The City of Catania

Catania, located on Sicily’s east coast at the foot of Mount Etna, is the kind of city where you can easily spend several days exploring. Sadly, it was also my final stop in Sicily, which meant my trip was drawing to an end. But first…

I was so relieved to see the sun slanting low across the sky when we arrived from Siracusa late in the afternoon. After we checked in to our centrally located hotel (and after I changed into dry clothes and shoes), our tour leader, Sonia, gave us a quick rundown on her hometown. 

Catania, with a little over 300,000 residents, is Sicily’s second largest city, after Palermo. Palermo is twice as populous as Catania, and a friendly rivalry between the two cities has existed for a long time. Catania takes special pride in its university, which was founded in 1434, making it the oldest in Sicily. Today, it is the main university on the island, and its 60,000 students give the city a distinctly youthful vibe. 

Catania’s history goes back to ancient times. It was founded by Greek settlers in the 8^th century BCE. By the 14^thcentury CE, it had become one of Italy’s most important cultural and political centers. 

Over the centuries, lava flows from Mt. Etna have destroyed large parts of the city on several occasions. On a more positive note, volcanic ash has led to extremely fertile soil that is especially well suited to growing grapes. Much of the city was buried in lava during an eruption of Mt. Etna in 1669. Less than thirty years later, most of the city was destroyed by a major earthquake. As a result, the 1700s were a time of great rebuilding. Catania’s old town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is filled with fine examples of Sicilian Baroque architecture dating from this era. 

We began our exploration of Catania after the sun had set, walking about 10 minutes from our hotel to Al Gabbiano, a restaurant specializing in seafood. The antipasto course alone was more than enough to fill me up. It included marinated anchovies, teeny raw shrimp, fried red mullet, fried little squid rings, octopus, bruschetta with tomatoes, steamed mussels, grilled veggies (eggplant, zucchini, peppers). But I managed to do justice to the main course – swordfish – and dessert – lemon sorbetto before staggering back to the hotel. 

During the night, I once again heard thunder, which didn’t bode well for the following day’s weather. When I pushed the curtains back from the window in the morning, the sky was overcast and rain looked imminent. The athletic shoes I’d worn in Siracusa were still sodden. After the fact, I realized it would have made more sense to wear sandals in the rain, as feet dry faster than shoes. The jeans I’d worn in Siracusa were still squeezed into the strange contraption attached to the wall of my hotel room. At first, I thought it was some kind of torture device but a fellow traveler identified as a pants press. 

  

Regardless of the weather, I was eager to get a closer look at Catania in the daylight. 

Sonia led us first to the Fera o’Luni market in the Piazza Carlo Alberto. I could have spent hours wandering through this sprawling fruit and vegetable market. I didn’t buy anything but I took lots of photos of the picturesque produce. 

Soon we were on our way to meet our local guide at the Piazza dei Stesicoro. This busy piazza is situated just off the Via Etnea, Catania’s wide main shopping street. 

A monument to native son Vincenzo Bellini, the 19^th century opera composer, stands on the east side of the piazza. And in case you’re wondering, the composer is not associated with the Bellini cocktail. That honor belongs to the 15^th century Venetian painter, Giovanni Bellini.

 

In the Piazza Stesicoro - look for a picture of the Bellini monument in a future post.

On the other side of the piazza, you can see the partially excavated remains of a Roman amphitheater. It’s built of black volcanic stone although the seats for the rich were made of white marble. According to Sonia, this black and white color scheme has dominated Catania’s architecture through the centuries. 

The amphitheater is directly in front of the Church of St. Blaise, aka the Church of Saint Agatha at the Furnace. The original structure was built in 1098 but the church was rebuilt in the 18^th century.  Saint Agatha is Catania’s patron saint, and the church stands on the site where she was burned to death after being tortured by having her breasts cut off for refusing to give up her Christian faith and accept the marriage proposal of a Roman prefect. 

From the Piazza Stesicoro, we walked south on Via Etnea, passing the Basilica Collegiata, which houses a lavishly decorated silver carriage known as a fercolo. It is used to transport a statue of St. Agatha during the annual procession honoring the saint.  Over a million people show up to follow the day-long procession through the various neighborhoods of the city. 

Shops in former palazzos on Via Etnea 

I'll give you a look inside in a later post.

Although it was the wrong time of year for the procession, Sonia got us into the spirit by treating us to minni di Sant’Agata. These breast-shaped pastries, covered with white icing and topped with candied cherries, are a specialty of Catania. 

A few steps down Via Etnea brought us to the Piazza Universita. Ornate 18^th century palaces, now used by the university, stand on either side of the piazza. In the summer months, crowds congregate in the piazza for outdoor concerts and other events. 

