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There are various hypotheses on the origins of Montalbano Elicona and his name.
Some scholars trace the origin of the term Montalbano to the Latin words mons albus, i.e. white mountain, with reference to the snow-capped mountains present in the area. A second hypothesis states that the toponym Montalbano is always of Latin origin but that it dates back to the period of the Roman occupation by Caesar Octavian, who would link the name, precisely, to the triumphs that the Roman legions used to carried out on Monte Albano near Rome.
The name Elicona dates back to the Greek-Sicilian influence. In 394 BC. the name was called Helicon by the Dorians who believed they recognized the Greek Elikon, literally tortuous mountain, the mythical mountain of the Muses. They called Helikon the hill on which the medieval village stands and the nearby stream whose tortuous course justifies the name. The name Elicona was added to the name Montalbano only in 1862, after the unification of the Kingdom of Italy.
