PATERNO´
Generic information
Province of: Catania
Elevation: m
Population:
GPS coordinates
Latitude: 37.567289
Longitude: 14.901029
Map
Web site
Url: http://www.comune.paterno.ct.it/
Italian version: www.sicilianelmondo.com
Photos
Description
Paternò (Sicilian: Pattenò) is a town in the Province of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy.
History
The site of Paternò was settled before 3500 BCE, . Its inhabitants were probably the Sicani, although it was located in mainly Sicel territory; its initial name was Inessa. The modern name derives form the Greek Paeter Aitnaion, meaning the "Fortress of the Etnaeans". The presence of another town, called Hybla Mayor or Galeatis, is attested north west to the current town.
A mid-importance centre in the Greek and Roman eras, it got nearly depopulated in the three centuries before 1000 AD; during the Arab domination of Sicily it was known as Batarnù. After the Norman conquest in the 1040s, it was rechristened Paternionis and began a period of flourishement. King Frederick III of Sicily created here the Camera Reginale ("Queen's Chamber") as a wedding gift for his wife Eleanor of Anjou, and which was inherited by the subsequent Queens of Sicily. The period of splendour for Paternò lasted until the 15th century, when it became a fief and slowly lost of importance.
Historically, Paternò's area was plagued by malaria, caused by the marshlands of the Plain of Catania. This has since long been remedied, and the urban development of the town had a large acceleration in the 1960s and 1970s.
Main sights
* The Norman Castle, built in 1042 by order of Roger I of Sicily.
* Mother Church (Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria dell'Alto), built in 1342 and largely modified in the early 18th century. It is connected by a scenic staircase to the Porta del Borgo
* San Francesco alla Collina (1346), with a church in Gothic style and remains of Baroque decorations.
* Roccoco church of San Martino al Monte.
* Santa Maria della Valle di Iosaphat, commissioned in 1072 by Adelaide del Vasto, with a precious Gothic portal.
From Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patern%C3%B2&oldid=284219996>.