Piazzanet.it

The history of the town of Piazza (“Armerina” was added in1862) began in Norman times, but the area was already inhabited in prehistoric times, as it is demonstrated by the archeological finds on Monte Navone and, above all, on Montagna di Marzo.

The area must have flourished in the norman era: this can be seen from the splendid 4th century D.C. Roman Villa of Casale, dating from the early 4th century AD, with its world famous mosaic floors.

The Norman came to Sicily in 1061 and began a long war against the Arabs, which ended in 1130 with their conquest of the Island and the beginning of the reign of Roger II. In the first half of the 12th century, Piazza was probably situated in the Casale area and its inhabitants, who had never mixed well with the Saracen populations in the surroundings area, naturally viewed the Norman's pro Saracen policy with mistrust.

Thus, the population took part in the revolt of 1160 by the feudal lords, led by Roger Sclavo, the illegitimate son of Count Simon Alerami­co, and by Tancredi d'Altavilia, the illegitimate son of Roger, Duke of Puglia and brother of King William 1, massacring the Saracens who lived in the area. In 1161 the town was conquered by King William 1 (the Bad), son of Roger who he had succeeded, and he took revenge by razing the town to the ground. The survivors scattered to the outlying villages that had escaped William's wrath and lived there until they gained permission to rebuild a new town on the Mira hill, the present day district of Monte.

There is little information to be found about Piazza in the rest of the 12th century but it seems certain that after the end of the Norman domination, in 1194, the town became rich, prosperous and important again under Emperor Frederick of Swabia.

During the Swabian domination the town was home to the Knights Templar Hospitallers and of the Holy Sepulchre, participated in the Crusade of 1227, was chosen as seat of the National Court of the Kingdom in Sicily and took part in the General Parliament of Foggia.

With the arrival of the Angevins, a period of oppres­sion and suffering began in Sicily, during which the town took part in the Vespers War against the French government of Charles of Anjou.

In 1296 Piazza hosted the meeting of the Sicilian Par­liament at which Frederick II of Aragon was pro­claimed King of Sicily. The new king approved the "customs" of the town, which are still preserved today in the "Book of privileges", in the Municipal Library.

After the death of Frederick II Sicily experienced a pe­riod of disputes and fighting between various factions of noblemen but Piazza, despite participating in these disputes, maintained a prestigious role, especially from an economic point of view. In 1348 the popula­tion of the town was decimated by the plague and this was when, according to tradition, the standard of Our Lady of Victories, later to become patron of the town, was found. TheAragonese Castle used by King Fred­erick II, Maria and Martin of Aragon was probably built around this time too. The Spanish domination lasted three more centuries.