San Giuseppe Jato

Infobox CityIT
img_coa = San Giuseppe Jato-Stemma.png img_coa_small=yes
name=San Giuseppe Jato
mapx= 38|mapy=13.189
official_name = Comune di San Giuseppe Jato
region = Sicily
province = Palermo (PA)
elevation_m = 463
area_total_km2 = 29
population_as_of = 2004
population_total = 8349
population_density_km2 =
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|37|58|N|13|11|E
frazioni =
telephone = 091
postalcode = 90048
gentilic = Jatini
saint = Maria SS. della Provvidenza
day = August 13-August 16
mayor =Giuseppe Cosmo Siviglia
website =

San Giuseppe Jato(Latin:"Iaetia", "Iaetae", "Ietae") is a village in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, ("Sicilia" in Italian) - an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

The village sits in a hilly region of Palermo's hinterland , 31 km from the Sicilian capital.

Economy

Like many villages and towns in the north of Sicily, its inhabitants rely on the production of corn, olives and grapes for their livelihood. Each September the village holds a Festival of Grapes and Wine where these commodities and other agricultural produce is displayed. The area around San Giuseppe Jato is also known for its beef cattle breeding and as a centre for woodturning and iron works.

History

The first inhabited centre in the area of the modern village dates back to Punic times where a small settlement is recorded to have existed at the foot of Mount Jato.

The village had, arguably, the most illustrious period in its history during the Muslim rule under the Kalbid dynasty (948-1053), when it was an important military stronghold. It is believed that the last remnants of the original Arab stronghold were demolished in 1246 by the troops of Frederick II of Sicily.

The village was known simply as San Giuseppe, until 1864 when the suffix Jato (after the adjacent mountain) was added to differentiate it from San Giuseppe Vesuviano near Naples.

San Giuseppe Jato is the birthplace of Giovanni Brusca, a notorious mafioso who, in 1996, was arrested for the assassination of Judge Giovanni Falcone, a prominent Sicilian anti-mafia campaigner.