Sicily and encouraged the growth of smallholdings, undermining the dominance of the latifundia. The Arabs further improved irrigation systems. The language spoken in Sicily under Arab rule was Siculo-Arabic and Arabic influence is still present in some Sicilian words today. Although the language is extinct in Sicily, it has developed into what is now the Maltese language on the islands of Malta today. A description of Palermo was given by Ibn Hawqal, an Arab merchant who visited Sicily in 950. A walled suburb, called the Al-Kasr (the palace), is the centre of Palermo to this day, with the great Friday mosque
Patti, Sicily which the contracted name "Patti" derives. The city was rebuilt by Count Roger, after the Saracens had been driven from Messina (1058). The town was founded by the Norman king Roger II of Sicily in 1094. Patti is also famous for its large sandy beaches. Patti was destroyed by Frederick of Aragon about 1300, on account of its attachment to the House of Anjou; rebuilt in the 16th century, it was later sacked by the Ottoman Turks. Patti, Sicily Patti is a town and "comune" in northeastern Sicily, southern Italy, administratively part of the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the