Termini Imerese (; ) is a town of the Metropolitan City of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is one of the most important towns of the Metropolitan City of Palermo, from which it is 33 km away. The town is easily reachable through its well developed infrastructures: there are three highway exits along the A19, its station is the meeting point between all of the Sicilian railway lines and its seaport links the town with other important maritime Italian cities. It has a judicial district. It's culturally interesting for the close Greek ruins of Himera, its numerous churches, Roman ruins, prehistorical finds and the annual celebration of the Carnival, one of the oldest of Italy. In the heart of the old town, at its lower level, there are the thermal baths of the Grand Hotel delle Terme, where precious hot volcanic waters flow since Roman age. In the areas of Termini and the near Sciara and Caccamo there's the Oriented Nature Reserve of St. Calogero Mount, which is located between the coast of Termini Imerese Gulf and the surrounding fertile flat territory. In the east zone of the town, there's an important industrial area, especially known for the former factory which was owned by FIAT and for the ENEL power plant “Ettore Majorana”. History Ancient history The site of the town has been populated since prehistoric times, as many archaeological excavations have shown through the years. Its documented history begins in 409 BC after the second Battle of Himera when its more ancient neighbour, Himera (now completely within the comune's borders), was completely destroyed by the Carthaginian army under Hannibal Mago. Those who survived the devastation moved to a site then called "Thermae" which is today known as Termini and became the successor to Himera. The new town of Thermae or Therma, called for the sake of distinction Thermae Himerenses, obviously derived its name from the hot springs for which it was celebrated, and the first discovery of which was connected by legends with the wanderings of Hercules. It appears to have quickly become a considerable town, though it continued to be subject to Carthaginian rule. In the First Punic War its name is repeatedly mentioned. In 260 BC, a body of Roman troops were encamped in the neighbourhood when they were attacked by Hamilcar and defeated with heavy loss. Roman age Before the close