In Piazza Universita

Continuing down Via Etnea, we soon reached Catania’s main square, the Piazza del Duomo. Architectural masterpieces in the Sicilian Baroque style surround the square. In the center of the piazza stands the elephant fountain, a city landmark and the emblem of Catania. No one knows exactly when the black lava stone elephant, known as “Liotru,” was made. However, it became the official symbol of the city in the year 1239. In the 1730s, the elephant statue was placed at the center of the fountain in the Piazza del Duomo with an obelisk poised on its back. This may have been inspired by Bernini’s 1667 sculpture of an elephant that’s the base for an ancient obelisk in Rome. 

The elephant faces Catania’s cathedral, or Duomo. This imposing structure, built by the Normans and dedicated to St. Agatha, dominates the eastern side of piazza. It sits on the remains of a Roman spa and was partially renovated in the 18^th century. I have some photos of the Duomo (exterior and interior) that I'll put in a later post. 

Just a few steps from the Piazza del Duomo is Catania’s famous fish market. I inhaled a clean briny smell as we walked past the fish stalls, with their tubs of octopus and squid, and displays of swordfish, tuna, and silvery varieties I couldn’t identify. 

Slicing fresh tuna

In the same area, you could buy parsley and garlic (to use when cooking your fish) as well as freshly grilled artichokes.

Since I couldn’t buy any fish, I limited my purchases to half a kilo of dried tomatoes, which just have to be rehydrated in olive oil now that I’m home. 

After a busy morning touring the city, we spent a fascinating afternoon at Casa di Maria, a home about 45 minutes outside Catania that was founded by a Sicilian couple to provide foster care for local orphans and young refugees in 2013. Around this time, there was a huge increase in the smuggling of migrants into Sicily from North Africa. Many of the migrants were young girls from sub-Saharan Africa whose families had been tricked by human traffickers into paying to send their daughters to Europe where they would supposedly receive an education. The girls arrived with no documents and were at the mercy of the smugglers. 

The couple, both of whom are artists, currently have 10 foster children, ranging in age from 1 to 18, living with them. In addition, the household includes their own children and grandchildren, plus a couple of volunteers from different countries. The exact address of Casa di Maria is kept secret, in order to protect the children. The sprawling house is located on the slopes of Mt. Etna, is surrounded by three acres of terraced vineyards. They grow grapes, make wine, and generate additional income by operating a restaurant and catering service. 

After we shared lunch with the family, we spoke with a young woman, a Nigerian refugee, who eventually escaped from the abusive smuggler who brought her to Sicily. For the past year, she has lived in safety at Casa di Maria and now attends school in the nearby town of Biancavilla.  You can read more about Casa di Maria at their website: www.casadimaria.org

An unexpected highlight of our stay in Catania was a visit to the World War II Museum. The mission of the museum is to tell the story of Operation Husky, the Allied drive to liberate Europe starting with their landing in Sicily in July 1943. 89,000 American and 100,000 British combatants took part in the campaign, which lasted only 39 days. Once the Allies liberated Sicily, Italy switched sides in the war and about 25,000 Italians were killed while fighting for the Allies. A guide took us through the very interesting exhibits and multi-media installations, including an air raid shelter where we experienced a simulated (but frighteningly realistic) bombing raid.  

This is what we saw when we exited the bomb shelter.

Map showing locations of Allied landings

There was plenty to see – and to eat – in Catania. We quickly discovered Via Filomena, a delightful pedestrian street devoted to restaurants. I came here for dinner on more than one occasion and always enjoyed dining al fresco under the twinkling lights. The street gets very crowded in the evening so I always tried to arrive early, i.e. by 7:30pm. At Caffe Curtigghiu, I had no trouble deciding to order the spaghetti with seafood (mussels and tiny clams), especially after seeing the fish market up close. 

With fellow travelers Francine and Ky

On a different evening, at another Via Filomena restaurant called FUD, it took some time to decipher the menu because all the spelling was completely phonetic. Finally, I chose a Uoscinton (if you’re Italian, you would pronounce that as Washington) salad, a huge bowl of arugula, tomatoes, green olives, potatoes, raisins, pine nuts and mackerel, drizzled with a vinaigrette of local thyme honey and olive oil. And I couldn’t resist starting the meal with that Sicilian street food favorite, panelle (fried squares of chickpea flour dough). 

And of course, I took advantage of the ample opportunities to stop on Via Etnea for delicious gelato – which reminds me that in my next post, I’ll tell you about our trip to Mount Etna to get a close up look at the famous volcano that looms over Catania.