Agira

Agira is a town in the province of Catania, Sicily. Until 1861 it was called San Filippo d'Argiriò, in honour of its saint, Filippo il Siriaco. Its post code is 94011.

Agira stands on the site of the ancient Sicel city of Agyrion, which was ruled by tyrants, one of whom, Agyris, was the most powerful ruler in the centre of Sicily. He was a contemporary of Dionysius the Elder, and with him successfully resisted the Carthaginians when they invaded the territory of Agyrion in 392 BCE. Agira was not colonised by the Greeks until the Corinthian general Timoleon drove out the last tyrant in 339 BCE and erected various splendid buildings of which no traces remain.

Agyrion was the birthplace of the historian Diodorus Siculus, who writes that the town was already in existence in the 12th century BCE.

The Romans called it Agirium, and under their control it underwent a decline, as a result of the heavy taxation imposed on it. In 1063, it was taken by the Normans under Count Ruggero, who defeated the Moors near the river Salso.

Agira passed through the hands of the Angevins, the Swabians, and Aragonese, and in about 1400 it became state property of Sicily. Over the years the town has been influenced by Spanish and Jewish arrivals, both leaving their architectural mark, the latter a synagogue.

The main buildings of note are churches, most of which contain collections of art works. Thewy include the Norman Chiesa Madre (Mother Church) dedicated to St Maria Maggiore, the Norman church of St Margherita, which is the largest in the diocese, with thirteen altars, and which dates from the early 13th century (though it has been much changed since then), the church of St Filippo, which has three naves, and contains paintings by Olivo Sozzi, the 1500 church of St Antonio da Padova, which also has three naves, the 16th-century church of St Antonio Abate, containing fourteen small paintings of the Venetian school, and the church of St Salvatore, with Gothic bell-tower.

There is also an Arab–Byzantine castle, later rebuilt by the Swabians, of which two towers still stand.

The municipality of Agira has 9,004 inhabitants, with a population density of 55 inhabitants per square kilometre. It covers 163.11 km², and is 650 metres above sea-level.

Agira is 141 kilometres from Agrigento, 69 kilometres from Caltanissetta, 66 kilometres from Catania, 34 kilometres from Enna (to whose province it belongs), 162 kilometres from Messina, 184 kilometres from Palermo, 144 kilometres from Ragusa, 124 kilometres from Siracusa, and 291 kilometres from Trapani.

The town is a centre of agriculture — mainly cereals, almonds, olives, and grapes. The large areas of pasture also make possible the breeding of cattle, sheep, and horses.

The Pozzillo artificial lake lies near the town in a eucalyptus wood, and provides an important habitat for a large variety of birds, and a way-stage for migrators. Another reserve – the Riserva di Piano della Corte – has been created in the Erei Mountains, and the Mediterranean forest of the Vallone di Piano della Corte is scheduled to become another reserve. The area also contains sulphur springs.

There is a railway station south of the town.