Porto Empedocle

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Comune in Sicily, Italy

Porto Empedocle 'a Marina (Sicilian)
Comune
Comune di Porto Empedocle

Coat of arms
Location of Porto Empedocle
37°18′N 13°32′E / 37.300°N 13.533°E / 37.300; 13.533
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Agrigento (AG)
Government
• Mayor	Calogero Martello
Area ^[1]
• Total	25.23 km² (9.74 sq mi)
Elevation	2 m (7 ft)
Population (30 November 2017)^[2]
• Total	17,936
• Density	710/km² (1,800/sq mi)
Demonym	Empedoclini
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	92014
Dialing code	0922
Patron saint	Saint Gerland of Agrigento
Saint day	February 25
Website	Official website

Porto Empedocle (Sicilian: 'a Marina) is a town and comune in Italy on the coast of the Strait of Sicily, administratively part of the province of Agrigento. It was named after Empedocles, a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of the city of Akragas (present-day Agrigento), in his day a Greek colony in Sicily. The primary industries of Porto Empedocle are agriculture, fishing, ironworking, pharmaceuticals and rock salt refining.

Physical geography

Climate

Porto Empedocle is the second comune with the lowest amount of degree days in Italy. It is in the climatic zone A of the climatic classification of Italian municipalities [it].

History

Born as a port zone in the old Girgenti, today called Agrigento, under the name of Marina di Girgenti (seashore of Girgenti), since in the 15th century it was the main cereal trading centre of the region. From 1549 to 1554, by order of the viceroy Vega, Torre del caricatore of Girgenti, already known during the ancient times (as it probably already existed before the Angevin period), was restored. It had been built to protect against the Saracen pirates, together with the whole system of the Coastal towers of Sicily. The tower was later again restored by Charles III with the help of Bishop Lorenzo Gioeni [it]. This restoration was completed only in 1763. In 1853, during the government of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies the town obtained independence by becoming chief town of the decurionato under the name of Molo di Girgenti. Then, in 1863, the town changed its name into Porto Empedocle in memory of the Agrigentine philosopher Empedocles.

In 2003, the town changed its official denomination to Porto Empedocle Vigata, after the name of the fictional town where the novels by Andrea Camilleri, Italian writer and native of the town, about detective Inspector Montalbano are placed. However, the decision was revoked in 2009.^{[citation needed]}

The main church is Parrocchia Maria SS. del Buon Consiglio, which is located in the center of the town. The marl Scala dei Turchi is located nearby, on the coast of Realmonte.

References

^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.