Visit Catania in Sicily Italy

visit catania in sicilyTo the visitors today’ Catania looks like a new city, from the architectural and plannig point of view, 1963 was the year of this city’s birth, after it was completely destroyed during the Etna eruption, and the earthquake.

Wide straight roads, buildings, and churches, uniform in style, decorations and materials, the coherent use of black “lava”, the volcanic stone from Etna, it all points to an organic project: the definition of “Catanese Baroque“.

You can reach Catania by plane, (Fontanarossa International airport is just 10 minutes away from the city center), by car, or train. The hearth of the city beats in Piazza Duomo, not far from the Ionian Sea, with a view on the Etna.

Inside, the Cathedral has Roman columns, Norman architectures, Renaissance sculptures, and Baroque decorations. Near the Duomo visit Piazza dell’Universita’, and the Elephant fountain, by the artist G.B. Vaccarini (XVII century).

Main street of Catania are: “Via Etnea” and “via vittorio Emanuele”, during the day walk along the elegant and full of shops Via Etnea, then, by night, enjoy the “movida” of Catania.

Enjoy also the typical cuisine: “Pasta alla Norma”, “arancini”, (fried rice balls filled with meat sauce), the sicilian Cassata, (an iced cake), and “granita” for breakfast, classic flavours are coffee, almonds, black mulberry, and lemon.

From Catania you can reach Etna, the highest volcano in Europe, (3,350 metres), up to the “Rifugio sapienza”. In winter, people come here to go skiing, in summer to see the extinct craters, and walking trough the woods surrounded by black lava stone.

Image Flickr Creative Commons license, courtesy by: gnuckx select1