Aci Sant'Antonio (Catania Province) is a town on the southeastern slopes of Mt. Etna (alt.302 m), 14 km from Catania. It is located on the edge of a lava plain 4 km from the Ionian sea, area 14.3 sq km. Its population is just over 14,000, post-code 95025, tel. 095. Economy: agriculture, lava stone quarries.
It was a medieval town, partially destroyed by the eruptions of Etna in 1169, 1329, and 1408. It was rebuilt around the church of Sant'Antonio Abate and became a princedom in 1672 and acquired by the Riggio di Campofiorito family. It was destroyed again in the 1693 earthquake and immediately reconstructed with impressive new civic and religious buildings in a planned urban layout.
Of interest is the Palazzo Riggio and the local production of the traditional Sicilian Cart.
Churches (Acireale Diocese) include the following:
On January 17 is the Festa of Sant'Antonio Abate.
Links to other sites about Aci Sant'Antonio include:
My latest book on CD is titled Agrigento, Palermo and Catania Provinces (Italy) - A Reference for Researchers and is now available. With a file for each town (plus many other files), it relates the history of Sicily as reflected in the photos, records and festivals of its towns. It contains over 600 text and photo files and can be ordered at CD order.
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