Santa Cristina Gela
Discover Santa Cristina Gela: the Arbëreshë municipality of Sicily
Santa Cristina Gela is a small mountain village with only 994 inhabitants, located at 674 meters above sea level in the metropolitan city of Palermo, in Sicily. Nearby is the lake of Piana degli Albanesi. This municipality is one of the three Albanian communities in Sicily, along with Contessa Entellina and Piana degli Albanesi. All three communities have Albanian cultural identity, customs, and traditions.
The founding of Santa Cristina Gela
Santa Cristina Gela is the youngest of the Albanian municipalities in Sicily. It was founded in the last quarter of the 17th century by colonists from Piana degli Albanesi, a town about 3 km away. Santa Cristina Gela is part of the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi, although the Byzantine rite is only observed on certain occasions. The inhabitants call themselves "arbëreshë", which means Italo-Albanians.
Albanian language in Santa Cristina Gela
The municipality of Santa Cristina Gela uses Albanian in official documents and road signs, in accordance with the law protecting linguistic minorities in Italy. The small mountain town belongs to the Union of Albanian Municipalities of Sicily "Besa" ("Lidhja e Bashkivet "Besa"").
Economy of Santa Cristina Gela
The prevalent economic activities in Santa Cristina Gela are the tertiary sector, agriculture, and livestock farming. The landscape surrounding the town is of an Apennine type, with chestnut woods, oaks, holm oaks, and cork oaks.
Physical geography of Santa Cristina Gela
Orography
The territory of Santa Cristina Gela is surrounded by a crown of peaks of considerable altitude. From mount Pizzuta (1333 m) to mount Kumeta (1233 m) to mount Maganoce (Albanian ''Maghanuçi'') with its rounded shape, followed by mount Giuhà (''Xhuhà''), mount Leardo (1016 m), the Rossella massif (1064 m), and Turdiepi, up to Pizzo Parrino (977 m). To the north of the town, there are low-altitude ridges (800 m), which then merge with the mountains of Palermo.
Hydrography
The watercourses present in the territory have a torrential character with large volumes of water in winter, modest in spring, and none in summer. They are tributaries of Eleuterio or Belice. Belice was dammed with an artificial barrier in the 1920s, at the throat between the Kumeta and Maganoce mountains, forming the mountain basin of Piana degli Albanesi. Part of this dam is in the territory of Santa Cristina Gela. In addition to the initial hydroelectric function, the lake currently contributes to making the local WWF natural oasis enchanting.
Conclusions
Santa Cristina Gela is a charming municipality with a unique history and culture. Albanian language and culture are unique and make this municipality a truly special place. The surrounding nature of Santa Cristina Gela is simply breathtaking and deserves to be seen. If you want to take a trip to Italy, you absolutely have to include this municipality on your list.
