The name begins with «three» and it has three explanations. Tres castaneae, three chestnut trees, for the trees that stood on the site; Tres Casti Agni, three chaste lambs, that is the martyr brothers Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfo, who are said to have stopped here on their way to Lentini; or Tria Castra, three camps.
The town sits at 586 metres on the south-eastern flank of Etna, among volcanic cones of every age, and from up there you can see the Ionian coast as far as Calabria. The Val di Noto earthquake of 1693 took away more than thirty per cent of its people compared with the census of 1681, and the rebuilding gave the old centre the shape it has today. There are 10,482 residents.
Arancino · Pasta alla Norma
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Next up: Saint Nicholas of Bari and the three martyrs Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, patrons of a pilgrims' sanctuary, Monday 10 May
Nearest airport: Catania Fontanarossa, 17 km away
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📅 Every year, on 10 May
Trecastagni celebrates on 10 May Saint Nicholas of Bari, its main patron, together with the co-patron martyrs Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, whose sanctuary becomes a destination for particularly numerous pilgrimages during this month, holding a collection of votive offerings.
Saffron rice, ragù with peas and caciocavallo inside a golden cone-shaped crust: in Catania it is masculine and pointed, and the quarrel with Palermo over the name is serious.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Trecastagni, but an easy day trip away.
