The Patron
Sant'Agostino Novello
Agostino Novello is Termini Imerese's listed patron, celebrated on 19 May.
— Castellesi
CASTELLESI COMUNE
Palermo,
Sicilia
A two-level town whose district name reached far beyond its walls.
Termini Imerese sits on a terrace above the Tyrrhenian coast east of Palermo, with Roman thermal baths still in use and the ruins of Greek Himera a few kilometres away.
It was one of the four district capitals of the Valle di Palermo — and in the records of that period it is usually just Termini , without the Imerese.
The Name
Termini
Older registers, military records and catalogues often use simply Termini rather than Termini Imerese. The Bourbon district itself was recorded under that shorter form, making both names necessary in a search.
The Landmark
San Nicola di Bari
The Duomo di San Nicola di Bari belongs to the upper town. Because upper and lower Termini historically had different trades and churches, parish identity can help distinguish families within the same comune.
Did you know?
THE SHORT NAME MATTERS
Termini was also a district
Historic sources may use Termini rather than Termini Imerese, and the Bourbon district covered a wide stretch of coast and interior. District-level records can therefore be filed under Termini for families who never lived in the town itself.
LA PARLATA
How they speak
Italian is standard. Sicilian is widely represented in local speech and culture.
Search Termini as well as Imerese
Greek Himera , founded in the seventh century BC a few kilometres east, was the site of a famous battle in 480 BC in which Syracuse and Akragas defeated a Carthaginian army — by tradition on the same day as Salamis. Carthage destroyed Himera in 409 BC, and the survivors were resettled at the thermal springs that became Thermae Himeraeae — the modern town.
The Roman baths gave the town its name and its long function; they are still in use, which makes Termini one of the oldest continuously operating spa towns in Italy. The Roman aqueduct and the amphitheatre remain.
Under the Bourbons Termini was a district capital of the Valle di Palermo, with a busy port shipping the grain of the interior — this coast was one of the outlets for Sicilian wheat — and a tuna fishery.
In the twentieth century the town industrialised: a Fiat plant opened here in the 1970s and became the dominant employer of the area until its closure in 2011, an event that reshaped the local economy within living memory.
Postcards from Termini Imerese
Wear Termini Imerese
Carry your heritage with pride. Timeless designs inspired by the heart of Palermo.
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Where this
belongs
belongs
PROVINCIA DI PALERMO
Discover the beauty, culture and traditions of Palermo and its remarkable comuni.
EXPLORE PALERMO →REGIONE SICILIA
From the mountains to the sea, Sicilia is a region of history, flavor and soul.
EXPLORE SICILIA →From the passenger index
At least 11,198 people who gave Termini Imerese as their home are recorded by name among Italian arrivals in the United States — each with the ship they sailed on and the day they landed.
A floor, not a total. The index covers arrivals through 1912, holds nothing between May 1907 and December 1911, and many passengers were written down with no home town at all. Where a name is there, it is there with its record.
Have Orso look for your family →Ready to visit
Two levels, and a Greek battlefield
Getting there
The nearest major airport is Palermo Falcone Borsellino Airport.
Termini Imerese is a working town rather than a resort, and it receives few visitors despite being half an hour from Palermo on the coast road and railway.
For a descendant it divides usefully. The upper town holds the Duomo, the civic museum and the old streets; the lower town holds the port and the fishing quarter. Walking between them is the quickest way to understand the place.
Himera , with its temple of Victory and its archaeological park, is a short drive east — and the site of one of the decisive battles of the Greek world.
Palermo half an hour west.
What to see
The upper town — the Duomo, the belvedere and the old quarters.
The Roman baths and aqueduct — in use since antiquity.
Himera — the Greek site and battlefield east of the town.
The port and lower town — the fishing quarter and the harbour.
Museo Civico — the town's archaeological and historical collection.
Your family's parish — and note whether it was upper town or lower.
Family history
Where the records are
Archives and registers
Browse the Palermo civil registers on Antenati
Search the short form TERMINI — the suffix Imerese is a later addition, and the archive files the older name.
antenati.cultura.gov.itWhy Sicilian records begin in 1820
Antenati's explanation of the three civil-status systems and Sicily's later start.
antenati.cultura.gov.itRelated places
Keep exploring
The journey does not end at the boundary of one comune. The province, the region and the neighbouring towns often hold the rest of the picture.
Your Roots. Their Story. Your Place.
Termini Imerese is more than a place on a map. It is a part of you.
FIND YOUR COMUNE →