Attractions for your holidays in Catania
"Catania is Sicily's most vibrant city, the modern, forward-looking sister to traditional Palermo. Its stonebuildings are dramatic against the blue skies, its piazzas and boulevards are wide and inviting and, come night time, the streets are full of students having fun at the zillion bars and clubs - " Lonely Planet Sicily Guide".
The city is also the trading capital of Sicily, the major airport, commercial and manufacturing center.
It arise under the biggest volcano of Europe the “Mount Etna”. Its fortunate geographical position in one of the most beautiful parts of the world allows one to enjoy a healthy mild climate and a clear blue sea all year round, favouring outdoor life and offering a tranquil rhythm of life which is both pleasurable and stimulating. Catania contains numerous architectural remains of ancient times, including the ruins of Greek and Roman theaters and Roman aqueducts and baths. Also here are a cathedral (founded 11th century) and Ursino Castle (13th century). The University of Catania (1443), one of the first universities established in Europe, is here. Our holidays houses are located in the historical center of Catania, for which you can visit many of these attractions with a short walk.
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Duomo – the Chapel of Sant’Agata -
Piazza Duomo
Catania's Cathedral was built in the 12th century, and was then entirely rebuilt in 1600 after the earthquake and the volcano eruption destroyed most of the city. The Chapel of Sant’Agata, the city’s patron saint is inside the Cathedral, where precious treasures are kept.
This is the heart of Catania, with the city’s symbol monument: the fountain with the Elephant. The city’s cathedral with the Chapel of Sant’Agata looks out onto this square, where precious treasures are kept. There is also Palazzo degli Elefanti which is the City Hall. One of Catania’s most interesting roads starts from Piazza Duomo - Via Etnea, where there are splendid Baroque buildings with lava dust façades and a multitude of shops and confectioners.
The square is just few steps from far our holidays houses.
The Elephant
The Elephant, symbol of the city of Catania since 1200, is located in the center of Piazza Duomo. This is a lava-stone statue that dates back to the Roman era, mounted on a more modern structure by Vaccarini from the eighteenth century. Legend goes that this animal became the city symbol because in ancient times pigmy elephants lived in this place, that protected the city’s inhabitants by chasing away fierce animals.
Via dei Crociferi
This Avenue is a true triumph of eighteenth-century Baroque style, one of the most charming in Catania, where there is a never-ending, opulent line of religious buildings such as the Church of San Benedetto, the Church of the Jesuits and the Church of San Giuliano.
Bellini Theater
This impressive theater was opened in 1890 with the staging of Bellini’s famous opera the “Norma”. The Theater style reminds one of the Opera House in Paris: there is a lot of wrought iron in the portico, a large theater with four tiers and a gallery, corridors, and frescoed ceilings. Easy to reach from our holidays houses.
Castel Ursino
This fortress is the only medieval building that survived the destruction that nature wreaked upon the city and is still almost intact today. It was built around 1240 to protect the city from the sea, and was used as a royal residence and as a prison. It has been the home of the Civic Museum since 1934 and it houses paintings, sculptures, bronzes and ceramics from various eras.In the same square of the castel you can find some of our holidays houses.
Biscari Palace
The wonderful Palazzo Biscari, which is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, was the residence of Prince Biscari. Inside there are halls full of frescoes, galleries, archaeological finds, statues, marble and other artistic wonders.
Few steps far from our holidays houses.
Church of San Giuliano
This is thought to be one of the Catania’s most beautiful churches. It has a splendid dome enclosed in a polygonal open gallery and its interior is full of marble decoration and a golden-bronze altar. The church was built in the first half of the eighteenth century by Vaccarini.
Very easy to reach from our holidays houses with a little walk.
The Benedictine Monastery
The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe, is more like a palace than a religious building, an aspect that is probably due to close links with the Benedictine monks and the Catania nobility. In the eighteenth century it was one of the most important cultural centers in the whole of Sicily, attracting many visitors who were amazed by the luxury and the pomp of the building. It is now the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy for the University of Catania.
Basilica of San Nicolò l’Arena
This imposing religious building, next to the Monastery, dates back to the end of the seventeenth century and is still partly unfinished. San Nicolò l’Arena was built modeled on the basilicas in Rome, following the wishes of the Benedictine monks. The interior of the church is almost totally bare.
Emilio Greco Museum
This museum, opened in 1994, contains about 1500 graphic works by the Catania artist: engravings, lithographs and etchings, including the famous “Commiati”. .
Giovanni Verga's House Museum
This eighteenth-century palace, that is in Via Sant’Anna, was the home of Giovanni Verga during the last twenty years of his life. Inside the house there are many objects that belonged to the famous veristic writer. The library that contains almost 3000 volumes by various authors such Deledda, Tolstoy, Gorky, Flaubert and Dumas is extremely valuable.
Bellini Civic Museum
This is the house where the famous composer lived before he moved to Naples. The museum is spread over a route that shows the private and artistic life of Vincenzo Bellini. There are also some very interesting, original musical manuscripts signed by the artist inside the museum.
Festival of Sant’Agata – (on February 3-5)
Catania celebrates Sant’Agata, the city’s patron saint, each year with three days of festivities: 3, 4 and 5 February. The first day is dedicated to the offering of candles, each confraternity offers a huge “candelora” that is carried in the procession with difficulty due to its weight: some “candelore” weigh up to 1200 kilograms each! This first day ends with a fireworks display in Piazza del Duomo. On the second day, Catania’s inhabitants wear long white tunics to remember the historical night of 1126 when the Catania people of the time left their houses in their nightshirts to meet two citizens who had come back from Constantinople with the Saint’s relics. The festival continues with a procession carrying the statue of Sant'Agata, decorated with all the wonderful treasures that are kept in the Chapel that carries the saint's name. The procession lasts all days and passes by all the places in the city that are linked to the saint's martyrdom. It ends late at night, when the procession statue (called the fercolo) returns to the Cathedral. On the last day, white carnations replace the red ones used on the previous day, that symbolize the saint’s martyrdom. The most emotion-filled moment is when the procession passes along Via di San Giuliano: this steep road is considered to be a trial of courage for the Saint’s followers. Once this procession has finished and the “fercolo” is returned to the Cathedral, the festival ends with a fireworks display, that leaves the Catania people exhausted but happy for having celebrated their patron saint.
Meteo
