torres . The monastery was full of books and parchments, some of which concerned Cinisi, the boundaries of which were described in the parchment No. 905 [See “Colectánea paleográfica de la Corona de Aragón: siglos IX-XVIII”, Volume 1, p. 682]).

Around 1610 a part of the lands of the "tenimentum" of Cinisi  was granted in emphyteusis, attracting many families who built their homes around the new Benedictine monastery, built by Abbot Andrea da Palermo around 1617, who gave way to development of the new village. In the following centuries many rivalries flamed between the Monastery and the La Grua, Lords of Carini. One reason of the dispute was the question  about the parish autonomy: "Cinisi and Terrasini asked the Bishop of Mazara (...) to free themselves from Carini, by which they depended. Accepted the request, the church dedicated to “Santa Fara” was built as  Parish Church  of Cinisi and Terrasini. Meanwhile, most probably from the early seventeenth century came to settle (...) a  colony of fishermen (...) who founded Favarotta, diminutive of ‘favara’, in Arabic 'Fawwara', that is source " (See  “Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani”, “Bollettino”, 1973, p. 298).

Another reason for the dispute of Cinisi with the La Grua was due to some hunting privileges that they obtained by King Alfonso of Aragon (1394-1458) in the territory of the Monastery: “Gilberto La Grua in 1450 received the privilege of hunting on the estates that separated Cinisi from Roccapalumba, among their estates of Carini and Vicari. They took advantage of the privilege to raid the ‘mandre’ [=farms] of the Abbey of St. Martin,  to steal dogs and imprison the inhabitants of the village” (See H. Bresc, “Un monde méditerranéen”, 1986, Vol. 2, p. 906: “Gilabert La Grua reçoit ainsi en 1450 le monopole cynégétique sur l'ensemble des fiefs qui sépare Cinis de Roccapalumba, entre les propres 'terres' de Carini et de Vicari. Il en profit pour razzier les 'mandre' de l'abbaye de San Martino, voler les chiens de berger et incarcérer les bergers”). We observe, however, that the relationship of Cinisi  with the neighboring municipalities historically is one long querrel.

From the economic point of view, it is linked to agriculture, particularly in the production of lemons and especially in  past centuries  of the so-called “manna”  generated by the ash [manna ash], of which the area was particularly rich. Today, in addition to traditional activities,  tourism has also a significant development, thanks to a territory that has been investigated and developed by studies conducted in recent years.