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History |
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The history of Lacco
Ameno mingles with the beginning of the civilization at the
island and in the South of Italy: for centuries the Greek
citadel on Mount Vico had been the only town at the island
and the beacon of the Greek culture in the Tyrrhenian sea.
It is ascertained that the ancient town of Pitecussai was
founded in the eighth century BC from the Euboici Greeks and it
was located on Mount Vico and was sprawled towards the
present Piazza Santa Restituta. |
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At Lacco Ameno it is
found the famous Nestor’s Goblet (730 BC), where three beautiful
love lines are engraved with Calcidesi types. |
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It is worth it drinks from the Nestor’s Goblet
But who sips from mine,
Soon he shall be caught by desire for the blond Aphrodite
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At Pitecussai the life was very
simple: men devoted themselves to fields and hunting; many were
fishermen; others worked the clay. Women instead stayed at home
to spin and educate their children. People worshipped Greek
gods, in particular Posidone (Neptune), god of Sea and Apollo to
whom was dedicated the Nitrodi spring at Buonopane. It was
important also the cult to the god of Love, Eros.
In 82 BC the citadel was razed to the ground by Silla, because
the citadel had supported Mario, Silla’s rival. Henceforth
traces of the name of the town of Pitecussai got lost.
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According to some historical
witnesses a Christian community settled at Lacco and it chose a
big Roman cistern as a place of worship.
In the Middle Ages the
town, like the entire island, went through a decline period
which stopped when Aragoneses arrived in 1400. Then in course of
centuries Saracenic invasions and destructions followed. It is
infamous the Turk landing in 1635: this people violated the
statue of Saint Restituta and stole the bells in the basilica.
According to most scholars the name |
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of Lacco derives from
Greek: infact "lakkos" means stone.
On
November 18th,
1862 the town council, presided by Mayor Carmine Mennella, asked
to king Vittorio Emanuele II add the
attribute of
"Ameno" (Pleasant)
to the
name of Lacco. This license was allowed with the ministerial
decree on January 4th, 1963.
Lacco Ameno, an amphitheater by the sea, legitimately can boast
being the flywheel which has set and valued tourism at the
island. Infact at Saint Restituta spring there are waters
with the highest radioactivity coefficient. Moreover Saint
Restituta is the saint patroness of the town and island. According to the
tradition miraculously her body, which is into a weak and small
boat, from Africa arrived at the Bay of Saint Montano. Every
year on May 16th, 17th and 18th
solemn
celebretions hold in
memory of that miraculous event. |
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