Calaforno
The place
Calaforno in the province of Ragusa, Giarratana/Monterosso Almo area (Monti Iblei limestone quarries, Sicily, Italy), at 515 m of altitude, on the Iblei plateau. Part of the continuous Sicily cluster (batches 250-387). A rock-cut habitat: the Calaforno rock-cut necropolis, 3200-2200 BC, Bronze Age Castelluccio culture, an iconic site with 65 rock-cut tombs + the Monti Iblei limestone plateau, covering 40% of southeastern Sicily + Ragusa Ibla, UNESCO World Heritage 2002, Val di Noto Late Baroque + the heritage of the Sicilians (an Italian people of Sicily, 4.8 million speakers of Sicilian, recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage in 2009 + Greek colonisation from the 8th century BC — Naxos, Syracuse, Agrigento, 5 colonies + the Arab conquest 827-1091, the Emirate of Bal-Harm (Palermo) in the 10th century + the Normans, 1071, Roger II crowned 1130, the Norman-Sicilian kingdom + the Sicilian Vespers 1282, 3,000 French massacred on the evening of 30 March during evening prayer, sparking a revolution + the heritage of the Mafia, Cosa Nostra, from the 1860s post-unification protection racket, an iconic legacy + Giovanni Falcone 1939-1992, judge, assassinated 23 May 1992 at Capaci on the motorway + Paolo Borsellino 1940-1992, 19 July 1992, Palermo).
The setting
Ragusa Giarratana/Monterosso Almo Monti Iblei limestone quarries Sicily Italy 515 m Iblei plateau, continuous cluster batches 250-387, rock-cut habitat Calaforno necropolis 3200-2200 BC Castelluccio 65 rock-cut tombs + Iblei 40% SE Sicily + Ragusa Ibla UNESCO 2002 Val di Noto Late Baroque, Sicilians 4.8M Sicilian UNESCO intangible heritage 2009 + Greeks 8th c BC 5 colonies + Arabs 827-1091 Bal-Harm Palermo + Normans 1071 Roger II 1130 + Vespers 1282 3,000 French 30 March + Mafia Cosa Nostra 1860s + Falcone 1939-1992 23 May 1992 Capaci + Borsellino 1940-1992 19 July 1992 Palermo.
