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Inside of Sicily, in the province of Enna, lies the 1000 souls village Sperlinga. Although it has been inhabited since the Stone Age and had its first castle under the Normans, it was not until the so-called "Sicilian Vespers" that the village gained a certain importance. At the time of the evening prayer (= vespers) a rebellion against the French soldiers dominating it broke out among the Sicilians gathered in front of the church in Palermo on 30 March 1282. Thousands of Frenchmen lost their lives while the rebellion spread to the whole of Sicily. Only the castle of Sperlinga offered refuge to the fleeing French. On an archway of the castle it now says in Latin: "Quod Siculis placuit solo Sperlinga negavit" (What the Sicilians like, only Sperlinga denies). For the house of Anjou, this meant the end of their rule over Sicily, which was now transferred to Aragon.
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