PIAZZA ARMERINA (ENNA), DIOCESE of. — In Sicily, with jurisdiction over 13 municipalities. It has an area of 2,003 sq. km and a population of 236,000, of whom 235,500 are Catholics; it has 48 parishes and 5 sanctuaries, served by 136 diocesan and 40 religious priests; it has 8 male and 35 female religious communities (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 318).
The origins of the diocese are recent. Considering the number of bishoprics insufficient in view of the growth of the population, in 1805 Ferdinand IV, king of the Two Sicilies, asked Pius VII that a new bishopric be established at P. A., carved out of the Diocese of Catania. But it was only on 5 July 1817, with the bull Pervetustam locorum originem, that Pius VII erected the new diocese. In 1819, Msgr. Girolamo Aprile Benzo became its first bishop. There were many ecclesiastics in the territory of the diocese who would deserve mention. Among the inhabitants of Piazza Armerina, there were Cardinals Scipione Rebiba (1497–1572), one of the fathers of the Council of Trent, and Emanuele Calascibetta (1622–73); Intorcetta (v.) of the Society of Jesus, a missionary in China; and Fr. Luigi Sturzo. Among the illustrious men of Enna were St. Elia (860), a monk of the Order of St. Basil; St. Luca, abbot of Carbonia; Blessed Gerolamo de Angelis of the Society of Jesus, martyred in Japan (1713); and Canon G. Alessi of the Catania Athenaeum, an indefatigable scholar (1774–1837).
RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS, SHRINES, ABBEYS. – Important and artistic religious monuments, notable for their antiquity and for
(fot. Balbo) PIAZZA ARMERINA (ENNA), DIOCESI di – Cathedral. Transformed in 1719. On the right, remains of the Norman church.
various vicissitudes, have been destroyed. At P. A., there remain the Grand Priory of S. Andrea, a grange of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, a building in the Norman style (1106), constructed by Simone, count of Butera; the Hermitage known as Piazza vecchia on the piano armerino, the site where the ancient city destroyed by Guglielmo il Malo arose; the church of S. Giovanni di Rodi, a commandery of the Knights Hospitaller (1200); the imposing Cathedral (1627), which houses the sacred Byzantine image of Maria Santissima delle Vittorie and treasures of sacred art (Gagini, Ruzzolone, Caravaggio, Ligozzi, Reni, Paladino, etc.). Of Enna, mention is made of the church of S. Francesco, with its fourteenth-century bell tower; the Duomo, adorned with a rich treasury and outstanding works of art. Of Gela, the very ancient city founded in 688 B.C., there are recalled the church of S. Giacomo, with a beautiful Gothic portal, and the fine mother church, whose façade was fashioned from the Doric columns of the temple of Apollo. Notable shrines include those of S. Filippo Apostolo at Aidone, founded by Adelasia, niece of Ruggero il Normanno; of S. Rocco at Butera; of S. Maria del Bosco at Niscemi; and of Maria S.ma del Mazzaro at Mazzarino.