e, and, on the eastern base, to the proximity
of a sea-coast indented with excellent harbours. The habitable zone of
Etna is restricted to the _Regione Coltivata_, nevertheless some of the
towns on the north and west have a considerable elevation; thus Bronte
is 2,782 feet above the sea, and Randazzo 2,718. All the principal towns
are situated on the base road of the mountain, which was indeed
constructed in order to connect them. Out of the sixty-four towns and
villages on the mountain, the following are the most important:
Catania, Aci Reale, Paterno, Aderno, Bronte, Randazzo, Aci S. Antonio,
Biancavilla, Calatabiano, Giarre, Francavilla, Linguagrossa, Licodia,
Mascali, Misterbianco, Nicolosi, Pedara, Piedemonte, Trecastagne, and
Tremestieri.

On our return from the summit, we rested for awhile at Nicolosi, and in
the cool of the evening started to make a _giro_ of the mountain by way
of the base road. Descending by the Nicolosi road as far as Mascalucia,
we branched off to the west, and made for Paterno, passing near the town
of Belpasso, which was destroyed by the earthquake of 1669, and
subsequently erected on a new site. It still contains more than 7,000
inhabitants, although the district is extremely unhealthy.

Paterno, the second largest town on the flanks of Etna after Catania and
Aci Reale, stands in the very heart of the Regione Coltivata, and
possesses more than 16,000 inhabitants. According to Cluverius, it is
the site of the city of Hybla Major (~Hybla Megale~), a Sikelian
city which was unsuccessfully attacked by the Athenians soon after they
first landed in Sicily. During the second Punic War, the inhabitants
went over to the Carthagenians, but the city was speedily recovered by
the Romans. Pliny, Cicero, and Pausanias allude to it, but its later
history has not come down to us. An altar was lately found in Paterno
dedicated to _Veneri Victrici Hyblensi_. Several towns in Sicily were
called Hybla, probably--according to Pausanias--in honour of a local
deity. Paterno was founded by Roger I. in 1073: it was once a feudal
city of some importance, and possessed a cathedral and castle, and
several large monasteries. Although much fallen to decay, it still
possesses a good deal of vitality, and the population is on the
increase.

On leaving Paterno the road turns to the North-west, and passes through
the village of Ste. Maria di Licodia. Here originally stood the Sikelian
City of Inessa (~Inessa~), which,