Paterno (
Catania Province) is 21 km from
Catania, alt. 225 m, on the southwest side on
Mt. Etna, on the bank of the River Simeto, area 144.04 sq km. The current population is just over 44,700, post-code 95047, tel. 095. Economy: agriculture (citrus fruit and derivatives), handicraft.
This is the possible site of the ancient city of Gerentis Hybla, well-known in antiquity because of its Temple of Venus. The modern town was founded in 1072 when the Normans built a castle here, later assigned to Count Enrico di Policastro.
Of interest is the Castle. The Stato Civile is in the new part of the town, with the train station in the old part.
There are many Americans here because it is so close to the military base.
On December 4 is the
Festa of Santa Barbara.
Churches (
Catania Diocese) include the following:
Santa Maria dell'Alto (Chiesa Madre; 11th century, restructured in the 14th century)
Cristo Re
S. Cuore di Gesu
San Biagio
San Francesco all'Annunziata
San Giovanni Bosco
San Michele Arcangelo
Sant'Antonio Abate
Santa Barbara (18th century)
Spirito Santo
SS. Salvatore
Families researched in these records include the following:GurfolinoLa SpinaRomaroRossoRubimentiRossoRussoSciaccaSignorellaVentimiglia
Links to sites with more about Paterno include:
Catania Provincia
Italian Wikipedia
Italian Towns
Italian Postal Codes
Sicily Web
Paterno Photos
Paterno
Sicilia
Sicilian Net
My latest book on CD is titled Sicily - 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 2500 text and photo files and can be ordered at CD order.
