Paternò
Place of Interest
Paternò
Norman city on the southwest slopes of Mount Etna
Paternò, originally a Greek founding, experienced its heydays in the Middle Ages at the time of Roger I. The small town, northwest of Catania on the southwest slopes of Mount Etna, was one of the bastions of Roger I, used to secure control over Catania. As such, you can find a powerful fortress dating back to 1073 perched high on a large rock above the city. Roger I built it for his daughter Flandrina and her husband Henry of Lombardy. Immediately adjacent to the castle, also on the rock, towers the Church of Santa Maria dell’Alto, which was built in 1342. During a short walk you will have a magnificent view of the southern slopes of Mount Etna and Paternò itself.
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