Editing Corleone (section)

==History==
===Etymology===
The etymology of the name is uncertain, undergoing various modifications from the [[Ancient Greek]] ''Kouroullounè'' to the [[Siculo-Arabic]] ''Qurlayun'' of the [[Emirate of Sicily]], from [[Latin]] ''Curilionum'' to the [[Norman language|Norman]] ''Coraigliòn'', from the [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]] ''Conillon'', ''Coniglione'' from which the [[Sicily|Sicilian]] ''Cunigghiuni'' originated. The modern name originates from 1556.

Another belief is that the name derives from an Arab fighter named Kurliyun (cf. ''Coeur Leon'', "Lionheart"), who conquered it for the [[Aghlabids]] in 840.<ref>{{cite book|author1=John Follain|title=The Last Godfathers|date=8 Jun 2009|publisher=Hachette UK|isbn=9781848942493|quote=Corleone, whose name is believed to derive from Kurliyun (Lionheart), an Arab fighter who conquered it in AD 840, has a proud tradition of standing up for its rights, and violently so...}}</ref>

===Antiquity===
The territory of Corleone has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Recent research has identified several settlements distributed around two main areas: Pietralunga and The Old One (''La Vecchia''). This name refers to a mountain that rises to about {{convert|1000|m|ft}}, and is about {{convert|2|km|mi}} from today's town. The site of Pietralunga was occupied from the final [[Neolithic Period]] to the [[Bronze Age]] (the presence of a glass bell decorated in pointillé) while the site of The Old One has been inhabited since the [[Middle Ages]] (the presence of an imposing castle with towers has recently been identified). However, the biggest part of the settlement was built in the archaic and classical period. "A few materials relating to the [[Hellenistic]] period found at the site have supported the identification of the ancient town situated on the Old One with the ancient town of Schera, cited by [[Cicero]], [[Cluverio]] and [[Ptolemy]], although the archaeological remains on which this theory is based are still too unstable.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}} (D'Angelo - Spatafora).

===Middle Ages===
In 840, Corleone was conquered by the North African [[Aghlabids]] during the [[Muslim conquest of Sicily]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Alexander Mikaberidze|title=Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia|date=22 Jul 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598843378|page=831}}</ref> It was during the Muslim occupation that it gained economic, military and strategic importance.<ref>{{cite book|author1=John Follain|title=The Last Godfathers|date=8 Jun 2009|publisher=Hachette UK|isbn=9781848942493|quote=A Saracen lookout tower is perched on another rocky outcrop, a relic from the time when the town was an important strategic point dominating the road from the Sicilian capital Palermo to the island's southern coast.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Dana Facaros|author2=Michael Pauls|title=Sicily|date=2008|publisher=New Holland Publishers|isbn=9781860113970|page=242|edition=illustrated}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Touring Club of Italy|title=Authentic Sicily|date=2005|publisher=Touring Editore|isbn=9788836534036|page=63|edition=illustrated}}</ref> In 1080 the city was conquered by the Normans, and in 1095 it was annexed to the Diocese of [[Palermo]]. Even in the 1170s it was recorded that over 80% of the population of the area was Muslim<ref>{{cite book|author1=Alex Metcalfe|title=The Muslims of Medieval Italy|url=https://archive.org/details/muslimsmedievali00metc_548|url-access=limited|date=2009|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=9780748620081|page=[https://archive.org/details/muslimsmedievali00metc_548/page/n247 225]|edition=illustrated}}</ref>
and that many bore Arabo-Islamic names derived from Greek.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Alexander Metcalfe|title=Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily: Arabic-Speakers and the End of Islam|date=21 Jan 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317829256|page=68}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=El-Said M. Badawi|author2=Alaa Elgibali|title=Understanding Arabic: Essays in Contemporary Arabic Linguistics in Honor of El-Said Badawi|date=1996|publisher=American Univ in Cairo Press|isbn=9789774243721|page=35}}</ref>
There was also a [[mosque]], called Masgid al-Barid, within the town.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Alexander Metcalfe|title=Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily: Arabic-Speakers and the End of Islam|date=21 Jan 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317829256|page=52}}</ref> Following the large-scale anti-Muslim attacks by Lombard settlers in eastern Sicily in 1161 led by future King of Sicily, [[Tancred, King of Sicily|Tancred]], the town became a refuge for many fleeing Muslims.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ann Katherine Isaacs|title=Immigration and Emigration in Historical Perspective|date=2007|publisher=Edizioni Plus|isbn=9788884924988|page=71}}</ref> In 1208, a Muslim uprising succeeded in retaking the town from Christian rule.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Alexander Metcalfe|title=Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily: Arabic-Speakers and the End of Islam|date=21 Jan 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317829256|page=186}}</ref> In 1222, while speaking with the pope, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II of Sicily]] cited the need to fight the Muslims of Corleone as a reason for his inability to send a large crusader army to Jerusalem.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} To this day the rock formation ''Castello Soprano'', has a [[Saracen]] lookout tower on top of it.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Touring Club of Italy|title=Authentic Sicily|date=2005|publisher=Touring Editore|isbn=9788836534036|page=63|edition=illustrated}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert V. Camuto|title=Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey|date=1 Sep 2010|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|isbn=9780803233997|page=133}}</ref> While the town's other rock formation, ''Castello Sottano'', did not preserve its own Saracen fortification, it is still also known as ''Castello di Saraceni''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Joanne Lane|title=Sicily's Interior: Enna, Caltanisetta, Caltagirone and Beyond|date=6 Feb 2011|publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc|isbn=9781556500565|quote=Beyond the museum you can see the Castello di Saraceni, also known as Castello Sottano. Corleone was built between two rocks on which two Saracen fortifications were built.}}</ref>

