History

Near Vassallaggi there is evidence of human settlements dating back to the 6th-5th century BC.

The current inhabited center has relatively recent origins. It was a barony, then a municipality, founded by Prince Nicolò Galletti in 1607, requesting a license from the King of Sicily Philip III on 18 July (licentia populandi). The license allowed the ancient Calironi farmhouse (in Sicilian Caliruni and Greek Kalyroon) to be built and populated, located within the barony of Fiumesalato. The reasons that pushed the prince to make the request were of a political nature, as he obtained titles and privileges and acquired the right to sit in the military "arm" of the Sicilian Parliament. The economic aspect also played a non-marginal role.

The village grew thanks to immigration from nearby towns, such as Sutera, Mussomeli, Petralia, and also from more distant ones, such as Gangi, Castrogiovanni and Caltanissetta.

In 1623 the town had 722 inhabitants; in 1651 there were approximately 1,607. Eighteen years later, in 1669, ecclesiastical sources report a population of 2,490 inhabitants. In 1699 3,066 inhabitants lived there. In 1921 the town had 23,486 inhabitants.

The village took its name from Catald, or San Cataldo in Italian. He was an Irish monk who lived in the seventh century and came to south Italy after his ship was wrecked off the coast near Taranto.