Arab Quarter

2 Minutes of reading

The Arab quarter of Caltanissetta is now incorporated into the larger district of San Domenico (also known as “degli Angeli”).

It preserves vivid traces of the Muslim settlement which, starting in 846 AD, transformed the ancient Norman village into a political and cultural stronghold called Qalʿat an-nisāʾ, “castle of women.” Enclosed between Via delle Medaglie d’Oro, Via San Domenico, and Via Santa Domenica, it covers an area of 177,067 m². Walking through its paved alleys, characterized by inner courtyards and low roofs, visitors retrace the typical morphology of Islamic urbanism: houses built closely together to protect against the summer heat, narrow passages that channel breezes, and hanging courtyards where Berbers once cultivated citrus fruits and vegetables for self-sufficiency. At the heart of the quarter stands the Church of San Domenico, built in the mid-1400s, which preserves within its walls arabesque stone curtains reused from the Gothic structure, while artisan workshops and old “low houses” display portals of rusticated ashlars and windows with hand-forged iron grilles. Every year, between Christmas and Epiphany, the living nativity scene of Caltanissetta enlivens the quarter with around 150 costumed figures who re-create, among the houses and alleys, scenes of ancient Palestinian crafts but with a Sicilian imprint (from the cicerara to the lavannara), reviving an anthropological heritage at risk of being lost. Supported by the Municipality and local associations, this event turns the quarter into a vast open-air stage, restoring to the community the memory of its origins and promoting slow tourism in search of Caltanissetta’s Arab-rooted identity.

You might also be interested in...