Legend of the Pii Brothers
The legend of the Pii brothers tells the story of two young farmers named Anapia and Anfinomo and of a frightening lava flow.
It is said that the two young men, while working the land in a field at the foot of Etna together with their elderly parents, were surprised by a frightening eruption that was raging threateningly. In a panic, they decided to flee. Since the parents were unable to sustain the fast pace, with a great spirit of sacrifice and altruism, they loaded these on their shoulders, with the inevitable consequence of slowing down the pace and thus being reached by the looming lava. And so it was, but the miracle happened: suddenly the lava river split in two, thus leaving the brothers and their parents immune, and then rejoining. The phenomenon astonished the inhabitants of Catania who nicknamed the young "Pii brothers", and the place they had crossed "Campi Pii".
The legend of the Pii brothers is represented in one of the four artistic candelabra in Piazza Università in Catania.
