Catania

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Introduction

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Catania is a city on the central eastern coast of Sicily and has about 300,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area is much bigger though, with roughly 750,000 people living here. It's located between Messina and Siracusa and at the foot of Mount Etna, the highest point on Sicily and an active volcano. Much of the city is even constructed out of the lava that came down the volcano in 1669, killing a massive 12,000 people.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Because of the destruction by lava coming down Mount Etna, Catania has been destroyed quite a few times and in layers beneath the ground, remains can still be found dating back to Greek and Roman times. Of the last period, the remains can be seen from:

• The Greek-Roman Theatre (2nd century).
• The Odeon (3rd century).
• The Catanian Amphitheatre (2nd century).
• The Greek Acropolis of Mountvirgin's Hill.
• The Roman Aqueduct's Ruins.
• The Roman Forum in Piazza San Pantaleone.
• Roman ruins in Cortile Archirotti.
• Several Christian basilicas, hypogea, Roman burial monuments and Catacombs in some urban areas.
• The Roman Columns in Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini.
• The Achillean Thermae.

The Baroque city centre of Catania is on the Unesco World Heritage List containing the following sights:

• Saint Agatha's Cathedral
• Saint Agatha's Abbey
• Saint Placid
• Saint Joseph by the Dome
• Most Holy Sacrament by the Dome
• Saint Martin of the White Garbs
• Saint Agatha the Eldest * Saint Agatha by the Furnace or Saint Blaise
• Saint Prison's Church or Saint Agatha in Jail

There also quite a few historical churches to be found scattered around Catania.
The Piazza del Duomo is one of the usual hotspots of the city as well and there are nice parks and botanical gardens.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Catania has a mediterranean climate with warm, dry and sunny summers and mild but wetter winters. Summes last from late May to September when temperatures are usually around 30 degrees Celsius during the day and just under 20 degrees on average at night. Occasionally though, with winds blowing directly from Africa, temperatures rise steeply and 45 degrees or a little more has been recorded in the past. Nights even can stay above 30 degrees Celsius during these rare occasions!
Winters last from December to February with still mild temperatures of between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius and rather chilly nights of 5 to 8 degrees. This is also the wettest time of year, while summermonths can go by without a single drop of rain.

Getting There

By Plane

Catania-Fontanarossa International Airport is the main gateway to Catania if you are arriving or leaving by plane. Around 25 airlines serve the airport at the moment, though most of them only fly to one or a few cities. Currently, Catania-based Wind Jet has the most flights, including to Barcelona, Madrid, Malta, Milan-Linate, Moscow-Domodedovo, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Parma, Pisa, Rome-Fiumicino, Saint Petersburg, Tel Aviv, Turin, Venice and Verona.
Other airlines include Transavia to Amsterdam, Thomson Airways to London, Brussels Airlines to Brussels, Aer Lingus to Dublin, Air Malta to Geneva, Air Berlin to Berlin, Munich and Zürich, Egyptair to Cairo, Luxor and Sharm el-Sheikh and several more airlines to cities lik Bucharest, Bratislava, Prague, Vienna, Pescara, Genoa and Naples.

By Train

Frequent trains connect Catania with Messina (2 hours), Siracusa (1,5 hours), Palermo (3,5 hours) and Agrigento (4,5 hours).

The Ferrovia Circumetnea train line circles Mount Etna, stopping at the towns and villages on the slopes of this impressive volcano.

By Car

Catania is easily reached from Messina along the A18 autostrada and from Palermo along the A19.

By Bus

Interbus has buses to Siracusa (75 minutes) and Taormina (1,5 hours), while AST offers bus connections througout the immediate region.
SAIS Autolinee has buses to Palermo (2,5 hours), Agrigento (3 hours), Messina (1,5 hours) and even one daily bus to Rome (14 hours).

By Boat

Malta

• Virtu Ferries between Catania and Valetta.

Mainland Italy

• TTT Lines between Napels and Catania.

Sicily

• Tirrenia Ferries between Cagliari and Palermo and Trapani.

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

The first metro line started in 1999 and it is currently active on a route of 3.8 km, from the station Borgo in the north of Catania to the seaport, passing through the stations of Giuffrida, Italia, Galatea, and Central Station. Extensions, including one to the international airport and downtown Catania are planned and soon to be finished and opened.

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of Catania (Italian only)

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post