Alcamo (; ) is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometres from Palermo and Trapani. Nowadays the town territory includes an area of 130,79 square kilometres and is the second municipality as for population density in the province of Trapani, after Erice. Alcamo is bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the north, Balestrate and Partinico on the east, Camporeale on the south and Calatafimi-Segesta and Castellammare del Golfo on the west. Its most important hamlet is Alcamo Marina at about 6 kilometres from the town centre. Together with other municipalities it takes part in the Associazione Città del Vino, the movement Patto dei Sindaci, Progetto Città dei Bambini, Rete dei Comuni Solidali and Patto Territoriale Golfo di Castellammare. Geography Territory Alcamo is situated in the middle of the Gulf of Castellammare, at 258 metres above the sea level and at the foot of Mount Bonifato, a calcareous complex 825 metres high. At the altitude of 500 metres (near the "Funtanazza") there is the Nature Reserve of Monte Bonifato. The territory of Alcamo includes also Alcamo Marina, mainly used as a summer resort. Climate The climate is mild, with higher rainfall during winter than summer. The average annual temperature is 16.9 °C, with higher temperatures in August (24.8 °C) and lower temperatures in February (10.3 °C). The average annual rainfall is 558 mm. Rainfall is particularly scarcer in July (4 mm) and more abundant in December (83 mm). Seismic classification: zone 2 (medium-high seismicity), Ordinance PCM 3274 (20 March 2003) Climatic classification: zone B, 1140 degree day Köppen climatic classification: CSa Atmospheric diffusivity: low, Ibimet CNR 2002 History Etymology There are discordances about the etymology of the toponym "Alcamo": one of the hypothesis connects the present name to the Arab word al-qama, which would mean "muddy earth" or "rich soil", another supposition is that it had been derived from the name of the Muslim leader who probably founded the town in 828 AD and whose name was al-Qāmūq (in Arabic: القاموق). According to some people this hypothesis was invented by Leo Africanus who had told this story without consulting any document on the subject. Besides, according to some scholars, the name Alcamo would derive from caccamu, a dialectal word referring to the plant