Adrano (; Adernò until 1929; ), ancient Adranon, is a town and in the Metropolitan City of Catania on the east coast of Sicily.
It is situated around northwest of Catania, which was also the capital of the province to which Adrano belonged, now a metropolitan city. It lies near the foot of Mount Etna, at the confluence of the Simeto and Salso rivers. It is the commercial center for a region where olives and citrus fruit are grown. Neighbouring towns include: Biancavilla, Bronte, Paternò, Randazzo, Santa Maria di Licodia and Centuripe.
History
Founding and pre-Christian era
The settlement was founded by Dionysius the Elder around
400 BC, intending to strengthen Syracusan power in the region. He named the town Adranon in honour of Adranus.
In 344 BC the troops of Timoleon fought the forces of the Syracusan commander Iketas of Leontini near Adrano. During the following years, Adrano was frequently harried by Campanian mercenaries, called the Mamertinians.
The Romans conquered the growing township in 263 BC and declared it a civitas stipendiaria, obliging it to pay a costly tribute to Rome. The consul Valerius ravaged the town, enslaved the inhabitants and sold them as workers and slaves to the aratores (farmers) residing in the near city of Centuripe. In 137 BC, Eunus led an unsuccessful slave revolt against the Roman suppressors, and from then on, Adrano was nothing more than part of Centuripe.
The Romans referred to the city as Adranum or Hadranum.
Byzantine Empire, Arabs and Normans
The township was pillaged several times by Germanic tribes during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Only through the reign of Theodoric the Great (495–526), the conditions improved due to the administration by Cassiodorus. In the mid-6th century it was conquered by the Eastern Roman Empire.
Around 950, the Arab Musa occupied the city of Centuripe and its vicinity, and thenceforth Adrano became part of the emirate of Sicily.
The Arabs ruled the region until in 1075 the Normans, led by Hugo of Yersey, succeeded in conquering the region against the resistance of Caid Albucazar. Adrano became part of the Diocese of Catania, administered by the monk Ansgerius. The citizens of the prospering township continued the successful agricultural and economic work the Arabs had initiated. Therefore, the Norman era was enormously influenced by winegrowing, leather work and silk manufacturing.
Late Middle Ages and feudalism
The arrival of the Hohenstaufen around the end of the 12th century brought enduring difficulties and disputes over Sicily and its inhabitants. The remaining Arabs were vehemently pursued by the administration, which forced them to gather inside the fortresses of Troina, Entella and Centuripe, offering armed resistance. The insurrection was ended violently, and the survivors were massacred or kidnapped. Pope Clement IV made Charles of Anjou king of Sicily in 1265, which ended the Hohenstaufen rule of southern Italy. During that time, Adrano was rather a small settlement of hunters, and the number of inhabitants had decreased from 1,000 to 300.
In 1282, the Sicilian Vespers ended the French reign in Sicily, and Peter III of Aragon became king. The following years were characterized by constant conflicts between the residing farmers and the Bourgeoisie of the region. Adrano fell to the property of the Catalan landholder Garzia de Linguida, and eventually, in 1286, to the ownership of Luca Pellegrino. The estates and soils of the region were subject to immense disputes between several landowners and noblemen in the following time until the 15th century.
From the 15th century on, Sicily was reigned by the so-called vice kings. Between 1412 and 1515, Adrano was under administration by the Moncada family. Giovan Tommaso Moncada (1466–1501) renovated the Norman castle and fortified it. He allowed a couple of refugees from the northern Greek region of Epirus to settle down in the vicinity of Adrano, which is how the town of Biancavilla was founded. The relatives of earl Moncada build many manors (so-called palazzi) in the centre of the town, among which is the latter town hall, and the centre of the city, the piazza, became popular meeting place for the residents, who meanwhile numbered around 6,000. Around the same time began the construction of the Monastero di Santa Lucia (Monastery of St Lucy). In 1693, a severe earthquake inflicted heavy damage to the town.