Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto
| Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto | |
|---|---|
| Comune | |
| Comune di Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto | |
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 Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto
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| Coordinates: 38°9′N 15°13′E / 38.150°N 15.217°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sicily |
| Province / Metropolitan city | Messina (ME) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Roberto Materia |
| Area | |
| • Total | 58.89 km2 (22.74 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2008) | |
| • Total | 41,546 |
| • Density | 710/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Barcellonesi |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 98051 |
| Dialing code | 090 |
| Patron saint | St. Sebastian |
| Saint day | 20 January |
| Website | Official website |
Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (Italian: [bartʃelˈloːna ˈpottso di ˈɡɔtto]; Sicilian: Baccialona Pizzaottu) is a town and comune of about 50,000 inhabitants in the north coast of Sicily, Italy, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Messina towards Palermo. It belongs to the Province of Messina.
Barcellona was founded in 1522, during the Spanish dominance of the island. It was merged with Pozzo di Gotto (founded in 1463) in 1836.
This Tyrrhenian town has a similar geographic position to the Catalan city on the Mediterranean. Barcelona lies south of the foothills of the Pyrenees, overlooking the Mediterranean sea; Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto lies in the plain that slopes to the north close to the lush hills and the chain of Peloritani mountains, overlooking the Gulf of Patti in the Tyrrhenian Sea on the part near the Aeolian Islands in a portion of coast between the Milazzo peninsula to the east and to the west promontory of Tindari.
The most creditable hypothesis for the roots to its name lies in the domination of the Crown of Aragon (1282–1516) and then in the five hundred year history of Spanish Sicily (1516–1713), flowing together with the Kingdom of Naples under the jurisdiction of the Crown of Spain. The same analogy have identified the first conquerors from County of Aragon and County of Barcelona.
The oldest part of the town, Pozzo di Gotto, owes its name to the digging of a well for irrigation in cultivated lands located between the rivers Idria and Longano, belonging to Nicholas Goto as described in Vulgar Latin in a document dated 1463: " ... Nicolao de Gotho, ..., in quo Puzzo de Gotho ...". In 1571 Pozzogottesi obtained from the Grand Court of the Archbishop of Messina permission to elect their chaplain stationed in Saint Vitus no longer depend from Archpriest of Milazzo. Gained recognition, has advanced the redemption request to the Court of Madrid against the oppressive power of Milazzo under whose jurisdiction Pozzo di Gotto depended politically and physically by providing a distant hamlet, a bond that will be permanently discontinued 22 May 1639, and ratified by royal decree Viceroy under the reign of Philip IV of Spain, assumes the title "Libera et Realis Civitas Putei de Gotho". The village in the west of the river Longano in turn under the jurisdiction of Castroreale and had already followed the example of the neighboring community, rebelling against the jurors castrensian doing in the Church to recognize its independence. Notarial deeds dating back to 1522 in Castroreale report the name of the district or hamlet of "Barsalona", a name likely to be attributed to the presence in the baptismal books of Pozzo di Gotto the name of "Graziosa Barsalona", on the other hand is supported the thesis that the name of the location has been given by Iberian sailors having recognizing the remarkable similarity of the two territories.
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