Trecastagni

Trecastagni is a hill town in the Province of Catania, set between Pedara and Viagrande on the slopes of Mount Etna. Its elevated position, among hills, woodland, lava flows and volcanic cones, gives it the character of an Etna borgo: scenic, traditional and closely tied to the mountain’s restless landscape.

The town’s name is one of its defining features. Rather than referring to chestnut trees, it is linked to “Tres Casti Agni”, the three chaste lambs associated with Saints Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, whose devotion remains central to local identity. Its earliest origins are not certain, though sources point to an early history and a likely settlement phase in the early 14th century.

For much of its past Trecastagni was connected to Catania, remaining under ecclesiastical jurisdiction until 1640 before passing through noble ownership, including the Di Giovanni and later Alliata families; it became a municipality in 1818. Today its sloping streets, religious memory and volcanic setting make it distinctive as one of Sicily’s highest towns shaped both by Etna and by the cult of its three saints.