Misterbianco ( scn, Mustariancu; lat-med, Monasterium Album, lit=White Monastery' or 'White Minster) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Catania The Metropolitan City of Catania ( it, Città metropolitana di Catania) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Sicily, southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania. It replaced the Province of Catania and comprises the city o ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, located about southeast of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

and about west of

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

. Misterbianco borders the following municipalities:

Camporotondo Etneo Camporotondo Etneo ( scn, Campurutunnu Etneu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Catania. Camporotondo Etneo borders t ...

Motta Sant'Anastasia Motta Sant'Anastasia () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about west of Catania. Geography Motta Sant'Anastasia borders the following ...

San Pietro Clarenza San Pietro Clarenza ( Sicilian: ''San Petru Clarenza'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Catania. San Pietro Clarenza b ...

History

The settlement's name derives from a former local monastery in the ''

contrada A (plural: ) is a subdivision (of various types) of Italian city, now unofficial. Depending on the case, a will be a ''località'', a ''rione'', a ''quartiere'' (''terziere'', etc.), a '' borgo'', or even a suburb. The best-known are the 1 ...

'' of ''Campanarazzu'' (pejorative of scn, campanaru, lit=bell tower), where monks, likely Dominicans, wore a white dress (in lat-med, Monasterium Album, lit=White Monastery). However, both the monastery and the settlement were destroyed by the

1669 Etna eruption Events January–March * January 2 – Pirate Henry Morgan of Wales holds a meeting of his captains on board his ship, the former Royal Navy frigate ''Oxford'', and an explosion in the ship's gunpowder supply kills 200 of his crew an ...

. A new borough was therefore built in the former ''contrada'' of Milicia. Until the mid-19th century Misterbianco was a small rural settlement. However, after a large industrial complex was built in the area, its population grew substantially, up to 18,836 in 1971 and 40,785 in 1991. The town continues to grow in size due to people moving here from the increasingly costly quarter of Catania city.

References

External links

Official website
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