Editing Alcamo (section)

=== Contemporary age ===

At the beginning of the 19th century Alcamo's feudal status was abolished (1812)<ref name=trecc/> and the town became a direct royal possession.<ref name=stor/>

The archpriests Stefano Triolo Galifi and Giuseppe Virgilio, together with the baron [[Felice Pastore]] were members of the Sicilian Parliament as representatives of Alcamo.<ref name=bell18/> In 1820, during a revolt, there were different murders, sacks, release of criminals from prison and a fire in the municipal archives.<ref name=bell20>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Calia|Craparo|Baldassano Cataldo|1991|p= 20}}</ref> and in 1829 many people died of [[cholera]].<ref name=bell20/> 
In 1843 the construction of the present Town Hall started, on a land of the baron Felice Pastore.

On 6 April 1860, Stefano and Giuseppe Triolo let the Italian [[Flag of Italy|Tricolour]] wave on the town hall,<ref name=bell20/> creating groups of volunteers in order to help [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] in the [[battle of Calatafimi]] and from Alcamo some dictatorial [[edicts]] on [[Victor Emmanuel II]]'s behalf were issued. Some time later [[Francesco Crispi]] prepared the Constitution for the lands set free. Further to this event, Corso Imperiale was named Corso 6 Aprile, in memory of 6 April, in which the volunteers started to be enlisted in Alcamo.<ref name="stor"/>

During the [[Unification of Italy]] the brothers [[Triolo of Sant'Anna]] and Giuseppe Coppola of [[Monte San Giuliano]] enlisted many citizens to fight with the ''Garibaldians'' in 1860.<ref name=trecc/>

[[File:Monumento ai caduti (Alcamo).jpg|thumb|left|The Great War Memorial (1915–1918), inaugurated in 1929.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Chiarelli|Cocchiara|2005|p= 96.}}</ref>]]
At the end of the 19th century, in 1897, public lighting was inaugurated in Alcamo during the traditional feast of [[Our Lady of Miracles]]. Among the most important people of this period we have to remind Don [[Giuseppe Rizzo]], a priest who founded the bank called "Cassa Rurale e Artigiana Don Rizzo" (1902).<ref name="Chiarelli, Andrea 2005">Chiarelli, Andrea; Cocchiara, Dario (2005). Alcamo nel XX secolo, Volume I: 1900–1943 (in Italian). Campo Edizioni.</ref>

At the beginning of the 20th century (1901–1911) the number of citizens in Alcamo diminished abruptly, partially because of the emigration of 36,718 Sicilians abroad and in particular to the United States,<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Chiarelli|Cocchiara|2005|page= 42}}</ref> but it is possible that the statistics about this year and the previous years were not reliable because the census was carried out without following certain criteria.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Chiarelli|Cocchiara|2005|p= 61.}}</ref> In the same period the cultivations in the territory of Alcamo were affected by [[phylloxera]] and two banks ("Cooperativa" and "Segestana") went bankrupt with subsequent economic difficulties for its citizens.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Chiarelli|Cocchiara|2005|p= 43.}}</ref>

There were also some events linked to [[Sicilian Mafia|the Mafia]], such as the murder of Gaspare Cottone, a carter (1899)<ref name="Chiarelli, Andrea 2005"/> and the death of the 19-years-old Benedetto Guastella during a fire conflict with [[carabinieri]] in 1900.<ref name="Chiarelli, Andrea 2005"/>
As the Mafia had taken power in the districts of [[Trapani]] and Alcamo,<ref name="Chiarelli, Andrea 2005"/> the commissary [[Cesare Mori]] intervened with a series of arrests and charges against the material executors of the crimes occurred in the area<ref name="Chiarelli, Andrea 2005"/> and finally they arrested Vincenzo and Michele Tedesco, brothers, and Baldassare Adragna, considered the heads of the [[gangs]] in Trapani's territory.<ref name="Chiarelli, Andrea 2005"/>

