After the eruption of Etna in 1669, the city of San Pietro Clarenza was rebuilt thanks to the intervention of the Clarenza family, who brought the ancient medieval village back to light.
San Pietro Clarenza is an ancient medieval village located in the immediate vicinity of Catania, on a hill that places it about 500 meters above sea level. Almost nothing remains of the ancient village, due to the natural disasters that have struck over time.
However, you will be able to notice some old ruins, which mix with other pieces of history scattered throughout the area, capable of telling you about the glories that best characterized the town's past.
Among the historic buildings that you can still visit today are the Mannino block, the oldest in the area, and the Mother Church of Santa Caterina which, as an engraving on the structure reports, dates back to 1316.
Principality of San Pietro
Many documents in the city archive attest that the city was purchased in Seventeenth century, from Genoese John Andrew Massa, which already boasted the titles of Marquis of San Giovanni La Punta e Duke of Jaci Castle. Shortly afterwards he passed everything to Antonio Reitano, who obtained the title of Prince of St. Peter directly from the King, giving life to Principality of San Pietro.
After Antonio Reitano, the land passed in hereditary succession to his daughter, who gave the town as a dowry to her husband Francesco Petrasanta.
The 1669 eruption of Etna
One of the most iconic events for San Pietro Clarenza and for the entire Catania hinterland was the Etna lava flow of 1669, which razed everything in their path.
The eruption ofEtna it was so disastrous that it razed the entire San Pietro Clarenza to the ground, except for a few buildings that managed to miraculously save themselves, such as the Caseggiato Mannino and the Mother Church of Santa Caterina.
The first built area was the one in which the Mother Church, around which several eye-catching residences also arose, a symptom of an imminent rebirth. The new city expanded rapidly, thanks to the formation of neighborhoods that were built in the same style as the first, i.e. with a church in the center and buildings all around.
The farmhouse was completely rebuilt, with a slow and progressive urbanization process, achieved with the intervention of what was the most iconic noble family for this area.
The Clarenza Family
In 1769, in fact, the old farmhouse was sold to Giuseppe Mario Clarenza, a nobleman from Catania. As was customary in that period, the person who owned the farmhouse could change its toponym using his own surname. To this, in 1779, “San Pietro” was also added, giving the current nomenclature, that is, San Pietro Clarenza.
La Clarenza family, although she was an important promoter for the development of the city, was never actively present in this place except for sporadic appearances. In fact, they lived in their home in Catania, an elegant building that you can still admire today in the heart of its historic center.
