Supported
About This File
5x3 Lot.
The St. Mary Basilica is the main church of Randazzo, a village on the slopes of the Etna Volcano.
It is in the Gothic-Norman style, built starting from 1214 using the local lava stone.
Randazzo (Sicilian: Rannazzu) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is situated at the northern foot of Mount Etna, c. 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Catania. It is the nearest town to the summit of Etna, and is one of the points from which the ascent may be made.
In the 13th century the town had its own army, which fought in favor of the king against the rebels. In 1210 King Frederick II of Hohenstaufen and his young wife Constance of Aragon sheltered at Randazzo to escape the terrible plague which raged in Palermo.
Randazzo became one of the most densely populated towns in the island, after Palermo and Messina. The town was also divided into three main districts: the Greeks lived in St. Nicola's quarter, the Latins in St. Mary's and the Lombards in St. Martin's.
Randazzo was the scene of important action during the latter phases of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, during World War II. Nazi forces were driven from the island by a combined force of British and American troops, which also contained Canadian troops who were fighting under British command. In the course of their retreat the Nazis attempted to hold the northeastern corner of Sicily in the hopes that they would eventually be able to retake the entire island. The Nazis had to abandon this plan when the British 30th Corps forced their way into Adrano while at the same time the British 13th Corps battled the Nazis in the nearby town of Randazzo. Once Adrano and Randazzo fell to the British, the Nazis decided they had no choice but to retire to Messina and use it to evacuate the rest of their forces from Sicily.
-
13
-
6
