Piazzanet.it

The reign of Alphonse of Aragon brought a period of peace to Sicily but it was also a period of reduced au tonomy, because Sicily became an outlying province of the huge Spanish Empire. Piazza first became a feud of Peter of Aragon but, later, it regained its privileges.

Over this period of time the town grew in size considerably and was made the seat of a "comarca" that included the feuds of Mazzarino, Pietraperzia, Terranova, Butera, Barrafranca and Aidone. The cul­tural and economic life of the town was particularly ac­tive, so much so that it was described by Emperor Charles V as an "extremely wealthy town". The 17th and 18th centuries saw the town reach the height of its splendour, thanks to the construction of numerous Baroque buildings, churches, monasteries and a hospital. Unfortunately, a slow decline set in when the nobility began to move from Piazza to Palermo and Naples, even though it was chosen as seat of a new diocese in 1817 and was made seat of an administra­tive district within the new province of Caltanissetta.

During the revolutionary uprising of 1848 the local no­bility joined the Committee of public safety, but it took ten years for the Italian tricolour to be raised on the town hall. During the First World War many men from Piazza made an important contribution and General A. Cascino was awarded the Gold Medal for military valour.

Apart from a few rare occasions the 20th century saw little done to try to revitalise the town and allow it to re­gain the important role it had historically enjoyed. The decision to make Enna the new provincial capital put an end to any aspirations the town may have had to become a significant political centre.