Lentini

Lentini is a historic town in the Syracuse area of eastern Sicily, set in the San Marco Valley on the right side of the Lentini River, south of Lake Lentini and near the northeastern slopes of the Hyblaean Mountains. Its setting is inland and agricultural, with citrus cultivation forming part of the surrounding landscape.

The town’s identity reaches back to the ancient Greek city of Leontinoi, founded in the 8th century BC and later drawn into successive Roman, Muslim, Norman, Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese phases. This long background gives Lentini a layered character, but its present urban face is also strongly marked by the rebuilding that followed the devastating Val di Noto earthquake of 1693.

Today Lentini is known as a cultural and religious centre with a Baroque townscape and a strong local memory linked to the tradition of Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino. Its distinctiveness lies in the meeting of an ancient Greek origin, a post-earthquake Sicilian Baroque identity and a valley landscape closely tied to eastern Sicily’s agricultural life.

Patron Saint:

Sts. Alphys, Philadelphus and Cyrinus (Santi Alfio, Filadelfo e Cirino) – 10 May

Nearest Airport:

Catania (Fontanarossa) – (48 km, 00:43)

Neighboring Cities:

Belpasso, Carlentini, Francofonte, Militello in Val di Catania, Palagonia, Ramacca, Scordia, Catania