Aspra, Sicily Aspra, Sicily Aspra (Aspira in Sicilian) is a town in the "comune" of Bagheria in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. A village within the municipality of Bagheria, approximately of 3700 inhabitants, by the sea at the East end of the Palermo's Gulf facing the capital city of Sicily. Typical are the wooden boats (lancitiedde in local dialect) vividly colored. The first traces of the town are thought to belong to the period of Arabic domination in Sicily, as it is suspected that the name comes from the Arabic حجر («stone»). Aspra was in fact, for generations, used to
Nicasius of Sicily Nicasius of Sicily Nicasius (Nicasio, Nicaise) of Sicily (also known as "Nicasio Burgio, Nicasius de Burgo, Nicasio Camuto de Burgio, Nicasius Martyr, Nicasius of Jerusalem") ( 1135 – 1187) is venerated as a martyr in the Catholic Church. The son of Roberto de Burgio and his wife Aldegonda, Nicasius descended from the Saracens on his father's side and from the Normans on the mother's side. Born in Sicily -probably Palermo- to the Kameti (or Camuto) family (later known as "de Burgio"), he and his brother Ferrandino joined the Hospitaller Order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. They answered