Dirillo
river in Sicily, Italy
The Dirillo, or Acate, is a 54-kilometre (34 mi) river in Sicily which rises in the Hyblaean Mountains and flows through the areas of Vizzini, Licodia Eubea, Mazzarrone, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Acate, Vittoria, Gela. It empties into the Strait of Sicily south-east of the town of Gela. As the largest river in the area it is sometimes known as the Fiume Grande.
The river was known in antiquity as the Achates (Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης). It was noted by Silius Italicus for the remarkable clearness of its waters. Theophrastus in his treatise On Stones (ca. 315 B.C.) indicates that the name of the gemstone achates (agate) was based on the source of such stones from this river. Pliny the Elder makes the same connection in his Naturalis Historia
Agate and chalcedony can still be found here. During the period of Arab rule it became known as Wadi‑Ikrilu: ‘The River of Acrille’, an ancient Greek-Roman colony that stood in the surroundings.
In the 1950s, the Azienda Nazionale Idrogenazione Combustibili dammed the river near Licodia Eubea to create Lago Dirillo, a reservoir for the Polo petrolchimico di Gela petrochemical plants.
The public source identifies “Dirillo” as river in Sicily, Italy. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dirillo, river and Sicily.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Dirillo”, the useful work is to connect “river in Sicily, Italy” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 22, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1119765.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Dirillo”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Dirillo primary sources, Dirillo archive and Dirillo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Dirillo”?
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This entry incorporates text from “Dirillo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.