Editing Alcamo (section)

=== Modern age ===

[[File:Porta Palermo (stampa antica del 1900).jpg|thumb|Porta Palermo in a print of 1900]]
At about the year 1500, Alcamo was under the [[jurisdiction]] of the captain of justice Ferdinando Vega, who fought against the raiding Turkish pirates. The town was surrounded by defensive embattled walls provided with four gates:<ref name=bell10>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Calia|Craparo|Baldassano Cataldo|1991|p= 10.}}</ref>
* ''Porta Palermo'' (afterwards called ''Porta Saccari''), at the end of the present via Rossotti;
* ''Porta Corleone'', at the end of the present via Commendatore Navarra;
* ''Porta di Gesù'', opposite the [[church of Saint Mary of Jesus]], next to the Franciscan friary;
* ''Porta Trapani'' (later called ''Porta del Collegio''), at the beginning of via Commendatore Navarra.

During this period, the town was divided into four-quarters, each one associated with the name of the main church in that area:<ref name=bell12>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Calia|Craparo|Baldassano Cataldo|1991|p= 12.}}</ref><ref name=stor>{{Cite web |url=http://www.comune.alcamo.tp.it/in-citta/storia-e-tradizioni/20-la-citta.html |title=Comune di Alcamo – Storia e tradizioni |access-date=14 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226053207/http://www.comune.alcamo.tp.it/in-citta/storia-e-tradizioni/20-la-citta.html |archive-date=26 December 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* San Giacomo de la Spada
* San Calogero
* San Francesco d'Assisi (or "Terra nuova"<ref name=palazzi>[http://www.alqamah.it/2014/01/13/historia-alcami-i-palazzi-storici/ Historia Alcami: I Palazzi storici – Intervista al Prof. Roberto Calìa, storico.]</ref>)
* Maggiore Chiesa.
The division between these quarters was coincident with the main streets of the town, that are the present Corso 6 Aprile and Via Rossotti and its continuation via dei Baroni Emanuele di San Giuseppe<ref name=bell12/> (called incorrectly "Via Barone di San Giuseppe"<ref name=palazzi/>).

In 1535, in coincidence with the visit of the emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], coming back from [[Tunisia]], the old Porta Trapani was closed and four gates were opened:<ref name=bell10/>
* new ''Porta Trapani'', near the beginning of the present Corso 6 Aprile (that was called "Corso Imperiale");
* new ''Porta Palermo'' (initially called ''Porta San Francesco''), at the end of today's Corso 6 Aprile;
* ''Porta Stella'', at the corner between Via Stella and [[Piazza Ciullo]]; this name derives from the name of the ''Church of Our Lady of the Star (in Italian "Madonna della Stella"), near there;
* ''Porta Nuova'', between the present ''Discesa al Santuario'' and ''Piazza della Libertà''.

[[File:Santuario della Madonna dei Miracoli (Alcamo) - Facciata.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Sanctuary of Madonna of Miracles]]]]
During the 16th century there was a development in education in Alcamo because of the construction of new schools and the activity of expert teachers, in particular the poet and scholar [[Sebastiano Bagolino]] (1562–1604).<ref name=bell14/><ref name=stor/> In 1547 the Madonna appeared to some women of the people and an image of Madonna ''Fons Misericordiae'' was discovered and worshipped as "[[Our Lady of Miracles]]".<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Calia|Craparo|Baldassano Cataldo|1991|p= 15.}}</ref>

In the late 16th century, the population was decimated by an infectious disease.<ref name=bell16>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Calia|Craparo|Baldassano Cataldo|1991|p= 16.}}</ref> and the victims were buried in the cemetery of Saint Ippolito.<ref name=bell16/>

In 1667 Mariano Ballo ordered the construction of a theatre, called "teatro Ferrigno", later demolished and rebuilt during the 1960s; after the reconstruction it was first called "cine-teatro Euro" and later "Teatro Cielo d'Alcamo".

[[File:Antica mappa di Alcamo (1725).jpg|thumb|Map of Alcamo in a painting of 1725]]
During the 18th century, pestilence and popular rebellions occurred in Alcamo again.<ref name=bell16/> On the other hand, this age was important for art because of the construction of the [[Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption]] (1699), designed by the architects [[Angelo Italia]] and [[Giuseppe Diamante]].<ref name="trecc"/> Its interior was also decorated with 38 [[frescoes]] made by the Flemish painter [[Guglielmo Borremans]] between 1736 and 1737.<ref name=trecc/> In the same period the [[Church of Saint Olivia]] was renovated, [[Saints Paul and Bartholomew's Church (Alcamo)|Saint Paul and Bartholomew's Church]] was rebuilt (1689),<ref name=bell16/> and the [[Church of the Holy Crucifix (or saint Francis of Paola)]] was completed (1699)<ref name=bell18/> together with the monumental [[church of College]] some decades later(1767).<ref name=bell18>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Calia|Craparo|Baldassano Cataldo|1991|p= 18.}}</ref>

Between 1752 and 1780, [[Ignazio De Blasi]], an Alcamese nobleman, wrote the first book on Alcamo's history, entitled: ''Discorso storico della opulenta città di Alcamo situata a piè del Monte Bonifato, e dell'antichissima città di Longarico ossia Lacarico, dopo detta Alcamo, su di esso monte''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.drepanon.org/Bonifato005.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-11-07 |archive-date=2015-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105033807/http://www.drepanon.org/Bonifato005.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The population of the town, gradually recovered from the pestilence and increased to 13,000 in 1798.<ref name=bell16/>