Paternò

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Paternò
Template: Infobox municipality in Italy / maintenance / coat of arms missingNo coat of arms available.
Paternò (Italy)
Paternò
Country Italy
region Sicily
Metropolitan city Catania  (CT)
Local name Patennò
Coordinates 37 ° 34 '  N , 14 ° 54'  E Coordinates: 37 ° 34 '0 "  N , 14 ° 54' 0"  E
height 225  m slm
surface 144 km²
Residents 47,186 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 328 inhabitants / km²
Post Code 95047
prefix 095
ISTAT number 087033
Popular name Paternesi, Patornesi
Patron saint Barbara of Nicomedia
Website Paterno

Paternò is an Italian city ​​in the metropolitan city of Catania in the autonomous region of Sicily with 47,186 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019).

Location and dates

Paternò is fourteen kilometers west of Catania on the south-western slopes of Mount Etna . The residents mainly work in agriculture and handicrafts.

The neighboring municipalities are Adrano , Belpasso , Biancavilla , Castel di Iudica , Catenanuova ( EN ), Centuripe ( EN ), Misterbianco , Ragalna , Ramacca and Santa Maria di Licodia .

history

In 1072 the Normans built a one-tower castle around which the town developed, which was under the rule of the Paternò family until 1167 .

On June 25, 1337, Frederick II of Aragon died in Paternò . He was buried a little later in Catania. In the Middle Ages, Paternò was the seat of various queens. a. by Eleanor of Aragon and Bianca of Navarra , after whom the place Biancavilla was probably named. From 1456 the city was under the rule of the Spanish house Moncada , which still bears the title Principe di Paternò .

The plague broke out in Sicily in 1576 , but the city suffered very few victims. As the residents of the city asked for help from Saint Barbara , the saint was declared the patron saint of the city. Every year on December 4th, the “Festa del patrono”, the festival of the city's patroness, is celebrated in her honor .

In the summer of 1943, more than 4,000 people were killed in air raids by Allied forces on Paternò; large parts of the city were destroyed.

Buildings

The Norman fort from 1072, built by the Paternò family

On the mountain overlooking Paternò there is an ancient complex with the following sights:

  • 17th century staircase
  • A castle built in 1072 by the Norman Roger II (dimensions 24.3 m × 18 m, height 34 m, wall thickness 2.6 m). The Counts of Moncada made the castle a prison, which was used until 1860. The prisoners' messages carved into the stone are still visible in some places. In 1958 the castle passed from the custody of the municipality to the possession of the Sicilian regional administration, was restored and converted into a museum.
  • Convent with the Church of San Francesco
  • Parish church of Santa Maria dell 'Alto of Norman origin
  • Church of Santa Maria della Valle di Josafat, built in 1092 by Countess Adalasia, the portal is from the 14th century
  • Santa Barbara Church, built in neoclassical style

Personalities

Web links

Commons : Paternò  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.