Acireale with the other towns and villages of the area whose names begin with Aci derived, according to a legend, from a Greek colony called Xiphonia, no trace of which has ever been found. Virgil and Ovid told about a mythical foundation on the place where the handsome, young shepherd Aci, loved by nymph Galatea, was killed out of jealousy by the cyclop Polyphemus.
Certainly it existed in Roman times with the name of Akis. In the Middle Ages the area was fortified, and the fortress is still visible at Aci Castello, and the name was changed to Aquilia, from the abundance of mineral waters. Under the Normans the Sanctuary of Valverde was established. On 11 January 1693 it was largely destroyed by the eruption of the Etna, which claimed hundreds of victims, and was reconstructed in the Baroque style.
"Knowest thou the land where the lemon trees bloom..."