Gela (Terranova di Sicilia until 1927) is an Italian town of 71
812 inhabitants of the free municipal consortium of Caltanissetta in
Sicily. It has a large district of around 120,000 inhabitants at an
approximate distance of 30 km as the crow flies.
The city,
from which the vast surrounding plain and the wide gulf it overlooks
takes its name, is an important agricultural, industrial and seaside
center. Rich in testimonies of what was one of the most influential
Sicelian póleis.
Gela rises along the southern coast of Sicily. Its territory is partly flat and consists of the plain of Gela, the second largest in Sicily, and partly hilly. It lies between the southern coastal strip and the territories of Butera, Mazzarino, Niscemi, Caltagirone and Acate. The coast, low and sandy, sometimes has walls and rocks of clayey or limestone formation always preceded by the beach. The gulf of Gela, wide and not very pronounced, is the largest in Sicily. Along the coast there are three hilly formations of a certain importance: the one on which the historic city rises, almost completely built, and those of Montelungo and Manfria, only partially built.
The plain of Gela is crossed
by numerous streams, almost all of a torrential nature, which since
the Arab period have been exploited for irrigation through the
creation of the so-called "prese" (dams):
the Comunelli
stream rises north of Butera, is diverted to the dam of the same
name and flows west of Manfria;
the Rabbito stream originates
near Butera and flows into the vicinity of Maschio Morta;
the
Gattano stream, which originates near Butera, flows west of the
Macchitella district;
the "Reclamation cable" laps the plain to
the northern outskirts of the city, where it is buried to be
channeled towards the Gela river;
the Gela river flows in the
mountains north-west of Piazza Armerina, receives numerous
tributaries (including the Maroglio river which in turn receives the
waters of the Cimia stream diverted into the dam of the same name)
and flows east of Gela near of the industrial area. The Gela is
diverted into the large artificial basin called Lago Disueri. It was
once navigable in its final stretch
the Dirillo river, which
forms the border with the province of Ragusa, originates in the
Hyblaean plateau and after being diverted into the Ragoleto dam and
having filled the Biviere di Gela lake flows east of the latter.
The only natural lake is the Biviere di Gela (nature reserve), while
Lake Comunelli, Lake Disueri and Lake Cimia are artificial
reservoirs created for irrigation purposes, serving the plain. The
last two since 2008 are also exploited for civilian uses in the city
of Gela. Small ponds and marshes also form at the mouth of the
streams and in the locality of Piana del Signore.
The city and the corresponding coastal strip enjoy the typical Mediterranean climate, with rather mild winters and hot but not sultry summers (except in some cases). Characteristic of the place is the constant ventilation and high humidity especially in the evening, aspects common to many Mediterranean coastal areas. Precipitation is rather scarce between 450 and 550 mm per year, largely concentrated between autumn and winter. Long periods of summer drought are frequent.
Over the
centuries, the town called today Gela has taken on various names:
Lindos: is the name of the first colonial settlement dating back
to the 7th century BC;
Gela (Γέλα): it was the name it took
several decades later. The city, destroyed for the first time in 405
BC. and rebuilt in 339 BC by Timoleonte, it was definitively
destroyed in 282 BC. It derives from the indigenous name of the
river Gela, which flows to the east and which probably means
"swirling" or icy. The inhabitants were called geloi;
Massa Gela:
one of the names attributed by the Romans to the area of ancient
Gela;
Colonnario or (City) Delle Colonne: name given to the
locality by the Arabs because it is characterized by the ruins of
temples;
Eraclea or Heraclea: medieval name in the 1233
refoundation of Frederick II of Swabia;
Terranova (Terra nuova):
name of the city around 1550;
Terranova di Sicilia: in 1862 the
specification "di Sicilia" was added to differentiate this from the
other Italian centers with the same name;
Gela: the toponym
returned to it in 1927 to remember the glories of the ancient Greek
city.