Adrano (; Adernò until 1929; ), ancient '' Adranon'', is a town and in the

Metropolitan City of Catania The Metropolitan City of Catania () is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania. It replaced the province of Catania and comprises the city of Catania and 57 other communes. It has 1,068,563 inhabitants as of 2025 ...

on the east coast of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. It is situated around northwest of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, which was also the capital of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

to which Adrano belonged, now a metropolitan city. It lies near the foot of

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( or ; , or ; ; or ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina, Italy, Messina and Catania. It is located above the Conve ...

, at the confluence of the

Simeto The Simeto (; ; ; ) is a long river in Sicily, southern Italy. At , it is the second longest river on the island after the Salso (also known as Southern Imera), but the most important in terms of watershed ().Salso rivers. It is the commercial center for a region where

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

s and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

fruit are grown. Neighbouring towns include:

Biancavilla Biancavilla () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is located between the towns of Adrano and S. Maria di Licodia, northwest of Catania. The town was founded and historically inhabited by th ...

, Bronte, Paternò, Randazzo, Santa Maria di Licodia and Centuripe.

History

Founding and pre-Christian era

The settlement was founded by Dionysius the Elder around 400 BC, intending to strengthen Syracusan power in the region. He named the town ''Adranon'' in honour of Adranus. In 344 BC the troops of Timoleon fought the forces of the Syracusan commander Iketas of Leontini near Adrano. During the following years, Adrano was frequently harried by

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

n mercenaries, called the Mamertinians. The Romans conquered the growing township in 263 BCDiodorus Siculus, Biblioteca Historica
23.4
/ref> and declared it a ''civitas stipendiaria'', obliging it to pay a costly tribute to Rome. The

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Valerius ravaged the town, enslaved the inhabitants and sold them as workers and slaves to the ''aratores'' (farmers) residing in the near city of Centuripe. In 137 BC, Eunus led an unsuccessful slave revolt against the Roman suppressors, and from then on, Adrano was nothing more than part of Centuripe. The Romans referred to the city as Adranum or Hadranum.

Byzantine Empire, Arabs and Normans

The township was pillaged several times by Germanic tribes during the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

. Only through the reign of

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...

(495–526), the conditions improved due to the administration by

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Christian Roman statesman, a renowned scholar and writer who served in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senato ...

. In the mid-6th century it was conquered by the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. Around 950, the Arab

Musa Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam province, Iran * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran * Musa Kalayeh, Gilan province, Iran * Abu M ...

occupied the city of Centuripe and its vicinity, and thenceforth Adrano became part of the

emirate of Sicily The island of SicilyIn Arabic, the island was known as (). was under Islam, Islamic rule from the late ninth to the late eleventh centuries. It became a prosperous and influential commercial power in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, with ...

. The Arabs ruled the region until in 1075 the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

, led by Hugo of Yersey, succeeded in conquering the region against the resistance of Caid Albucazar. Adrano became part of the Diocese of Catania, administered by the monk Ansgerius. The citizens of the prospering township continued the successful agricultural and economic work the Arabs had initiated. Therefore, the Norman era was enormously influenced by winegrowing, leather work and silk manufacturing.

Late Middle Ages and feudalism

The arrival of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

around the end of the 12th century brought enduring difficulties and disputes over Sicily and its inhabitants. The remaining Arabs were vehemently pursued by the administration, which forced them to gather inside the fortresses of

Troina Troina ( Sicilian: ''Traina'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Enna, in the Italian region of Sicily. It is located in the Nebrodi Park. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Hi ...

, Entella and Centuripe, offering armed resistance. The insurrection was ended violently, and the survivors were massacred or kidnapped. Pope Clement IV made

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...

king of Sicily in 1265, which ended the Hohenstaufen rule of southern Italy. During that time, Adrano was rather a small settlement of hunters, and the number of inhabitants had decreased from 1,000 to 300. In 1282, the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers (; ) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou. Since taking control of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266, the Capetian House ...

ended the French reign in Sicily, and Peter III of Aragon became king. The following years were characterized by constant conflicts between the residing farmers and the

Bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

of the region. Adrano fell to the property of the Catalan landholder Garzia de Linguida, and eventually, in 1286, to the ownership of Luca Pellegrino. The estates and soils of the region were subject to immense disputes between several landowners and noblemen in the following time until the 15th century. From the 15th century on, Sicily was reigned by the so-called vice kings. Between 1412 and 1515, Adrano was under administration by the Moncada family. Giovan Tommaso Moncada (1466–1501) renovated the Norman castle and fortified it. He allowed a couple of refugees from the northern

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

region of

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

to settle down in the vicinity of Adrano, which is how the town of

was founded. The relatives of earl Moncada build many manors (so-called ''palazzi'') in the centre of the town, among which is the latter town hall, and the centre of the city, the ''piazza'', became popular meeting place for the residents, who meanwhile numbered around 6,000. Around the same time began the construction of the Monastero di Santa Lucia (Monastery of St Lucy). In 1693, a severe earthquake inflicted heavy damage to the town.

