Patron saint festival
Saint Placidus, the patron who escaped the earthquake that destroyed eastern Sicily
📅 Every year, on 5 and 6 October
Biancavilla celebrates Saint Placidus on 5 and 6 October; he was declared patron in 1709 by the bishop of Catania for having spared the town from the 1693 earthquake, while the basilica of Santa Maria dell'Elemosina holds the icon brought by the Albanian refugees who founded the town in 1488.
