The city's name derives from the
Arabic (, "castle of [pottery] jars") – a name that attests to the antiquity of the
local pottery works and to Arab influence in the area before 1000 CE. Concerning the name etymology, there are other hypotheses, that could refer to the Greek or Genoan past of the town, or also to something concerning the land or the surrounding area. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as shown by the presence of two necropolises dating from the
second millenniumBCE, and by numerous other archaeological finds. It was later inhabited by the
Sicels, a people who predated Roman occupation and control. Inside the municipal area, there's the archaeological area of Monte San Mauro, dug by archaeologist
Paolo Orsi during the early 20th century, where there was found an inhabited area with a cult area and a necropolis: it would be likely a
Leontinoi subcolony, the
Chalcidian town of
Euboia, despite some scientists think it would be also the case of a Colony under Gela rule, because of the important closure between the archaeological area and the Geloan Fields. During the Middle Age, Arabs built a castle here; in 1030 it was attacked by
Ligurian troops under the
Byzantine general
George Maniakes. The current town's
Sicilian dialect continues to have traces of Ligurian language. The city flourished under the
Norman,
Hohenstaufen and
Aragonese domination, becoming a renowned center for production of ceramics. The city was almost completely destroyed by the
earthquake of 1693. Many public and private buildings were reconstructed in a
Sicilian Late-Baroque style. The city has an array of architectural resources and, together with the surrounding territory, is protected by the
UNESCO World Heritage program. During unification struggles, on 29 May 1860, the town was looted by the
Bourbon army led by general Gaetano Afan de Rivera; they were fleeing from the
Garibaldini forces towards Catania. During the first part of the 20th century, the town was a stronghold of Italian
Christian democracy movement, due to the presence of renowned politician
Luigi Sturzo,
Italian People's Party founder. Later, the town produced such nationwide politicians as Italian Prime minister
Mario Scelba, and Sicilian president
Silvio Milazzo. Before and after this period, Caltagirone saw the building of many monuments in
Art Nouveau style: some examples are the Saint Julian church portal, the
Officine Elettriche (it could be translated as Electrical Factories), some nobles' palaces (for example
Palazzo della Magnolia) and the Vittorio Emanuele's
Post office. As part of
Operation Husky (9–10 July 1943), the town was bombed by Allied air forces. The attacks resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and led to the destruction of several buildings of historical significance. During the
World War II, the town was one of the earliest
Operation Husky checkpoints, in which there were all of the three Ally contingents (
US,
Canada and
UK). Also, it was the final theatre of the
Indepentist season, specifically the area of San Mauro; there, the
Royal Carabinieri and the Concetto Gallo-ruled EVIS had a battle, won by the Italian army. The hamlet () of
Santo Pietro became the site of the so-called
Biscari Massacre on 14 July 1943. At Airfield 504 in Santo Pietro, soldiers of the United States Army committed a war crime by executing 74 Italians and 2 German prisoners of war. After this period, the town experienced, during the rest of the 20th century, some oscillations concerning overall population, remaining between 36,000 and 39,000 inhabitants; meanwhile, the town dramatically
sprawled, increasing its urban area, and developing its own suburban area, that has both suburban features and countryside ones. Today, Caltagirone is a mid-tier Sicilian town. It is one of the 25 most populous towns in Sicily, and one of the 250 most populous in Italy. == Geography ==