18th, 19th and 20th century

Since the beginning of the 18th century and until around 1820, Adrano suffered from enduring riots and changes taking place in Italy and particularly Sicily, as was the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

. Adrano became the main administrative town of the vicinity in 1819 and hosted the local court.

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

landed in Sicily in 1860 and many reforms took place. On July 1, 1860, a town council was installed in Adrano, and don Lorenzo Ciancio was made chairman. The famous ''Teatro Bellini'' (Bellini theatre) dates from that time and testifies to the various diversifications the city underwent in that very period. A hospital was instituted as well, and meanwhile Adrano was considered the wealthiest town in the region. In the 1920s, the reformist preacher don Vincenzo Bascetta appeared in Adrano, and, together with the young anti-fascist high school teacher Carmelo Salanitro, he passionately fought for the peasants' rights. Due to their initiative, large parts of the surrounding lava landscape were transformed into olive and almond plantations. Carmelo Salanitro was murdered in a gas chamber at

Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 f ...

in the night between the 23rd and 24 April 1945. Adrano was the scene of much fighting during the latter phases of

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the Allied invasion of Sicily, during World War II. Nazi forces were driven from the island and in the course of their retreat they attempted to hold the northeastern corner of Sicily in the hopes that they would eventually be able to retake the entire island while using the northeastern portion of the island as a way to resupply their forces from the south of the Italian peninsula. The Nazis had to abandon this plan when the British 30th Corps forced their way into Adrano while at the same time the British 13th Corps battled the Nazis in the nearby town of Randazzo. Once Adrano and Randazzo fell to the British, the Nazis decided they had no choice but to retire to Messina and use it to evacuate the rest of their forces from Sicily.

Name

The Romans changed the name of the township into Hadranum; during the occupation by the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

it was called Adarnu or sometimes Adarna, while the

referred to it as Adernio and Adriano. Until 1929 its official name was Adernò, until eventually it was changed into Adrano. Several elder inhabitants of the town still call it Adernò. Ponte dei saraceni

Main sights

* Castle of Norman origin (''Castello Normanno'' is a donjon) in the centre of the town, built in 1070 on behalf of Roger I. Inside the castle is the archaeological museum with antique findings of the region. * '' Chiesa Madre'' (Mother Church): houses the 16th-century ''Moncada Polyptych'' and works by Giuseppe Guzzardi and Angelo La Naia. * '' Santa Lucia Monastery'' in via Roma, constructed in 1596 to the order of the prince of Biscari and redesigned by the well-known Catanese architect

Stefano Ittar Stefano Ittar (March 15, 1724 – January 18, 1790) was a Polish-Italian architect. Biography Ittar was born in Owrucz (then in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, now in Ukraine), where his father, a member of one of Italy's aristocratic f ...

. It contains a chapel dating from 1775. Until the early 1920s, the monastery was still inhabited by monks, but now is public and private property, partly used by a secondary school. * '' Santa Maria del Rosario: Church adjacent to former Dominican monastery * Giardino della Vittoria or ''Villa Comunale'': public park in front of the St Lucy Monastery, with a promenade between mature palm trees * ''Teatro Bellini'': public theater was re-opened in 2004 after over 26 years. It was built on behalf of the vice king in 1779 and resembles the theatre of

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

dating from 1618. It is situated on the ruins of the antique church of St Vito. * '' Ponte dei Saraceni'' (Bridge of the Saracens) about 3 km outside the town * The ruins of the original Greek settlement visitable in the east of the town. Due to the prospering Catholic tradition of the region, Adrano has numerous antique chapels and small churches hidden in the backstreets. Moreover, Adrano is famous for its colourful carnival and the passionate celebration of San Nicola, in honour of its patron Saint Nicola Politi on August 3.

Transportation

Adrano is linked to the rapidway ''SS 121'' leading from Paternò to Catania. Near Belpasso, a large mall name
Etnapolis
has been opened recently. Adrano is connected to the province capital Catania by a bus route which is operated by the FCE and leads through various towns to the central station of Catania and further to the communal beach. A rapid bus skips the smaller towns and leads to Catania directly over the highway. In the summer season, a bus connects Adrano, Bronte, Randazzo, Floresta and Naso in the province of

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

. Between the station of Catania-Borgo and

Riposto Riposto () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Catania area of Sicily, southern Italy. The small seafront town is located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania. History Riposto is historically connected to Mascali, as its com ...

operates the ''Littorina'', a nostalgic Diesel fuelled train which stops in Adrano, Paternò, Biancavilla, Santa Maria di Licodia and other towns. The extension of a route of the rapid transit railway of Catania to Paternò and Adrano has been planned and the constructions have begun. Adrano is not linked with the national train system of

Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

. Moreover, the FCE operates two bus routes (A and B) in Adrano.

Health

Adrano does not possess any hospital but only a so-called ''Guardia medica'', a paramedic station with emergency personnel, vehicles and equipment. The nearest hospital is the Maria SS. Addolorata in Biancavilla, which is on stand-by as well for emergencies in Adrano. Maria Tizziano is the youngest mother in Italian history; she became a mother in 1992 at 11 years old.