The town was called Castanìa and stood lower down. Between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries landslides forced everyone out, and mayor Di Vincenzo set off for the court to ask for the rebuilding money: he came back with an idea of a village he had seen in Piedmont, and with the name of the crown prince Umberto.
The new Castell'Umberto grew at 660 metres as a garden city, with its square between the church and the town hall and greenery all around; from the hill of Santa Croce you can see the Aeolian Islands on one side and Etna on the other. Less than a kilometre away old Castanìa is still there, with its medieval lanes and the castle tower. There are 3,295 residents.
Arancino · Pasta alla Norma · Pitone messinese
Compare hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes on Booking.com for your dates.
Next up: Saint Vincent Ferrer, patron since a stone marked the spot for his convent, Monday 5 April
Nearest airport: Catania Fontanarossa, 72 km away
No events match these filters.
📅 Every year, on 5 April, with a second celebration on 28 August
Castell'Umberto celebrates Saint Vincent Ferrer on 5 April; according to tradition, the convent dedicated to him arose where a stone thrown by a Dominican preacher landed, thereby urging the inhabitants to build him a church.
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 →A thin sheet of dough folded into a half-moon and fried, with escarole, tuma cheese, anchovies and black pepper inside: Messina’s street food, to eat hot straight from the rosticceria.
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.
