Calatafimi stands on two hills in an area between Alcamo and Salemi. Myth would have it founded by Aceste, who arrived in Sicily together with some Trojans who escaped destruction. Sources ascertain its existence as early as Roman times, and its name, the origin of which is still debated, testifies to its Arab domination. Later conquered by the Normans, it became part of the royal domain. In the first half of the 1800s, the city took part in Sicilian insurrectionary attempts against the bitter Bourbon government, and in 1860 it was the scene of the bitter battle between Garibaldi’s Thousand and the Bourbons that kicked off the liberation of Sicily. Churches-Built in the 15th century, the Mother Church is one of the oldest and most beautiful churches in the city. The Renaissance origin of the facade has been obscured by later interventions. The interior, three naves supported by columns, preserves several stuccoes and an interesting marble polyptych from the early 1500s. The 18th-century Church of the Most Holy Crucifix is also beautiful. The exterior, very simple in its neoclassical composition, harbors a much more sophisticated interior structure: with its frescoes, gilded stucco and polychrome marble altar, it becomes an expression of a Baroque that is slow to fade.