Gibellina is one of Sicily’s most unusual towns: a new settlement in the Belìce area, built in contrada Salinella on the territory of Salemi after the 1968 earthquake destroyed the old medieval centre. The abandoned original town is remembered as Gibellina Vecchia, while Gibellina Nuova was conceived at a distance from it, with wide avenues, broad open spaces and a distinctive butterfly-shaped plan.
Its identity is inseparable from reconstruction. The name Gibellina is said to derive from the Arabic *gebel*, meaning “height”, a reminder of the older settlement’s position near Monte Roccatonda and of a history that reached back to the medieval village linked to Manfredi Chiaromonte in the 14th century. After the earthquake, mayor Ludovico Corrao promoted a new civic idea: rebuilding not only through housing, but through contemporary art and architecture.
Today Gibellina is defined by that ambitious post-earthquake vision, where rural Sicilian landscapes and modern urban design meet in a town shaped as a symbol of rupture, memory and cultural renewal.
Patron Saint:
St. Roch (San Rocco) – 16 August
Nearest Airport:
Trapani (Birgi) – (54 km, 00:58)
Neighboring Cities:
