Special on Catania
Catania is a marvelous Italian city located in the Mediterranean area, on the east coast of Sicily between Messina and Syracuse. With around 350,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy. This Mediterranean jewel offers the most popular Sicilian beach resorts, amazing tours to historic sites by Greeks, Romans, and Arabs, exquisite examples of Baroque architecture, and a very attractive nightlife!
The Sicilian flag.
Perched a few miles from the highest European volcano, the “Mount Etna”, still active and with a fickle temperament, Catania has been damaged by lava flows and earthquakes on several occasions.
Volcano “Mount Etna”.
“Mount Etna” from the harbour of Riposto, Giarre.
Catania is among Italian hottest cities with a summer temperature that can exceed 40° degrees. Amazing seashores and beach resorts can be found, for example, in the town of Acitrezza and in the nearby Taormina (among many other beautiful places).
Harbour of Acitrezza, Catania.
Isola Bella, Taormina.
Catania was home to such great artists as the composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) and the writer Giovanni Verga (1840-1922). A great, very longed-for celebration takes place every year from 3 to 5 February in honor of Saint Agatha, when a huge crowd of believers process through the city's historical centre celebrating their beloved Patron Saint. The event draws thousands of visitors from all Sicily and beyond.
Founded by the Siculi and colonized by Chalcidians (a Greek people) from Naxos in 729 BC, Catania was conquered by the Romans in AD 263, eventually becoming the most prosperous city in Roman Sicily. However, archeological evidence indicates man's presence in the area during the early Bronze Age (2200-1400 BC). By the Middle Ages, it was still an important port. It flourished until 1669, when it was almost completely destroyed by a particularly violent earthquake, followed by a serious earthquake in 1693. Following these catastrophes, Catania was gradually rebuilt.
The city has two Roman amphitheaters. The smaller one, off Via Vittorio Emanuele near Piazza San Francesco d'Assisi, was built upon an earlier Greek theater and is open to the public. It is said to have accommodated as many as 6,000 spectators. The nearby Odeum, a much smaller theatre, could hold about 1,300. A larger amphitheatre, closer to the commercial center in Piazza Stesicoro at the intersection of Via Etnea and Corso Sicilia, is a completely Roman structure built in the second century AD. The piazza, incidentally, is named for Stesichorus, a Greek poet who lived in Catania during the sixth century BC. Now located below ground level and usually closed, this vast complex probably seated about 14,000 spectators. Only a small part of is actually visible today. With its vast underground network of passages and alcoves, it is reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum.
The symbol of the city is “u Liotru”, or the “Fontana dell'Elefante”, and was assembled in 1736 by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini. It is made of marble portraying an ancient lavic elephant and surmounted by an Egyptian obelisk from Syene. Tall tale has it that Vaccarini's original elephant was neuter, which the men of Catania took as an insult to their virility. To appease them, Vaccarini appended appropriately elephantine testicles to the original statue. The Sicilian name “u Liotru” is the deformation of the name Heliodorus who was a sorcerer and necromancer from Catania. He was a nobleman who, after trying without success to become bishop of the city, became a sorcerer and was therefore condemned to the stake. Legend has it that Heliodorus himself was the sculptor of the lava elephant and that he used to magically rode it in his travels from Catania to Constantinople. Another legend has it that Heliodorus could be capable of transforming himself into an elephant.
Monument of the elephant (“u liotru”), symbol of Catania.
Ursino Castle, located in Piazza Federico di Svevia, at the end of Via Auteri between Via Plebiscito and Via Garibaldi, used to be a coastal fortress before volcanic eruptions extended the coastline. This castle was built by Richard de Lentina on the orders of Emperor Frederick II von Hohenstaufen in the first half of the thirteenth century and subsequently modernized in the manner of those at Messina, Taranto and Bari. It is now a museum open to the public.
Ursino castle.
Though extensively rebuilt on Baroque and neo-classical models, the oldest part of the Cathedral of Saint Agatha was constructed in 1092. Several royal personages are entombed there, including Frederick III of Aragon (ruled 1296-1337) and Queen Constance, wife of Frederick IV (ruled 1355-1377). It was during the Aragonese period that Catania began to compete with Messina to become the most important city of eastern Sicily, and a point of reference for islanders from Castrogiovanni (Enna) eastward.
Cathedral of Saint Agatha, Catania.
Most of Catania's wide streets and majestic palaces were built during the eighteenth century, coincidental to the Bourbon's development of Naples, and the architectural similarity between the two cities is striking. That both were continually menaced by volcanic eruptions is a further similarity, though Etna is larger and more active than Vesuvius. An obvious difference will be seen in the gray volcanic stone used to construct the Catanian buildings; some visitors believe it gives the city an ominous face.
It was during the eighteenth century reconstruction period that noble families from across eastern Sicily began to build palazzi in Catania. Thus began a social and economic rivalry with Palermo that continues to this day. One of the essential differences between the cities is that while Catania is somewhat more industrial, Palermo remains the administrative center of Sicily. Though it won't be readily apparent to the casual visitor, the two cities differ from one another in many subtle ways. Catania is certainly less chaotic than Palermo, and most streets and squares are a good bit cleaner. Most Sicilians, even Palermitans, would agree that it's generally easier to do business in Catania than in Palermo.
If you're shopping for souvenirs, Catania a large number of shops concentrated on a few streets, such as Via Etnea. The city offers a huge number of pubs and restaurants, and a very active and attractive nightlife. The two large street markets are particularly interesting, and the churches and palaces have a distinctly Baroque aura. Catania is a good point for making connections to other places if you're traveling by train or bus. Fontanarossa Airport is only about 20 minutes from Catania.
For all its Baroque grandeur, Catania has something to offer those willing to unveil its historic treasures. Even during a brief itinerary, this very special city is worth seeing!
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