Located on the first Eastern ridge of the Nebrodi mountains, it boasts a rich history whose roots are to be found in the Neolithic Age in Stentinello, Syracuse.
During protohistory, its territory was inhabited by the Sicilians, who founded the first residential area. Thanks to its key position, which allowed it to keep the coast between Milazzo and Tindari under control, the village soon attracted the Greeks, who had already founded several towns in Sicily, between the 8th century BC and the 7th century BC. The historian Diodorus Siculus certified the place name Abakainonwhen dealing with some events dating back to the 4th century BC: he tells that in 396 BC Dionysus I carried from Messene to Tindarisome elements originally belonging to Peloponneso. In that occasion he also annexed a section of Abakainon to Tindari.
When the conflict between the tyrant from Syracuse and the Carthaginians broke out, the town supported the latter, hoping that all supporters of Dionysus I would be banished. The following decades weren’t recorded anywhere, though archaeological finds show both life community and entrepreneurial activity together with currency in circulation.In 315 BC Agathocles of Syracuse sentenced forty dissenters to death: this means that a hostile groupalready existed within the town and it was interested in taking control over the coast, which was very useful to trade with the Tyrrhenian area.
In 311 BC Agathocles fought against Carthage; in that occasion, Abakainon supported the Carthaginians again, but they were defeated, so they were forced to give away the control of the land. In 262 BC the town was seized by the Romans, who declared it a municipium and transformed its name into Abacaen. When Octavian and SextusPompeius fought against each other, the town was forced to support both the armies, but it fell into poverty, so it didn’t manage toassist them and Octavian punished it by destroying it.
Therefore, Abakainon underwent a process of decline and it managed to revive only in the Middle Ages. During Peter of Aragon’s reign, Tripi was transformed into a fief and entrusted to the admiral and Knight TemplarRoger de Flor. The following events shiftedTripifrom the Middle Ages to Modern Age and it became a remarkable area of wine, oil and silk production