The patroness of Aci Catena is Our Lady of the Chain (Maria Santissima della Catena), celebrated twice a year: on 15 August, with the great summer feast, and on 11 January, a day of thanksgiving for the protection granted to her people during the 1693 earthquake, which devastated much of eastern Sicily. The church holding the precious 15th-century icon almost entirely collapsed at the time, but the altar, the icon and the statue of the Madonna remained miraculously intact.
The August feast opens on the night between 14 and 15 with the arrival of pilgrims from the nearby towns of the Etna area, especially Misterbianco and Acitrezza; in the morning comes the moving «svelata», the unveiling of the miracle-working statue amid the devotees' tears, while in the afternoon the «trasuta o chianu», the running entrance of the float into the square, precedes the fireworks display that closes the day.
