1. Italy is divided into 20 regions of which five are costitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes and Sicily is one of them.

2. The capital city is Palermo and the total population is 4494,817

3. The province of Ragusa is located in south- eastern Sicily. It covers an area of about 1.600 kmq and it is divided in 12 municipalities : Acate, Chiaramonte, Comiso, Giarratana, Ispica, Modica, Monterosso, Pozzallo, Santa Croce Camerina, Scicli and Vittoria. There is a population of about 313,900 inhabitants and the area is mainly agricultural.

4. The area is typically hilly, with a large part of it being taken up by the plateau of the Hyblean Mountains formed by volcanic material. The coast is about 50 kms long and it is characterised by beaches with fine sand, alternating with cliffs overbooking the sea, crowded with tourist resorts ( such as Marina di Ragusa).

5. The Hyblean territory was dominated, over the centuries, by many people such as the Sicani and the Siculi in the 18th-8 th century B.C., and then by the Greeks in the 8 th century B.C. In the 3rd century it became a province of the Roman Empire. In 700 and 900 AD, during the Arab domination, it underwent a great economic and cultural development, which reached its zenith during the Norman domination ( XI – XIII century A.D.).

6. In 1693 an earthquake that struck much of eastern Sicily caused extensive damage to the Hyblean territory. In 1861 Sicily was included in the Kingdom of Italy and the land was divided in Provinces and Communes.

7. The coat of arms are the symbols of each community, linked to its history and with roots in its territory. Ragusa became a Province on 16th January 1927 during the Fascist regime and the coats of arms dates from that era. In 1932 The Province of Ragusa was granted its coat of arms by the King Vittorio Emanuele III.

8. The first coats of arm showed the Fascist symbol, the “ Fasces”,held by an eagle with open wings and surmounted by one five -pointed star. You could also see,on the top, a crown which symbolized the province. The eagle was the symbol of the whole Sicily during the Middle Ages until 1848. Therefore most of the towns of the Province of Ragusa bear or have borne an eagle in their coats of arms. III First coats of arm

9. The coats of arm changed for the first time in 1944, after the collapse of the Fascist regime. The “Fasces” were removed, and the eagle, with its head turning right, changed color becoming black. The eagle kept a wreath of laurel and oak branches with a red ribbon.

10. The last change was made some years later and the eagle came back to its natural color. Now the Province of Ragusa is represented by a coat of arms with a blue shield, a chequered band of silver and red squares, crossed by an eagle with open wings. It keeps a ear and a vine stock in its claws,linked by a long red ribbon. The eagle is surmounted by a gold five-pointed star.