The patron saint of Santo Stefano di Camastra is Saint Nicholas of Bari, celebrated on 6 December in the mother church dedicated to him. The town owes its name to the church of the Benedictine monastery of Santa Croce di Santo Stefano in Val Demone, an old Norman-era sanctuary that was a pilgrimage site; until 1682, the year of a disastrous landslide, the name was joined by "di Mistretta", while the epithet "di Camastra" was later adopted to honour the memory of Giuseppe Lanza, Duke of Camastra, who promoted the rebuilding of the new settlement.
The town is today known above all for its ceramic tradition, preserved in the Ceramics Museum at Palazzo Trabia; at one of the entrances to the town stands «Il muro di Federico», a large ceramic mural designed by the artist Totò Bonanno.
