Militello in Val di Catania

Militello in Val di Catania Militeḍḍu (Sicilian)
Comune
Comune di Militello in Val di Catania
Coat of arms
Location of Militello in Val di Catania
Militello in Val di Catania Location of Militello in Val di Catania in Sicily Show map of Italy Militello in Val di Catania Militello in Val di Catania (Sicily) Show map of Sicily
Coordinates: 37°17′N 14°47′E / 37.283°N 14.783°E / 37.283; 14.783
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Metropolitan city	Catania (CT)
Government
• Mayor	Giovanni Burtone
Area [1]
• Total	62.2 km2 (24.0 sq mi)
Elevation	413 m (1,355 ft)
Population  (2024)[2]
• Total	6,602
• Density	110/km2 (270/sq mi)
Demonym	Militellesi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	95043
Dialing code	095
Patron saint	Santissimo Salvatore and Santa Maria della Stella
Saint day	August 18 and September 8
Website	Official website
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Part of	Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily)
Criteria	Cultural: (i)(ii)(iv)(v)
Reference	1024rev-003
Inscription	2002 (26th Session)
Area	1.43 ha (154,000 sq ft)
Buffer zone	27.48 ha (2,958,000 sq ft)

Militello in Val di Catania (lit. 'Militello in the Province of Catania'; Sicilian: Militeḍḍu) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region of Sicily, located about 160 kilometres (99 mi) southeast of Palermo and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Catania, on the last slopes of the Hyblaean Mountains. It has a railway station on the line Catania-Caltagirone-Gela. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ('The most beautiful villages of Italy').^[3]

Despite remains of prehistorical settlements and legends of a Roman foundation, the first mention of Militello dates from 1000 AD, when it became a marquisate under the Cammarana.

The golden age of Militello was during the early 17th century, under the government of Prince Francesco Branciforte. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1693, but the subsequent restoration added numerous architectural and artistic works of art.

In 2002, UNESCO recognized the Val di Noto as a World Heritage Site, including, in addition to Militello in Val di Catania, the cities of Caltagirone, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, and Scicli, the so-called "Late Baroque Cities of the Val di Noto."

• Mother Church of San Nicolò and Santissimo Salvatore (18th century)
• Santa Maria la Vetere, with a 1506 portal by Antonello Gagini
• Madonna della Catena (17th century), with a 16th-century niche
• Abbey of San Benedetto (17th century)
• Sant'Antonio da Padova, with a bell tower from 1719
• Santa Maria della Stella (18th century)
• Santissimi Angeli Custodi late 18th century, with a precious ceramics pavement

• Barresi Branciforte Castle, with the Fountain of the Nymph Zizza (17th century)
• Palazzo Baldanza-Denaro (17th century)
• Palazzo Niceforo (18th century)
• Palazzo Baldanza (19th century)
• Palazzo Majorana della Nicchiara

There were 72 foreigners residing in Militello as of January 1, 2024, representing 1.1% of the resident population.^[4] The largest foreign community is that from Romania, with 45.8% of all foreigners present in the area.^[5]

Since 2022, the city has been part of the First World Mediterranean Lifestyle Park project, along with 103 other cities in central Sicily.^[6]

• State Comprehensive School "Pietro Carrera". Includes: Preschool, Elementary School, and Middle School. Upper Secondary Education. Includes: AFM (Administration, Finance, and Marketing), BTS (Bio-Technology and Health) and the Art School.^[7]
• Angelo Majorana" Municipal Library. Established in 1910, its founder was Giuseppe Musumeci Ristagno, Head of Education. It holds approximately 40,000 volumes, including an antique collection of over 2,000 volumes dating from the late 15th to the early 20th century. Added to this is a rich collection of vinyl records, CDs, and video cassettes housed in the multimedia room. Approximately 2,500 users are registered for borrowing. Particularly valuable are: an incunabulum from 1498 (Rosarium Sermonum by Bernarbino de' Busti) and thirty-one sixteenth-century editions, including twenty-two Venetian editions, two from Lyon, one from Palermo and one from Naples.^[8]

• Civic Museum and Historical Archive "Sebastiano Guzzone".
• Museum of Sacred Art "San Nicolò".
• Treasury of Santa Maria della Stella. Inaugurated in 1995, it displays numerous precious works of art: sacred silver furnishings (15th-18th centuries) from the parish church and its branch churches;

• Ossena Waterfalls: these are natural waterfalls located south of the Militello area, bordering the Francofonte area (Syracuse province). These waterfalls are fed by the waters of the Oxena stream, which flows through the northeastern Hyblaean Mountains.^[9]

In 1942, the "Tempio" Cine Teatro (named after the owner) finally saw the light of day, designed by Antonio Portuso, a surveyor from Militello, whose style was inspired by the Italian Rationalism of the time. The "Tempio" Theater was the heart of the city's cultural and artistic life until the late 1990s, when, now in disrepair, it was purchased by the Province of Catania, which radically transformed it into a new opera and drama theater designed by architect Giorgio Potenza. It has recently regained its role as an important cultural infrastructure for the city.^[10]

The local radio station is Radio Venere Milutello, founded in 1978 with the contribution of several enthusiasts, which broadcasts on 92.40 MHz. It is also received in neighboring municipalities and can be streamed on the station's website.^[11] In the past, there was a local television station, Radio Audizioni Militello, which closed in the first half of the 1990s. The television host Pippo Baudo (1936–2025) was born in Militello.

• Pietro Carrera, chess player, historian, priest and author

• Val di Catania

• Official website