Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/466

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PALERMO


420


PALERMO


Palermo, took the city in 1071, and made it tho capital of his Sicilian possessions. Under Roger II, it lieiame the cajjital of the Two Sicilies, and so remained, until the conquest by Charles of Anjou. Under the Nor- mans the arts and letters (Greek, Arabic, and Latin) flourished at Palermo, and the Mohammedan religion was tolerated, the kings being only too zealous imi- tators of the customs of the caliplis. The famous Sicilian \'espers (31 JMarch, 1282) were the signal of revolt against the Ange\-in domination, in favour of Peter, King of Aragon, who was hailed as legitimate heir of the rights of Conradin; and in the new ICing- dom of Sicily, Palermo again became a capital. At the death of Martin I (1409) Sicily was united with the Kingdom of Aragon, and at Palermo wa.s governed by its own viceroys, independent of those of Naples after the conquest of the latter state by the Aragonese. In fact, the customs of Sicily, and especially of the nobilit}', were left unchanged under Spanish rule, which Wiis therefore peaceful, although the conduct of the troops of Diego Xern, returning from Tripoli in 1511, caused a sort of Second Vespers, soon sup- pressed, however, by the viceroy Moncada. There was another more serious revolt, contemporaneous with that of Masaniello at Naples; it took place in 1647, and was caused by a famine. The new gov- ernor, Cardinal Tri\'ulzio, combining severity and clemency, re-established order. From 1713 to 1720, Sicily was again separated from the Kingdom of Naples, and Vittorio Amedeo of Savoy was crowned at Palermo. Afterwards, the island followed the for- tunes of Naples, under the Bourbons. In 1798, the royal family was driven by the Revolution to seek refuge in Sicily, and again by the French occupation in 1806. The suppression of Sicilian autonomy was the cause of several revolutionary movements at Palermo. In that of 1820-21, a governing commis- sion was created, with Cardinal Gravina at its head; on this occasion peace was re-established with Aus- trian aid. In 1848 a provisional government was estabUshed that offered the crowTi of Sicily to Ferdi- nand of Savoy, who, however, did not accept it. General Filangieri retook Palermo fourteen months later; and finally. Garibaldi overthrew the Bourbon government, and substituted for it, not the autonomy of Sicily, but the annexation of the island to the King- dom of Italy. A last movement in favour of inde- pendence was made in 1866, but was queUed in its beginmng.

Christianity was preached at an early date in Palermo. According to Pra;destinatus (I, 6), its bishop, Theodorus, together with the Bishop of Lilyb;BUm, condemned the heresy of Heracleon, Theodorus being a contemporary of Pope St. Alex- ander (second decade of the eleventh century) ; his predecessor, it is said, was St. Philippus. The bishop, St. Mamilianxs, who is said to have suffered martyr- dom under Diocletian, and whose relics are preserved in the cathedral, may be identical with St. Mami- lianus, whom the Vandals relegated to the island of Monte Cristo in 4.50. Other mnrtyrs under Diocle- tian were Claudius, Sabinus, and ISIaximus. Among the bishops were Gratianus, .503, Victor who died in 603, and Joannes, 603 (St. Gregory the Great was in correspondence with the two last named), Felix, 649, and Theodorus, 787. During the Saracen domina- tion there appears to have been no bishop of Palermo ; it was in that period (828) that SS. Philaretus and Oliva suffered martyrdom. In 1049, Leo IX sent to Sicily, as archbishop, the Humbert us who, later, became Cardinal Bishop of Silva Candida; but the Normans, then enemies of the pope, prevented the archbishop from landing. In 106.5, Bishop Nicodemus was appointed. Other bishops were Alcherius (1083) ; Gualterius (1113), the first to bear the title of arch- bishop, although the pallium had been sent to .loannes (603); Stephauus (1166), compelled by his enemies


