Motta Sant'Anastasia
Motta Sant'Anastasia: a municipality on the slopes of Mount Etna
Motta Sant'Anastasia is a municipality located on the slopes of Mount Etna in the metropolitan city of Catania. With its 11,985 inhabitants, this town has developed on a basaltic rock formation that was formed during the glacial era. The monolithic mass of Motta Sant'Anastasia, referred to as the navel of Etna in an ancient legend, held strategic importance for its military position.
Territory: an ancient basaltic neck in the shape of columnar rocks
The oldest part of Motta Sant'Anastasia was built on a basaltic neck—a volcanic rock formation. This area originated from an intense eruption 550,000 years ago, which led to the formation of a volcanic cone. Over the centuries, due to erosion processes, the cone has taken on its present columnar rock formation, with hexagonal and pentagonal sections more or less regular, reaching a height of 65 meters. Motta is the only example of a neck present in Italy, along with Strombolicchio. Other cases are found in France, Algeria, and the United States.
History: from ancient Greece to the Norman era
Motta Sant'Anastasia has ancient origins, like many cities in the Simeto Valley. Archaeological studies have shown the presence of Ancient Greece around the 5th-4th centuries BC, while the period of Roman civilization is testified by the discovery of some coins and a mosaic found in the Acquarone district. There are various hypotheses about the origin of the name Motta Sant'Anastasia, but according to some scholars, the two Norman and Byzantine names were combined, and the citizens associated themselves with the devotion and worship of Saint Anastasia, the patron saint of the town.
Motta played an important role as a defense stronghold since the time of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse. This role grew during the Norman period with Ruggero I d'Altavilla, who built a tower there to guard the entrance to the Catania plain and protect the Norman possessions from Saracen raids. The characteristics of the territory and the defensive and residential structures highlight the medieval typicality of the town, in which the "Motta" consisted of an elevated place from which the entire surrounding territory could be controlled.
In England, the Normans built artificial hills or exploited natural ones and built wooden or stone keeps to defend conquered territories. Also in Sicily, the Normans built earth hills and erected basaltic stone keeps. Motta represented an example of construction facilitated by the morphological conformation of the place, which was well suited for the construction of a castle.
Conclusions
Motta Sant'Anastasia represents an example of a municipality with ancient history and a strategic position, characterized by its particular morphology and its territory in the shape of a rocky neck. Its volcanic origin and the presence of medieval defensive and residential structures represent a heritage of great historical and cultural importance. An opportunity not to be missed to discover the beauty of Sicily and its millennial history.
