TERMINI IMERESE

Latin Thermae Himerenses, town, Palermo province, northern Sicily, Italy, on the Golfo (gulf) di Termini Imerese (an inlet of the Tyrrhenian Sea), southeast of Palermo city. It was possibly a Phoenician seaport or trading station, and its well-known thermal saline springs were praised by the 6th5th-century BC Greek poet Pindar. The Carthaginians called it Thermae Himerenses after their destruction of nearby Himera in 409 BC. The Syracusan tyrant Agathocles was born there in 361 BC. The town lies on two levels connected by steps and the Serpents' Road (Serpentina). There are some Roman remains and a civic museum. It is a flourishing tourist and health resort. Citrus fruits, vines, and olives are grown, pasta is manufactured, and there is some fishing. Pop. (1990 est.) mun., 27,033.