Description
In his 1562 work on the History of Sicily, Francesco Maurolico from Messina mentions only one inn-warehouse in this area, which, becoming a point of reference for those passing through, favored the development of the Casale, whose official date of birth is 1731.
In fact, the town gradually acquired a certain consistency already in the first decades of the 1600th century, until the foundation of the Church of S. Antonio Abate which dates back to 1637, a date engraved on the pedestal of the small holy water font inside it.
According to some local elders, the inn-warehouse may have been one of the last buildings still existing along the final stretch of the current Via Pietro Micca, historically called “Fondaco nuovo”.
This was the ancient road connecting the towns along the Messina-Palermo route. Only towards the end of the 1800th century was the hill on which the church stands removed, creating the new state road that connects Sant'Antonio and Sant'Antonino with Barcellona.
Piazza Fontana, the heart of the neighborhood, was therefore a necessary transit point for travelers, and the fountain with its "gebbia" was a place of refreshment for animals, as well as a meeting point for women who drew water and a source of amusement for children.
On the fountain there was a plaque dated 1639, therefore contemporary with the foundation of the Church.
The "gebbia," which we see in its entirety on a cadastral map, from which its dimensions—about two meters wide and five meters long—were derived, was shortened at an unspecified time to facilitate the entrance to Via Canova. In 1958, it was completely demolished, and the plaque was moved to the Municipal Library. It appears that after the demolition, a new "gebbia" was built, but without the actual fountain. This too was demolished, and the fountain that exists today was built on the other corner of the square.
The Latin text of the tombstone:
DOM / PHO IIII SICILIAE HISP REGE PHILIP IV REGE / PATRIBUS CONSCI /
HYACYNTHO CVCVZZA STEPHANO LAPIS / GASPARE SVBTILI ET CAROLO
ALESSANDRO / SAEPIUS HOC DVLCI SATIAT PAN GVTTVRA RORE / PAN QVI
SERIADIS FLAGRAT LOVE GODDESS. / HIC SEDIT LAVITQVE GENAS TERSITQVE
CAPILLOS / VT STRAVIT PAVIDAS CASTA DIANA FERAS / DVM LEVIS ASPIRAT
ZEPHYRVS REQUIETVS IN VMBRA / HIC QUOQVE TV LONGVM FALLE VIATOR ITER /
MD CXXXIX
Translation from the Latin of the text of the tombstone, taken from the book by Father Carmelo Biondo, Churches of
Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, published in 1986:
TO GOD MOST EXCELLENT MAXIMUM / PHILIP IV KING OF SPAIN AND SICILY / CONSCRIPTIVE FATHERS
/ GIACINTO CUCUZZA STEFANO LAPIS / GASPARE SOTTILE AND CARLO ALESSANDRO /
MANY TIMES THE GOD PAN SATISFIES HIS THROAT WITH THIS SWEET WATER PAN THAT
HE BURNS WITH LOVE FOR THE GODDESS SERIADS / HERE SHE SITS AND WASHES HER CHEEKS AND WIPES THE
HAIR / THE CHASTE DIANA AFTER HAVING SCREENED THE TIMID WILD BEASTS / WHILE
THE LIGHT ZEPHYR WAS BLOWING, RESTING / LYING IN THE SHADE / HERE YOU TOO
WAYFARER ALLEVIATES THE LONG JOURNEY / 1639
