Niscemi

Niscemi is a historic town in the province of Caltanissetta, set on a plateau 332 metres above sea level in the north-eastern part of the Plain of Gela. From its position it looks over the Maroglio river valley and the open plain to the west, while its territory brings together plateaus, valleys, woodland and rural landscapes.

Its identity is layered through several historical names and phases. An Arab fortified settlement known as Fata-nascim is linked to the hill of the present town, while after the Norman conquest a new city called Nixenum was founded in 1143. In the early modern period the Branciforti family enlarged the settlement, and in 1626 Giuseppe Branciforti obtained the licence to populate it, giving it the name Santa Maria di Niscemi.

Much of the present old centre reflects the rebuilding that followed the 1693 earthquake, with a regular layout and straight streets that give the town a clear, ordered character. Niscemi is also marked by a strong Marian devotion connected to a miraculous discovery in 1599, making it distinctive as a plateau town where landscape, faith and successive historical names remain closely intertwined.