CataniaLinguaglossa.
The name of the town is probably derived from lingua grossa ("great tongue"), which refers to a lava stream formed after an eruption by the volcano in 1634, and also corresponds to the elongated distribution of the town. Another explanation is that the name is tautological: both lingua in Latin and glossa in Greek mean "tongue". There are historical references to the town in Norman times (it is mentioned in a document of 1145). The fief belonged to the Crisafi and the Bonanno families; after 1630 it was part of the royal domain.

Many buildings in Linguaglossa are baroque. On the outskirts of the town is the 16th c. Chiesa di San Francesco di Paola, with baroque stuccos and a fine statue, the Madonna di Loreto, attributed to Domenico Gagini. Then there is the Chiesa dei Padri Domenicani, where there is a canvas by Sebastiano Conca, the Madonna del Rosario and Saints. Walking up Via Cavour we arrive at the Convento (1647) and Chiesa dei Cappuccini (1644), which is packed with fine objects, such as the walnut altar with wooden inlays (19th c.) by Friar Mariano da Francavilla, and a ciborium, also made of wood (orange-wood, cypress and walnut), carved by Pietro Bencivenni in 1710; there is also a wooden statue of The Blessed Virgin with Saints, by Fra' Urnile da Petralia, the sculptor of innumerable crucifixes in churches in the Madonie and the Nebrodi. The Duomo, Santa Maria delle Grazie, of 18th c. origin but considerably restored in the middle of the 20th c., has apses originally embellished with spiral columns, an 18th c. wooden choir and frescoes attributed to Olivio Sozzi.