Encyclopedia of Southern Italy

CAP: 95031. Tel. Pref.: 095. Geographical Coordinates: Lat 37°39’46″08 N/Long 14°50’8″16 E.

Inhabitants Designation: Adraniti.

Frazioni/Localities: Calcerana Marina, Sacro Cuore.

Historic Population Figures: 13,161(1861); 25,689(1901); 40,007(1921); 27,182(1951); 33,220(1981); 34,490(2001).

History: The town’s name derives from that of the Sikel god Adranos (or Hadranos). The area around Adrano had been inhabited since Neolithic times. A number of small Stentinello culture villages from the 6th and 5th millennia BC have been excavated.

                The ancient town of Adranon was founded in c400 BC by Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, on the probable site of an earlier Sikel community dating from the Early Bronze Age. It was located near the chief temple of the Sikelian fire/volcano deity (H)adranos, from whom its name is derived. The Greeks soon assimilated Hadranos into their own deity Hephaestus.

                In Greek times, the town was a place of some importance, guarding an important crossroads between Katane (Catania) and Henna (Enna). Timoleon conquered the place from Dionysius II in 343-42 BC. In 263 BC, the town was captured by the Romans. Much of the old town was destroyed at this time and a new settlement called Hadranum arose on the site. Pliny the Elder, writing in the 1st century AD, listed it among the sti­pendi­ariae civitates (cities liable to annual taxation). Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch also mention it as an insignificant place important only for its still-active temple. In spite of its lack of political and military importance, the town thrived economically throughout the Roman era.

                The town survived the fall of the Roman Empire and came under the control of the Byzantines. The Saracens captured it during the 10th century. Called Adornu, the Saracen center flourished. When the Normans occupied the place (second part of the 11th century), the town’s name was altered to Aderno. As a fief (a county) of Count Roger I, Aderno underwent a major reconstruc­tion. During the 14th century, the Aragonese King Federico II gave Aderno to Matteo Sclafani with the title of count. In 1360, it came under the control of the Moncada-Sclafani family. In 1549, ownership passed to the Moncada, Princes of Paterno, who continued to hold it until the abolition of feudalism in 1812. It suffered terrible damage during the terrible earthquake of 1693. In 1929, the town’s name was changed to Adrano.

                The modern town suffered considerable damage during fighting between German and American forces in World War II. Many of its monuments have undergone restoration since the end of the war.

                Major earthquakes struck in 1693, 1818, 1894, 1905, 1908, 1975, 1978, and 1990.

Points of Interest: The town still has many ancient Greek, Sikel, and Roman remains. The earliest remains include Early Bronze Age (8th century BC) pottery (Castellucian) and bronzes from Mendolito (the “Mendolito hoard”), the site of the Sikel settlement. Among these are a necropolis (7th – 5th centuries BC), remains of walls and towers (from the Dionysian city), and some ancient buildings (Roman thermae and temples). Long stretches of the southern stretch of the ancient lava-stone fortification circuit walls still survive in the district of Mendolito, much of it having been incorporated into defensive works of later date. The walls were constructed from isodomic blocks of lava stone. They are also are especially well preserved along their E stretch (in the Cartalemi dis­trict). At the NE end a rectangular tower has been incorporated into the church of S. Frances­co. These walls mark the E and W boundaries of the ancient city. A steep ravine defended the S side. Of the N defenses nothing remains, having been obliterated by modern buildings. Other ancient remains include some houses from the 4th century BC in which were discovered pottery of Italiote manufacture and some coins of the same era. None of the monuments of the city (including the famous sanctuary of Hadranos) have yet been found. Part of an archaic necropolis, located to the SE of the city in Sciare Manganelli, has been excavated. The graves discovered here are unlike those typically found in ancient Sicily. They consist of crude circular edifices built of basalt stone, similar in nature to the tholoi in Mycenaean Greece. The grave goods, including some small bronze artifacts, are now housed in the Archaeological Museum located in the Norman Castello.