Deep-dive

Visiting Catania: Baroque, Roman theatre, Etna

Piazza Duomo with the Liotru, Via Etnea, Castello Ursino, the Roman theatre with the Odeon, the Benedictine Monastery and the Pescheria in the centre; Etna, a UNESCO site, within reach for excursions, also by train on the Circumetnea. In February, the feast of Saint Agatha.

Sections: Attractions · Museums · Nature · Itineraries · Excursions · Accessible visits

Piazza Duomo: Saint Agatha's cathedral and the elephant "'u Liotru"; Via Etnea, the main street, starts here.
Castello Ursino: founded by Frederick II of Swabia in the thirteenth century, now the civic museum.
Roman theatre and Odeon: the theatre was built in the first century AD over a Greek building; the Odeon, slightly higher up, held about 1,500 spectators for music and dance.
Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena (Piazza Dante): a late-Baroque complex, among the largest monastic complexes in Europe, now home to the University's Department of Humanities; guided and evening tours by Officine Culturali.
Pescheria: the morning fish market.
Villa Bellini: one of the city's oldest gardens.

UNESCO and Etna

Catania is one of the eight towns of the Val di Noto UNESCO site (2002), rebuilt in Baroque style after the 1693 earthquake. Etna, a UNESCO site since 2013, is visited on trails and guided excursions on foot or by 4x4; in summer, sunset is the time recommended by the national tourism portal. The Circumetnea allows a tour of the volcano by train, from Catania to Riposto via Adrano, Bronte and Randazzo.

When to come

For outsiders, the feast of Saint Agatha (3–5 February) is when the city lives in the streets, with processions going on late into the night and into the morning (see Identity).

Syracuse Messina