A tourist guide to Catania, Sicily
Catania visitors guide
Catania, named after Katane who was Greek, lies between Mount Etna, Europe’s largest volcano, and the Ionian Sea. In 1693, Catania suffered a terrible earthquake and much of the old city was ruined. It was subsequently rebuilt in a Baroque style and the effect is incredibly dramatic with many of the most popular buildings in Catania being constructed during this time.
Dominated by a smouldering Mount Etna which occasionally spits out ash, Catania is becoming increasingly popular with tourists that love its unspoilt history. At one time conquered by the might of Rome, Catania still boasts a Roman Theatre which is adjacent to the Odeon, a smaller auditorium. Down the road from the theatre is Santa Maria della Rotonda which is a breathtakingly beautiful church, founded on the remains of Roman baths. A Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Stesicoro is made of marble and lava and was probably constructed towards the 
end of the second century AD.
Constructed, 400 years before the Baroque architecture that so characterises Catania, the Castillo Ursino is a fort that is now a museum and home to exhibits from Catania's long history. The main square in Catania is the Piazza del Duomo where there are many fine restaurants and a much admired and photographed statue of an elephant chipped out of lava. Above the elephant is an Egyptian obelisk. The Duomo, after which the Piazza is named, has a dramatic Baroque façade and some remnants of the original church that was destroyed in the 17th century earthquake.
There are many other buildings of note in Catania including Porta Garibaldi and the Chiesa di San Nicolo in Piazza Dante. Teatro Massimo Bellini, is named after the composer, Vincenzo Bellini who died aged 34 in 1835. The Museo Civico Belliniano is a free to enter museum in Piazza San Francesco and contains artefacts from Bellini’s short but productive life.
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