Origin of the name - Acireale -
Emilioba93 - CC3.0
The toponym of the city of Acireale refers to the Sicilian-Greek myth of Aci.
Ákis was originally the name given to a river that crossed this territory, whose course is now extinct. However, even before its river course was interrupted, the Greeks had drawn from it a mythical tale which featured the personification of the river Acis in the form of a shepherd and the nymph Galatea. This explains why throughout the area surrounding the city of Acireale, the names of other localities also refer to the Aci river: Aci Bonaccorsi, Aci Castello, Aci Catena, Aci Sant'Antonio, Aci San Filippo and Aci Trezza.
Subsequently the term was Latinized with the feminine Acis and the city also acquired the qualification of regal, first becoming Acis Aquilia and finally Acis Regalis, from which Acireale.
