thumb|250px|Norman castle in Adrano.
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.
Name
The Romans changed the name of the township into Hadranum; during the occupation by the Arabs it was called Adarnu or sometimes Adarna, while the Normans referred to it as Adernio and Adriano. Until 1929 its official name was Adernò, until eventually it was changed into Adrano. Several elder inhabitants of the town still call it Adernò.
thumb|250px|Ponte dei Saraceni.
Main sights
- Castle of Norman origin (Castello Normanno is a donjon) in the centre of the town, built in 1070 on behalf of Roger I. Inside the castle is the archaeological museum with antique findings of the region.
- Chiesa Madre (Mother Church): houses the 16th-century Moncada Polyptych and works by Giuseppe Guzzardi and Angelo La Naia.
- Santa Lucia Monastery in via Roma, constructed in 1596 to the order of the prince of Biscari and redesigned by the well-known Catanese architect Stefano Ittar. It contains a chapel dating from 1775. Until the early 1920s, the monastery was still inhabited by monks, but now is public and private property, partly used by a secondary school.
- Santa Maria del Rosario: Church adjacent to former Dominican monastery
- Giardino della Vittoria or Villa Comunale: public park in front of the St Lucy Monastery, with a promenade between mature palm trees
- Teatro Bellini: public theater was re-opened in 2004 after over 26 years. It was built on behalf of the vice king in 1779 and resembles the theatre of Parma dating from 1618. It is situated on the ruins of the antique church of St Vito.
- Ponte dei Saraceni (Bridge of the Saracens) about 3km outside the town
- The ruins of the original Greek settlement visitable in the east of the town.
Due to the prospering Catholic tradition of the region, Adrano has numerous antique chapels and small churches hidden in the backstreets. Moreover, Adrano is famous for its colourful carnival and the passionate celebration of San Nicola, in honour of its patron Saint Nicola Politi on 3 August.
Transportation
Adrano is linked to the rapidway SS 121 leading from Paternò to Catania. Near Belpasso, a large mall named Etnapolis has been opened recently.
Adrano is connected to the province capital Catania by a bus route which is operated by the FCE and leads through various towns to the central station of Catania and further to the communal beach. A rapid bus skips the smaller towns and leads to Catania directly over the highway. In the summer season, a bus connects Adrano, Bronte, Randazzo, Floresta and Naso in the province of Messina. Between the station of Catania-Borgo and Riposto operates the Littorina, a nostalgic Diesel fuelled train which stops in Adrano, Paternò, Biancavilla, Santa Maria di Licodia and other towns. The extension of a route of the rapid transit railway of Catania to Paternò and Adrano has been planned and the constructions have begun. Adrano is not linked with the national train system of Trenitalia. Moreover, the FCE operates two bus routes (A and B) in Adrano.
Health
Adrano does not possess any hospital but only a so-called , a paramedic station with emergency personnel, vehicles and equipment. The nearest hospital is the Maria SS. Addolorata in Biancavilla, which is on stand-by as well for emergencies in Adrano.
Maria Tizziano is the youngest mother in Italian history; she became a mother in 1992 at 11 years old.