CataniaMaletto.
Maletto is the highest town on Etna and in the Province
of Catania, and one of the highest in all Sicily,
surrounded by luxuriant oak and beech woods. It
was founded in 1263 by the Count of Mineo, Manfredi
Maletto; repopulated in l440, it became a principality
of the Spatafora family: it was again repopulated
in the 17th c.
The Chiesa Madre, dedicated to the patron saint
of the town, St Anthony of Padua, was built in 1870.
The Chiesa di San Michele and the Chiesa di Sant'Antonio
Abate both date from the l8th c. A few traces of
an ancient castle can be seen on a great basalt
crag.
