Alitena (Ge'ez: ዓሊተና) is a town in northern Ethiopia, located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region.

Alitena has been an important Roman Catholic center in northern Ethiopia as early as 1845, when disciples of Justin de Jacobis converted some of the local residents from the Ethiopian Church.

[1] At Easter 1847 the Catholic missionaries de Jacobis and Guglielmo Massaia, together with two Ethiopian priests recently ordained by them, celebrated mass there in 1847.

[2] Alitena is connected to Zalambessa by a 35 kilometer road which was constructed under the inspiration and leadership of the local Roman Catholic priests, and opened 5 December 1974.

[3] Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency, this town has a total population of 4,905, of whom 2,431 are men and 2,474 are women.