Raddusa is a small rural municipality on the border between the provinces of Catania and Enna, set on the north-western edge of the Plain of Catania and rising toward the slopes of the Erei Mountains. Its character is closely tied to the surrounding countryside: this is a village of fields, farming memory and a strong agricultural identity, widely known as the “City of Wheat”.
The area has older feudal roots, with references to the estate of Raddusa dating back to the 1300s, and the name is said to have Arabic origins. In 1530 the estate passed to the House of Paternò, while the present village developed in the early 19th century under Francesco Maria Paternò, before becoming an autonomous municipality in 1860.
Raddusa’s modern identity was shaped first by sulfur mining and then, after the mines closed, by agriculture, especially wheat cultivation. This shift from feudal estate to mining centre and then to wheat-growing village gives Raddusa its distinctive place among Sicily’s smaller inland communities.
Patron Saint:
Saint Joseph (San Giuseppe) – 19 September
Nearest Airport:
Catania (Fontanarossa) – (47 km, 00:45)
