Caltanisetta

Caltanisetta, a town and episcopal see of Sicily, the capital of a province of the same name, 60 m. S.E. of Palermo direct and 83 m. by rail, situated 1930 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 43,303. The town is of Saracenic origin, as its name Kalat-al-Nisa, the “Ladies’ Castle,” indicates, and some ruins of the old castle (called Pietrarossa) still exist. Otherwise the town contains no buildings of artistic or historical interest, but it commands striking views. It is the centre of the Sicilian sulphur industry and the seat of a royal school of mines. Two miles east is the interesting Norman abbey of S. Spirito.

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