Nearly a century later, in 1180, it was [[Feoffment|enfeoffed]] (deeded) to the new diocese of [[Monreale]]. In this period, Corleone was largely repopulated by [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Ghibellines]] from [[Alessandria]] (modern Piedmont), Brescia and elsewhere—[[Lombards of Sicily|"Lombards"]] led by Oddone de Camerana. The migrations were encouraged by Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II of Sicily]], to strengthen his position against the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Guelphs]]. In 1249, however, he revoked the privilege and gave the city to the royal property, though the migration of the inhabitants from the Po Valley continued until the beginning of the [[Sicilian Vespers]] in 1282. Another Camerana, named Boniface, distinguished himself in the revolution of the [[Sicilian Vespers]]. He led the insurrection against the Angevins with three thousand people from Corleone, in alliance with the city of [[Palermo]]. In recognition, the Senate of [[Palermo]] called Corleone ''soror mea'' (my sister).{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

During the reign of Frederick IV of Sicily, called The Simple, the city successfully rebelled against the crown but was recaptured in 1355. Corleone was besieged from [[Ventimiglia]] in 1358. During the reign of the four vicars, Corleone became the property of the powerful [[Chiaramonte]] family, but in 1391 was donated by Mary Queen of [[Sicily]] to Berardo Queralt, canon of Lerida, but he never took possession. Instead, it was occupied by Nicholas Peralta, vicar William's son, but King Martin the Younger returned it to the royal property, confirming its privileges in 1397 and giving it some tax relief.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

===Medieval history===
In March 1434, King [[Alfonso the Magnanimous]] went to Corleone and conceded some tolls to the city with the aim of restoring the walls and meeting other needs, promising also the inalienability of the city to which he gave the title of ''Animosa Civitas'' (brave city). However, in 1440 Corleone was sold to Federico [[Ventimiglia]] for 19,000 florins. This concession was revoked in May 1447 by King Alfonso, to be resold in the same year to a certain John of [[Bologna]]. In 1452 the city was finally granted to attorney James Pilaya. In 1516, Corleone joined the revolutionary movements of [[Palermo]] against the Viceroy [[Hugo of Moncada|Moncada]]. The revolt of Corleone, led by Fabio La Porta, received popular support as its purpose was the request for tax relief. However, the revolt was violently repressed by the viceroy's troops led by the Vicar General Gerardo Bonanno. Towards the end of the same century, social conditions in the city worsened further because of the plague of 1575&ndash;77 and the famine of 1592. On June 3, 1625, Corleone was sold, with other cities, to some Genoese merchants from whom Corleone redeemed itself upon payment of 15,200 florins. The terms of sale were, however, very serious. In 1648, the city was sold to the jurist Joseph Sgarlata, who then accepted the redemption upon payment.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Remarkable demographic growth was reported in the 15th and 16th centuries, following the arrival of several religious orders.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

===Contemporary history===
Corleone contributed to the events of the [[Unification of Italy]] through [[Francesco Bentivegna]] who, after participating in the riots of 1848, captained an insurrection against the Bourbons in the surrounding cities until he was arrested and then shot in Mezzojuso on December 20, 1856.  On May 27, 1860, the city was the scene of a fierce battle between followers of [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], led by Colonel [[Vincenzo Giordano Orsini]], and the bulk of the Bourbon army led by General Von Meckel, which had been diverted from Palermo via a ploy hatched by the same Garibaldi. On that occasion, a team of volunteers (''Picciotti'', [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] for "boys"), led by [[Ferdinando Firmaturi]], joined the march of Garibaldi in Palermo. {{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The nineteenth century ended with the social action by [[Bernardino Verro]], a leader of the social movement ''Fasci Siciliani''. After founding the Fascio of Corleone on April 3, 1893, he founded the new Farm Lease that was entered into between farmers and agricultural Sicilian ''gabelloti'' in Congress on July 30, 1893, held in Corleone—so much so that the city began to assume the title of "peasant capital". Corleone contributed to [[World War I]] with 105 deaths and numerous injuries on the field. After [[World War II]], a peasant movement occupied vacant lands, led by trade unionist [[Placido Rizzotto]], who was killed by the Mafia.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

In 1943, the [[Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta|Duke of Aosta]] created the title of Count of Corleone, awarded to Arturo Faini for his valour during the [[Italy|Italian]] occupation of [[Ethiopia]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Since [[World War II]], Corleone has become notorious for being home to several dangerous bandits and mobsters (including: [[Michele Navarra]], [[Luciano Leggio]], [[Bernardo Provenzano]], [[Salvatore Riina]] and his brothers-in-law [[Calogero Bagarella|Calogero]] and [[Leoluca Bagarella]]) who became the protagonists of a violent and bloody mafia power struggle. The mayor of Palermo, [[Vito Ciancimino]], was also born in Corleone and linked to the Corleone clan.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}