Misterbianco

Misterbianco is a town in the Province of Catania, set close to the city on the southern side of Mount Etna. Its identity is closely tied to fertile land, cultivated valleys and a rural economy that became especially important in the mid-20th century, when the town developed into a major agricultural centre near Catania.

The name is one of its defining clues: Misterbianco comes from the Sicilian *Musteri jancu*, linked to the Latin *Monasterium Album*, or “White Monastery”. Its history also carries the mark of Etna. The old settlement was destroyed by the 1669 eruption and later rebuilt, leaving the modern town with a strong memory of a buried former village beneath its present-day life.

Before that upheaval, the settlement belonged to Catania until 1642, when it passed into noble hands and was associated with the title of duke. Today, Misterbianco stands out as a place where Etna’s landscape, agricultural character and the story of a town remade after lava all remain central to its identity.