[[File:Cine-Marconi, Alcamo.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1|Façade of the cinema-theatre Marconi; today a congress centre]]
During the [[First World War]], four hundred citizens from Alcamo died<ref name=bell20/> and the following period was characterized by poverty because of [[monetary inflation]] and [[banditry]]. In 1918 about five hundred people died because of [[Spanish flu]]<ref name=bell20/> and in the [[Second World War]] 213 citizens from Alcamo died or were lost.<ref name=bell20/> In 1927, Don Vincenzo Giovenco (1880–1954) operated and opened the first cinema in Alcamo, 'Cinema Marconi'. It subsequently closed less than ten years after opening, due to a fire <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.alpauno.com/alcamo-il-cinema-tradizioni-e-oggi-multisala-2/ | title=Alcamo, il cinema: Tradizioni e oggi multisala | date=26 November 2019 }}</ref>

[[File:SGES Alcamo.jpg|thumb|The entrance to ''Società Generale Elettrica della Sicilia'' (SGES) in Alcamo (in the '40s)]]
The foundation of ''Società Elettrotecnica Palermitana'',<ref name="tp24.it">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tp24.it/2015/08/17/inchieste/la-storia-della-prima-officina-elettrica-di-alcamo/93500|title=La storia della prima Officina Elettrica di Alcamo|date=17 August 2015}}</ref> whose name was changed into ''Società Generale Electrica della Sicilia'' (SGES) and which installed an important electric workroom in the district of [[Saint Augustine]] in Alcamo, dates back to the twenties.<ref name="tp24.it"/> The jobs inside this firm were very longed-for because it was the only firm in [[Trapani Province]] which had a [[Health insurance]] fund and granted holidays.<ref name="tp24.it"/> The electric workroom existed until 1963, when it was acquired by [[Enel]] and demolished.<ref name="tp24.it"/> During the years in which SGES operated, there was an improvement of the electric services in Alcamo's territory, owing also to the realization of several artificial lakes.<ref name="tp24.it"/>

During [[Italian Fascism|Fascism]], the citizens asked the government to appoint Alcamo as the [[capital of the province]] (1930), but this request was not satisfied.<ref name=bell20/>  
[[File:Teatro Ferrigno ad Alcamo.jpg|thumb|The old theatre Ferrigno in Alcamo (early 20th century)]]
On 19 August 1937 the fascist leader [[Benito Mussolini]] visited the town, crossing Corso 6 Aprile by an open car and parading through the crowd of his supporters.<ref name=Chiar120>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Chiarelli|Cocchiara|2005|p= 120.}}</ref> The visit was due to the inauguration of the [[railway line]] between [[Trapani]] and Alcamo, completed in the same year.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Chiarelli|Cocchiara|2005|p= 143.}}</ref> Some weeks later, [[Umberto II of Italy|prince Umberto]] visited Alcamo too.<ref name=Chiar120/>

On 21 July 1943 the American troops entered Alcamo without any opposition,<ref name=bell20/> freeing the town from [[Italian Fascism]].
On 18 December 1944, because of the economic and social discomfort, the citizens raised up, occupied the [[Town Hall]] and put its archives on fire.<ref name=bell20/>
Since 1960 the town [[planning system]] has been greatly expanding, particularly at the foot of [[Mount Bonifato]] with the construction of ''Viale Europa'', which is one of the most important street in Alcamo.

At about the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s there was a bloody [[Sicilian Mafia|Mafia]] war between the [[clan]] Greco (related to the Rimi family) and the members of the emergent Mafia of [[Corleone]], led by the boss Vincenzo Milazzo in the territory of Alcamo. Vincenzo Milazzo received orders from [[Totò Riina]] to eliminate members of the old Mafia (in particular the member of the clan Greco) and put in command only his trusted men. 
Just for this reason the Greco family represented an obstacle: the cause which roused the conflict was the approaching of some members of [[Cosa Nostra]] to the rival clan of Grecos. The war bathed the town in blood for about five years and provoked tens of victims. The new [[Corleone]]'s [[Sicilian Mafia|Mafia]] prevailed, but the cost to be paid was very high, because a lot of members of this clan died.
During the same period, in which there were armed clashes between the Mafia families, at contrada Virgini in Alcamo, they discovered the biggest heroin refinery in Sicily. (1985)<ref>[http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1985/05/03/un-colpo-all-eroina-spa.html la Repubblica.it, "Un colpo all'eroina SpA"]</ref> Tens of people died in five years, and at the end the Mafia of Corleone prevailed.

