The patron saint of Maletto is Saint Anthony of Padua, the thaumaturge, celebrated on the second Sunday of September; the following Sunday is dedicated to the co-patron, Saint Vincent Ferrer. Their statues, masterly Baroque works by Gerolamo Bagnasco, stand in the church of Sant'Antonio di Padova, built in 1785 and enriched over the course of the 20th century.
The castle around which the town arose was fortified in 1263 by Manfredi Maletta, count of Mineo and Monte Sant'Angelo in Puglia and founder of the city of Manfredonia, from whom both the stronghold and the surrounding fief took their name, later becoming Maletto. Originally the fortification was called «Rocca del Fano», from a term of Arabic origin denoting the light shining from a watchpoint, a sign that a signalling tower already stood on the site. A popular legend instead tells that the name comes from a princess, Maletta, said to have commanded a band of bandits sheltered on the rock.
