Aragona ( or Raona) is a commune in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy. It is northeast of Agrigento. It is known mainly for the Macalube natural reserve and for being the Italian municipality with the highest emigration rate. Geography The sulfur mine Mandra, today inactive, is located in the municipality. Aragona is part of the agricultural region Platani Hills (). Bounding communes are: Agrigento Campofranco Casteltermini Comitini Favara Grotte Joppolo Giancaxio Sant'Angelo Muxaro Santa Elisabetta History Aragona is located on the eastern slopes of the Mount Belvedere at an altitude of 428 m. In the 13th century, the Castello di Barrugeri was built near what is now Aragona, but it no longer exists. The town was founded on 6 January 1606, upon the initiative of lord Baldassare III Naselli, Count of Comiso. He had previously submitted a request for the foundation of a new village in his fiefdom of Diesi during the 49th Extraordinary General Parliament, overseen by the Spanish viceroy Lorenzo Suarez de Figueroa e Cordoba on 2 August 1604, in Messina. On 6 September that year the viceroy ordered an official investigation into the matter, which eventually resulted on 6 January 1606 in the granting of a licentia populandi, i.e. the permission to increase the fief's population. The new village was named after the Count's mother, donna Beatrice Aragona Branciforti. Culture Cinema In the 1950 Italian language drama film Path of Hope () directed by Pietro Germi, Aragona is featured for a little over a minute, with a panoramic view of the historical city center, dominated by the Palace of the Naselli Princes, and part of the cemetery. In Aragona were filmed parts of the 1994 Italian language drama film Law of Courage (), directed by Alessandro Di Robilant about the life of Rosario Livatino, a magistrate murdered by the mafia in 1990. Between 1999 and 2000 the movie on the Marcinelle mines is filmed there. Aragona is featured in the 2009 movie Rehearsal for a Sicilian Tragedy () with and by John Turturro, which was presented at the 66th edition of the Venice Film Festival. Television Televideo Aragona. Cuisine The taganu is a dish cooked with Rigatoni, eggs and tuma (cheese) a typical local fresh, non-salted cheese made from sheep's milk. The name derives from the name of the pot in which it is cooked on the Holy Saturday, to be then consumed on Easter