Patti

Patti rises above Sicily's northern coast, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Aeolian Islands. Its cathedral of Saint Bartholomew stands on the heights of the town, beside the site of a Benedictine monastery founded under Count Roger. Queen Adelaide, Roger's widow and mother of King Roger II, was buried here after her death in 1118.

In 1399 the diocese of Patti gained full autonomy. The cathedral and the bishopric gave the town an important place in the religious life of this part of Sicily. Its position near the sea also exposed it to attack: in 1544 Hayreddin Barbarossa's forces sacked and burned Patti. Its cathedral was rebuilt after the destruction, preserving the memory of the Norman queen through repeated changes to the building.