Mysteries on the tunnels of Caltanissetta
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The tunnels of Caltanissetta are one of the most fascinating stories that have been handed down from generation to generation for decades.
The tunnels of Caltanissetta are secret passages that, over the centuries, would have created in Caltanissetta a sort of underground network of communications under castles, monasteries and churches. The existence of these tunnels is, in some cases, proven by official sources, while in other cases we speak of suppositions and reconstructions based on ancient documents.
According to tradition these tunnels had multiple purposes: some were used to guard treasures and food supplies, others to guarantee an escape route in the event of a siege, still others for clandestine exits and secret meetings.
There are several tunnels in Caltanissetta on which legends and tales linger. The "trabuccu" was the set of underground tunnels that originated from Palazzo Moncada and where, according to tradition, the opponents of the ruling princes were dispersed. The term "trabuccu" indicates a "place with pitfalls". tunnels of the Pietrarossa castle, built to be able to go outside the ancient walls without being noticed. Another passage would have connected the palace of the princes to the almost adjacent convent of the Carmine, to allow, according to people's voices, secret meetings between religious and family members Another tunnel seems to connect the church and monastery of Santa Flavia, the Jesuit College, the Moncada palace and the mother church of Santa Maria La Nova. In the church of S. Flavia, a passage was found that from a side arch, where the Moncada funeral monument stood, which led under the central floor and led into a crypt. originate one of these underground corridors.
We do not know how much truth there is in these stories, what is certain is that Caltanissetta has a past as a mining town: its territory is full of underground tunnels from which it has been extracted for centuries sulfur. Tunnels that still lie under the hills of Caltanisetta, whose entrance is now blocked due to possible collapses.
