Editing Sciacca (section)

==History==

'''Thermae''' was founded in the 5th century BC by the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], as its name suggests, as a [[thermal spa]] for [[Selinunte]], 30&nbsp;km distant, whose citizens came there to bathe in the [[sulphur]]ous [[spring (hydrosphere)|springs]], still much valued for their medical properties, of Mount San Calogero which rises up behind the town. There is no account of the existence of a town on the site during the period of the independence of Selinunte, though the thermal waters would always have attracted some population to the spot. It seems to have been much frequented in the time of the Romans. At a later period they were called the Aquae Labodes or Larodes, under which name they appear in the Itineraries.<ref>[[Antonine Itinerary|Itin. Ant.]] p.&nbsp;89; [[Tabula Peutingeriana]]</ref> [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] was most likely mistaken in assigning the rank of a ''[[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]]'' to the southern, rather than northern, town of the same name. [[Strabo]] mentions the waters ({{lang|grc|τὰ ὕδατα τὰ Σελινούντια}}<ref>Strabo, vi. p.&nbsp;275</ref>).

The origin of the town's name has been much debated, with [[Latin]] "ex acqua", as a reference to the springs of thermal water of the area, or [[Arabic]] "Syac", meaning bath, and al Saqquah, dating back to the cult of the Syrian god "Shai al Quaaum", as possibilities.

The city walls, the bastions and the Old Castle owe their existence to [[Roger I of Sicily|Roger the Great Count]].

A royal city that had remained faithful to [[Manfred of Sicily]] during the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevine]] invasion, by 1268 A.D. Sciacca was besieged by [[Charles I of Anjou]] and surrendered the following year. After the [[Sicilian Vespers]], it established itself as a [[medieval commune|free commune]]. During the [[War of the Sicilian Vespers]], the city was besieged numerous times; the final engagement of the 20-year war took place in 1302, when a French army failed [[Angevin invasion of Sicily|to capture the city]].<ref>Stanton, Charles D. “ENDGAME (SPRING 1301–SUMMER 1302).” In ''Roger of Lauria (c.1250-1305): “Admiral of Admirals,”'' NED-New edition., 289–301. Boydell & Brewer, 2019. {{doi|10.2307/j.ctvd58tqg.24}}.</ref>

Following the Vespers era, the Peralta family took possession of it and obtained from the king of Sicily the right to mint coins. In the following centuries, the town was at the center of bloody feuds between rival baronial families (the Luna, of Aragonese origin, and the Perollo, of Norman stock), which nearly halved its population. In 1647, the impoverished town was the seat of an anti-Spanish rebellion.

During World War II, the Italian ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]'' (Royal Italian Air Force) had a base near Sciacca.