Aetna (
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Aetna (Inessa)(CT): An ancient town that sat at the S. foot of M. Etna, near modern Paterno, located between Centuripae and Katane. It was originally a Sikel town known as Inessa. In 461 BC, the town was seized by Hiero I’s Doric Greek colonists who were fleeing from Catana. They renamed the place Aetna, after their former home. In 426 BC, the Athenians under Laches unsuccessfully attacked the town. In 415 BC, Aetna supported Syracuse during the war against Athens. During the reign of Dionysius II, a military colony of Campanian mercenaries was established here, later ousted by Timoleon. The Romans later gave the town the status of civitas decumena. It grew in prosperity thanks to the fertility of its soil. In the 1st century BC Aetna was among the towns pillaged by the avaricious Roman governor Verres (73-71 BC). The town never recovered from this desolation and it disappeared from history soon after. The exact location of this last center is uncertain, though believed to be between Paterno and Centuripe.