Lentini (Siracusa Province) is 51 km from Siracusa, alt. 56 m, sheltered by a series of hills, south of the Biviere di Lentini, an ancient marshy lake, now reclaimed, area 215.8 sq km, pop. 27,287, post-code 96016, tel. 095. Agricultural economy (citrus fruit).
This is near the ancient Leontinoi, traditionally said to be the home of the Laestrygones, man-eating giants encountered by Ulysses (Odyssey, Bk.X). It was founded in 729 BC by the Greeks of Nazos on San Mauro Hill, near the modern town, in a territory already inhabited by the Sicels. After some two centuries of independence and prosperity it was subjected to Gela at the beginning of the 5th century BC and soon afterwards by Sircasa which, except for brief periods of autonomy, dominated it until the death of Hieron II in 215 BC. The following year it was taken and destroyed by the Roman consul Marcellus. It became a bishopric in the early Christian and Byzantine age. Seriously damaged by earthquakes in 1140 and 1169, and rebuilt during the Swabian period, it was one of the main royal cities in the island. But the earthquake in 1542 (the citizens refused to move to the new town of Carlentini) and even more so the one in 1693 inevitably led to a process of gradual decline. It was only in the 19th century that Lentini began to develop economically, with new expansion of the town.
Of interest: The Archeological Museum
Churches (Siracusa Diocese) include the following:
Families researched in those records include the following:
Links to other sites about Lentini 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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