[4] Salemi is where Giuseppe Garibaldi announced the annexation of Sicily on May 14, 1860, as part of the Expedition of the Thousand, briefly making the town his headquarters after his landing at Marsala two days earlier.

In terms of agriculture, the Arabs introduced many new crops to Salemi and the surrounding areas: oranges, lemons, peaches, apricots, asparagus, artichokes, cotton, eggplant and spices such as saffron, cloves and cinnamon.

With the help of Baron Joseph Triolo of Sant'Anna di Alcamo, who had joined him with a band of picciotti, he assumed control in the name of Victor Emmanuel II King of Italy.

In the Town Hall Square, called the "dictatorship" in celebration of the event, a plaque recalls that on that date Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived in Salemi declaring himself dictator of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, "Sicilians!

Precisely in Salemi was promulgated one of the first laws of the unified nation, thus giving the city the honor of being the first capital of liberated Italy.

[8] In 1982, on the occasion of the celebration in Salemi of the centenary of the death of Garibaldi, the route taken by the general, Italian patriot and leader was represented symbolically and with the participation of Prime Minister Bettino Craxi.

For these reasons, the urban development has led to a shift towards the downstream part of the hill which was called precisely "new country" and now is, with the "Cappuccini", one of the areas and neighborhoods with higher population density.

The old town is characterized by a system diagram Arabic, with clearly articulated dead ends, leading to increasingly segregated courtyards and staircases particularly on steep cliffs.

Following the earthquake, the village in the central area, although not completely disrupted, remained abandoned for several years because of limited rebuilding and a choice to decentralize the new town in other districts.

Structure, however, maintained the orthogonality of the monumental complex of the Jesuit College and by a dense corollary of patrician houses and numerous churches (over 20).

In an elevated position and strategically dominant stands the Castle, erected or at least altered by Frederick II in the thirteenth century, on the basis of an ancient Greco-Roman fortress later used by the Arabs and Normans, trapezoidal with three towers and two square and a circular plan.

The 1968 earthquake did not cause the collapse of part of an aisle, the neglect of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the time reduced it to an imposing ruin.

Partially recovered, with a plan of action of the Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza, now arouse special attraction the remains of the "Madrice" Alicia in front of the square on which stands the castle.

For these reasons, in 1290 the people made a formal request to Pope Nicholas IV, and the Church decided that the inhabitants should choose their protector.

In 1987, on the occasion of the ninth centenary of the transfer of the relics of the saint from Myra (Turkey) in Bari, during a pilgrimage of Salemi in Bari, after S. Mass celebrated by the city's assistant pastor Don Giuseppe Maniscalco on the tomb of Saint Nicholas, patron as a gift to the inhabitants offered a scented oil and a few drops on the marble of the tomb was completely absorbed, stirring devout awe among onlookers.

Quell'ampolla is kept in the treasury of the Basilica of Bari as a sign of reverence to the saint who continues to exist after seven centuries after its proclamation as Patron of Salemi.

On this occasion, votive altars are set up so-called "dinner" consisting of a wooden frame, covered with leaves of laurel and myrtle, and decked with oranges and lemons small loaves embroidered called "cuddureddi" and handcrafted by the women of the country representing animals, plants and work tools.

In addition, "u peri you" Foot Ox packaged with the first meal of the new harvest, the Manuzzi, on the occasion of the commemoration of the dead on November 2, "u Carcocciulu" the artichoke for the Christmas holidays.

The typical traditional skills maintained over the years in Salemi include rug weaving at the loom, embroidery, and stonework called "campanedda" where stones derived from the quarries of the area are used for the decoration of houses and carved by local craftsmen.

The core consists of sculptures of the '400 and '500 Sicilian, including many examples of the work of Domenico Gagini and a marble Madonna and Child attributed to Francesco Laurana.

Through the documentary sources of the Municipal Historical Archive, paintings, portraits and collections of weapons of the time, the museum is a testimony to the participation of Salemi in the process of unification and the entrance of Garibaldi and the Thousand in Sicily.

Dedicated to Leonardo Sciascia, a symbol of the anti-mafia not rhetoric, using the language of art to talk about the Mafia in a provocative and unconventional way, through a multi-sensory, contrived to immerse the visitor in an extraordinary emotional process.

Excavations conducted by Michael Kolb of Northern Illinois University have provided strong evidence that Salemi is built upon the ruins of old Halyciae, and ancient settlements of the Elymians, also known as Alicia in more recent Italian scholarship.