[[File:Ingresso della Chiesa Gesù Cristo Redentore.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Church of Jesus Christ the Redeemer (Alcamo)|Church of Jesus Christ the Redeemer]]]]
While the crimes of the Mafia went on and tens of people disappeared as victims of "[[lupara bianca]]",<ref>{{harv|Chiarelli|Cocchiara|2005|p=297}}</ref> there was a religious revival which led to the birth of several [[Catholic]] associations such as ''Rinnovamento nello Spirito Santo'', [[Neocatechumenal Way]] and the movement of [[Comunione e Liberazione]].<ref name="Ch299-300">{{harv|Chiarelli|Cocchiara|2005|pp=299–300}}</ref> From the last one the parish community of the [[Church of Jesus Christ the Redeemer (Alcamo)|Church of Jesus Christ the Redeemer]] originated in the district of Sant'Anna (2006).<ref name="Ch299-300"/> This religious revival was followed by a new interest into the town's old traditions, mentioned in the works of Roberto Calia and [[Carlo Cataldo]], historians from Alcamo.<ref name="Ch299-300"/> [[Carlo Cataldo]] has also been prized several times both for his historical works and for his dialectal poems which tell Alcamo's folklore.<ref name="Ch299-300"/>
[[File:Cuba delle rose.jpg|thumb|The Cuba delle rose after its restoration]]
In the 21st century there was a renovation of Alcamo's architectural context, thanks to the restoration of some important historical buildings such as the [[Castle of the Counts of Modica (Alcamo)|Castle of the Counts of Modica]], the Theatre Cielo d'Alcamo, the Cine-Theatre Marconi, the [[Ex Jesuits' College]], the [[Cuba delle rose]] (in 2013), the [[church of College]] (in 2014), the façade of [[Badia Nuova]] (in 2014) and the [[Arab fountain of Alcamo|old Arab fountain]] (in 2016). Thanks also to the intervention of [[Fondo Ambiente Italiano]], it is expected the restoration of the [[Castle of Calatubo]]; its chapel and the path leading to the castle have already been cleaned by the volunteers' association "Salviamo il Castello di Calatubo" (in 2015).<ref>[http://www.alpauno.com/alcamo-castello-calatubo-volontari-ripuliscono-la-cappella/#.VafGPUFPh2E AlpaUno, "Alcamo: Castello Calatubo, volontari ripuliscono la cappella"]</ref>

Among the works of revaluation of the [[urban areas]] there are the restoration of [[Piazza Ciullo]] by the architect [[Gae Aulenti]] (1996)<ref>[http://www.alqamah.it/2012/11/01/muore-gae-aulenti-aveva-riqualificato-piazza-ciullo/ AlqamaH, "Muore Gae Aulenti, aveva riqualificato Piazza Ciullo"]</ref> and the realization of an underground car park in [[Piazza Bagolino]], together with the creation of the near [[Parco suburbano San Francesco|suburban park San Francesco]].
The interest in environment is also associated with that in the territory, in fact, after the adhesion to the initiative "Rifiuti Zero" (Zero Rubbish), Alcamo has been considered an example to be followed for the results got between 2010 and 2013 in the field of [[waste sorting]] (raccolta differenziata).<ref>[http://trapani.gds.it/2013/05/31/raccolta-differenziata-al-50-per-cento-alcamo-nel-club-dei-comuni-virtuosi-264543_170132/ Raccolta differenziata al 50 per cento, Alcamo nel club dei Comuni virtuosi]</ref>