Aragona (Agrigento Province) is 16 km from Agrigento, alt. 400 m., in the Valle dei Platani, on the eastern slopes of the Belvedere hill, area 74.4 sq. km., pop. over 10,300, post-code 92021, tel. 0922. Agricultural economy: wheat, vegetables, almonds, olives, pistacio nuts, grapes.
Founded in 1606 by Baldassare III Naselli, Count of Comiso, who named it Aragona, in honor of his mother Beatrice Aragona Branciforti. In 1615, the Naselli family obtained the title of Princes of Aragona, and they owned the town until 1812.
Of interest is the Baronial Palace (17th century) in Piazza Umberto I, which is today the location of the town hall.
The priest in the Chiesa Madre speaks English and takes excellent care of the church registers in his care. He works to schedule time for researchers as well as working with his very active parish. The civil record office is quite modern and the folks there are most helpful.
Churches (Agrigento Diocese) include the following:
Families researched in these records include the following:
Links to other sites about Aragona include:
My latest book on CD is titled Sicily - A Reference for Researchers and is now available. With a file for each town (plus many other files), it relates the history of Sicily as reflected in the photos, records and festivals of its towns. It contains over 2500 text and photo files and can be ordered at CD order.
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