Mirabella Imbaccari is a small historic village in inland Sicily, set between the territories of Catania and Enna and close to Piazza Armerina. It lies in the heart of the Erei Mountains, surrounded by green hills and rural countryside marked by olive groves, wheat fields, vegetables, prickly pears and oak woods.
Its identity is rooted in a layered past. Some historians connect the area with ancient Imachara and later with the Arab-era Casale di Ambakarih, but the village’s official history begins in the 17th century as a feudal foundation. In 1610 Don Giuseppe Paternò obtained the licence to establish a settlement, while Don Giacinto Paternò is remembered for driving its real birth and development from 1636, after the first chosen site proved unhealthy.
Today Mirabella Imbaccari remains closely tied to community traditions and artisan memory, especially the women’s craft of tombolo lace. This heritage is so central to local identity that the village is known as the “city of tombolo”, giving it a distinctive character among the rural villages of central Sicily.
Patron Saint:
St Mary of Graces (Madonna delle Grazie) – Last Sunday in August
Nearest Airport:
Catania (Fontanarossa) – (60 km, 01:04)
Neighboring Cities:
