Catania
Catania is the second largest city of
Sicily and is the capital of the
province which bears its name. With some 306,000 inhabitants (750,000 in the metropolitan area) it has the second highest population density on the island. The city's
patron saint is
Saint Agata.
|
Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square) in Catania. |
Catania is located on the east coast of the island, half way between
Messina and
Siracusa and is at the foot of the active volcano
Mount Etna.
It was founded in the 8th century BC by
Greek colonizers from
Chalcis in
Euboea led by Euarchos. Initially called Ætna, after the volcano, the city was later known as
Katane (see also
List of traditional Greek place names). It was extensively destroyed by
earthquakes in 1169 and 1693 and by lava flows which ran over and around it into the sea. The first
Sicilian university was founded there in
1434.
|
u Liotru is the city's symbol. |
Roman Age
The city has been buried by lava a total of seven times in recorded history, and in layers under the present day city are the
Roman city that preceded it, and the Greek city before that.
|
The Baroque interior of the church of St. Benedict. |
Much of the ancient monuments of the Roman city have been destroyed by the numerous earthquakes. Currently, remains of the following buildings can be seen:
*The
Theater (2nd century)
*The
Amphitheater (2nd century)
*The
Odeon (3rd century CE)
Also the so-called
u Liotru, symbol of the city, is probably from Roman times: it is a manufact in lava stone portraying an elephant and surmounted by an obelisk. The names is perhaps a deformation of
Heliodorus. A similar sculpture is in
Piazza Santa Maria della Minerva in
Rome.
Baroque churches and palaces
*The
Cathedral (
Duomo)
*The
Badia of St. Agatha*
Sant'Agata la Vetere*
Sant'Agata alla Fornace*
St. Francis, housing the mortal remains of
Eleanor of Sicily*
St. Benedict*
Basilica Collegiata (early 18th century). It is on the Latin cross plan with a nave and two aisles. The high altar has a
Madonna icon, probably of Russian manufacture.
*
Biscari Palace*
Elephants Palace*
Reburdone Palace*Benedictine monastery of
San Nicolò l'Arena*
Villa CeramiOthers
*The
Castello Ursino, built by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in the 13th century.
*The church of
Santa Maria del Gesù (16th century)
*The
Porta Ferdinandea, a
triumphal arch erected in
1768 to celebrate the marriage of
Ferdinand I of Two Sicilies and
Marie Caroline of Austria.
Under the city runs the river Amenano, visible in just one point, on the south side of Piazza Duomo.
In the late
1980s and
1990s Catania had a unique popular music scene with local radio stations. As a result of these idiosyncratic and regional radio stations Catania boasted a youth culture in which
indie pop and
indie rock from lesser known international bands like. As a result of the eclectic taste in
indie pop and
indie rock Catania has been the birthplace of a number of dynamic and unusual
independent music record labels.
The natives of Catania include
Vincenzo Bellini, a composer. An opera house, the
Teatro Massimo Bellini is named after him and a museum exists on the site of his birth.
The city is the home of
Amatori Catania rugby union team, and
Calcio Catania football team.
Catania has a commercial seaport in the city, an international airport (
Catania Fontanarossa) to the South, a central train station (
Catania Centrale) on the main lines
Messina-
Syracuse, Catania-
Gela and Catania-
Palermo, as well as the privately-owned small-gauge
Circumetnea railway which runs for 110 km from Catania round the base of Mount Etna, attaining the height of 976 m above sea level before descending to rejoin the coast at
Giarre-
Riposto to the North. In the late 1990s/early 2000s the
first line of an underground railway was built, but never completed, under the city, extending the
Circumetnea from its stop on the north side of town to the Central Railway Station on the southeast.
This article incorporates some information taken from http://www.hostkingdom.net/ with permission. Other material is translated from the Italian wikipedia site.