to resign; GuaUicro t)tTamiglio (of the Mill), an Knglishman, who died in 1191; Bartolomeo (1201), brother of the preceding, who was sent into exile; Gualtiero da Polena, who was appointed in 1201 by Innocent III and transferred to Catania, Parisius being installed in his stead; Berardo di Castaca (1214-52), a great diplomat and a mediator between the popes and Frederick II; Licio de CoUe (1296), a benefactor of the cathedral; Bartolomeo da Antiochia (1305); Francesco da Antiochia (1311); Giovanni Orsini (1320); Matteo Orsini (1371); Nicol6 d'Agri- gento, O. Min. (1383); Lodovico Bonnito (1387) and Giliforte Riccobono (1397), both persecuted by the Chiaramonte faction ; Nicol6 da Tudisco (1434-1445), a great canonist (Panormitanus) and one of the pillars of the Council of Basle, who became a cardinal of the antipope, Felix V; Simone Beccatelli (1445), a generous restorer of the cathedral and of other churches; Nicold Puxades (1466), who caused the stalls of the choir of the cathedral to be adorned with inlaid work; Giovanni Borghi (1467), who had been a famous physician; Fihppo (1474), who was a nephew of King Ferdinand, and died under the walls of Granada in 1488; Cardinal Pietro, Count of Foix, O. Min. (1485); Cardinal Tommaso de Vio, O.P. (Caietanus), who was elected in 1519, but not recog- nized by Charles V, the pope not recognizing Gio- vanni Carandolet, the king's candidate; Ottaviano Preconi, O. Min. (1562), zealous for the decoration of the churches; Cesare Marulh (1578), who founded the seminary; Cardinal Giannetto Doria (1609-42), who was for a time viceroy and reformed the nuns, and distinguished himself for his charity during the famine of 1624; Martin de Leon y Cardenas (1650), who donated the beautiful tabernacle of the cathedral ; Pietro Alartinez Rubio (1656), who was noted for his charity and obtained the use of the mitre for his canons; Cardinal Domenico Pignatelli (1802); Car- dinal Pietro Gravina (1816); Cardinal Gaetano M. Trigona e Parisi (1832); Cardinal Ferdinando M. Pignatelli (1839), who had been a general of the Theatines; Cardinal Geremia Celesia (1871-1904).

CefalCl, Mazzara, and Trapani, are the suffragans of Palermo; the archdiocese has 50 parishes, with 444,982 inhabitants, 18 religious houses of men and 24 of women, 12 educational establishments for male students and 27 for girls, and 1 Catholic daily paper.

PiHRl, Sicilia sacra (Palermo. 1735); Cappelletti, Le chiese d'ltalia, XXI; Monqitore, Palermo santificato (Palermo, 2d ed., 1888) ; Di Giovanni. Topografia antica di Palermo (Palermo, 1899) : Di Bartolo, Monografia suUa cattedrale di Palermo (Pa- lermo, 1903) ; Annuario delV archidiocesi di Palermo (1906).

U. Benigni.

University of Palermo — The Convent of St. Dominic of Palermo may be considered the nucleus of the future University of Palermo. In this convent in- struction was given in theology and philosophy, not only for the Dominicans, but also for the public. In 1469 Father Tommaso Schifaldo gave lessons there in Latin literature. A theological lecturer. Fat her Salvo Cassetta, had so large a following that he lectured in the pubhc square; he was also well versed in mathe- matics. In 1553 the commune wished to have a medical school and called upon the famous Gianfilippo Ingrassia. His lectures too were delivered at the Convent of St. Dominic. In 1555 the commune also engaged Dominican professors of philosophy, including the liistorian Fazello. The chair of jurispru- dence was founded in 1556, and the first professor was Geo. Ant. de Contovo. At the end of the sixteenth century nothing more was heard of the Dominican School. From 1591, philosophy and theology were taught in the Jesuit College (founded in 1.550). In 1599 the number of chairs was increased. The col- lege had the right of conferring degrees in these two sciences. The courses of the Jesuits were well at- tended.