Catania

Catania

IT
Population298,037
Catania (, UK also , US also , Sicilian and Italian: [kaˈtaːnja] ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, which is among the largest in Italy. It has important road and rail transport infrastructures, and hosts the main airport of Sicily (fifth-largest in Italy). The city is located on Sicily's east coast, facing the Ionian Sea at the base of the active volcano Mount Etna. It is the capital of the 58-municipality province known as the Metropolitan City of Catania, which is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Italy. The population of the city proper is 297,517, while the population of the metropolitan city is 1,068,563. Catania was founded in the 8th century BC by Chalcidian Greeks in Magna Graecia. The city has weathered multiple geologic catastrophes: it was almost completely destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake in 1169. A major eruption and lava flow from nearby Mount Etna nearly swamped the city in 1669 and it suffered severe devastation from the 1693 Sicily earthquake. During the 14th century, and into the Renaissance period, Catania was one of Italy's most important cultural, artistic and political centres. It was the site of Sicily's first university, founded in 1434. It has been the native or adopted home of some of Italy's most famous artists and writers, including the composers Vincenzo Bellini and Giovanni Pacini, and the writers Giovanni Verga, Luigi Capuana, Federico De Roberto and Nino Martoglio. Catania today is the industrial, logistical, and commercial centre of Sicily. Its airport, the Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, is the largest in Southern Italy. The central "old town" of Catania features exuberant late-baroque architecture, prompted after the 1693 earthquake, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Places to Explore

Curated experiences in Catania

Ex Collegio dei Gesuiti

Ex Collegio dei Gesuiti

Castello Ursino

Castello Ursino

Castello Ursino (Sicilian: Casteddu Ursinu, lit. 'Bear Castle'), also known as Castello Svevo di Catania, is a castle in Catania, …

Palazzo Biscari

Palazzo Biscari

The Palazzo Paternò Castello di Biscari is a monumental private palace, still owned by a branch of the House of …

Fontana dell'Elefante

Fontana dell'Elefante

The Elephant Fountain (Italian: Fontana dell'Elefante) is a monument located in the center of Piazza del Duomo in the Sicilian …

Città della Scienza

Città della Scienza

Terme Romane

Terme Romane

Cappella Bonajuto

Cappella Bonajuto

Pozzo di Gammazita

Pozzo di Gammazita

Chiesa di San Francesco Borgia

Chiesa di San Francesco Borgia

San Francesco Borgia is a Roman Catholic church located on Via Crociferi #7, adjacent to the former Collegio Gesuita, and …

Cattedrale di Sant'Agata

Cattedrale di Sant'Agata

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Agatha (Italian: Cattedrale metropolitana di Sant'Agata), usually known as the Catania Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di …

Castello di Aci

Castello di Aci

The Castello Normanno ("Norman Castle"), or alternatively the Castello di Aci ("Castle of Aci"; Sicilian: Casteddu di Iaci), is a …

Villa Cerami

Villa Cerami

The Villa Cerami was once a semirural villa, located at the edge of the urban center and with a sizable …

Basilica Maria Santissima dell'Elemosina

Basilica Maria Santissima dell'Elemosina

The Ancient Royal and Eminent Basilica Collegiate of Our Lady of the Alms (in italian known as Antichissima Regia ed …

Teatro Greco Romano

Teatro Greco Romano

The Roman Theatre of Catania (Teatro Romano di Catania) consists of the ruins of two open-air semicircular ancient Roman theatres, …

San Nicolò l'Arena

San Nicolò l'Arena

San Nicolò l'Arena is the title of both the Roman Catholic church and its adjacent and enormous Benedictine monastery (Monastery …

Anfiteatro Romano

Anfiteatro Romano

The Amphitheatre of Catania is a Roman amphitheatre in Catania, Sicily, Southern Italy, built in the Roman Imperial period, probably …

Museo Arte Contemporanea Sicilia

Museo Arte Contemporanea Sicilia

Fontana dei Sette Canali

Fontana dei Sette Canali

Casa Museo Giovanni Verga

Casa Museo Giovanni Verga

Le Stanze in Fiore

Le Stanze in Fiore

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