Comiso

Comiso, Sicilian: Còmmisu, is an Italian comune in the Province of Ragusa in Sicily.

Geography

Comiso has two frazioni, Pedalino and Quaglio. It lies some 22 kilometres (14 mi) west of Ragusa in the South of Sicily. The main productive sectors are agriculture (wine and vegetables) and trades, including smithery, cabinet making and marble work.

Neighboring communities are: Chiaramonte Gulfi, Ragusa and Vittoria.

The Comisana breed of sheep takes its name from Comiso.

History

Comiso has in the past been incorrectly identified with the ancient Greek colony of Casmene.

Under the Byzantines a new borough began to grow on Comiso's present site around the monasteries of St. Nicolò and Saint Blaise, expanding further under the later Norman and Aragonese domination of Sicily. It was later a fief of the Chiaromonte, Cabrera and Naselli families: the latter, counts of the city from 1571, boosted the economy of the city and built new district outside the ancient walls.

Comiso was devastated by the 1693 earthquake and rebuilt on the same spot as the old ruins in the Sicilian Baroque style.