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
Ragusa, Sicily followed the events of the Kingdom of Sicily, created in the first half of the twelfth century. A Chiaramonte family fief, it remained the county capital after it was unified with Modica in 1296, a status it lost in the 15th century after a popular revolt. In 1693 Ragusa was devastated by a huge earthquake, which killed some 5,000 inhabitants. Following this catastrophe the city was largely rebuilt, and many Baroque buildings from this time remain in the city. Most of the population moved to a new settlement in the former district of Patro, calling this new municipality "Ragusa Superiore"