- published: 22 Feb 2010
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Torretta (Sicilian: Turretta) is a comune in the province of Palermo located on the Mediterranean island of Sicily.
This town is situated on a mountainous area overlooking Palermo.
Olive production is Torretta's primary agriculture product and other industries include aluminum and marble. Monuments include the Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie of XVII. Churches include the Chiesa del Sacramento and the Chiesa and the Monastero del Collegio di Maria.
The town is named Torretta probably due to the presence of a small tower around the latter half of the 17th century. The first inhabited center dates back to 1599 by Baron Arrigo Traina. Later it came under dominion of Giulio Tommaso Caro, prince of Pelagie (Lampedusa and Linosa). It was later ruled by DiBenedetto family who is renowned for the risings of 1860 for the Unity of Italy.
The population as of 2004 consists of 3,881 people.
Popular surnames in this town include: Caruso, Carollo, Gambino, DiMaggio, Intravaia, Mannino, Parlanti and Badalamenti.
Gino Louis Torretta (born August 10, 1970) is a former American college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He played college football for the University of Miami, won the Heisman Trophy in 1992, and was a member of the Miami Hurricanes' national championship teams of 1989 and 1991. A seventh-round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, he was a member of several NFL teams, but never became a regular starter as a pro. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Torretta was born in Pinole, California. He graduated from Pinole Valley High School, where he was a standout high school football quarterback for the Pinole Spartans.
Torretta accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Miami, where he played for the Miami Hurricanes football team from 1989 to 1992.
As a quarterback for the Hurricanes, Torretta spent his first two seasons mostly on the bench behind then starting quarterback Craig Erickson, with his only significant playing time coming with three starts in 1989 after Erickson injured his throwing hand. During that span, however, the then-unknown Torretta lit up San Diego State for 485 yards, setting a school record for most passing yards in a game that has not since been broken.