Alessandria della Rocca

Alessandria della Rocca (Zip Code 92010) is 56 Km. distant from Agrigento, the province it belongs to, 116 Km. from Caltanissetta, 216 Km. from Catania, 157 Km. from Enna, 304 Km. from Messina, 113 Km. from Palermo, 192 Km. from Ragusa, 273 Km. from Siracusa, 212 Km. from Trapani.

The municipality counts 4.490 inhabitants,(Alessandrini), its surface measures 6.193 hectares, and its population density is of 72 inhabitants per square kilometre. It rises on a hilly area, 520 meters above the sea-level.

The Town Hall is located in via Umberto, phone ++39 0922 985308 fax ++39 0922 985319. E-mail address is: comuneale@virgilio.it.

The town's agriculture includes the cultivation of almonds, olives, wheat, citrus fruits, and peaches. Also, cattle breeding is conspicuous in numerous pasture areas.

The name Alessandria derives from Alessandro Presti, owner of the feud above which nobleman Blasé Bares erected the first inhabited center, in 1570.

Since 1863, the denomination "della Rocca" was added to the town's name, in honor of the homonymous Santuario di S. Maria (Sanctuary of Saint Mary).

After the matrimony of Elisabetta Barresi and Lord Girolamo Napoli, the suburb became seat of the Napoli family, in the XVIII century.

The most relevant monuments are the Chiesa del Carmine (Church of the Carmine), erected in 1589, the Chiesa di S. Francesco (Church of Saint Francis), built by will of baroness Elisabetta Barresi in 1610, and the Santuario di S. Maria della Rocca (sanctuary of Saint Mary della Rocca), dated 1800. There are also numerous remains of the medieval castle of Lord Pietro D'Amico.

Among the famous citizens of Alessandria, there is jurist Luigi Genuardi (1882-1935), esteemed author of various art work regarding the Sicilian history, such as I giuristi siciliani dei secoli XIV e XV (Sicilian jurists of the XIV and XV centuries),and Il Parlamento siciliano (the Sicilian parliament).