![MonumentoBelliniCT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/MonumentoBelliniCT.jpg)
Catania (, ,
Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
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, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, after
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by the presence of important road and rail transport infrastructures as well as by the main airport in Sicily, fifth in Italy. It is located on Sicily's east coast, at the base of the active volcano,
Mount Etna
Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...
, and it faces the
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...
. It is the capital of the 58-municipality region known as the
Metropolitan City of Catania
The Metropolitan City of Catania ( it, Città metropolitana di Catania) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Sicily, southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania. It replaced the Province of Catania and comprises the city o ...
, which is the seventh-largest metropolitan city in Italy. The population of the city proper is 311,584,
[ while the population of the ]Metropolitan City of Catania
The Metropolitan City of Catania ( it, Città metropolitana di Catania) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Sicily, southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania. It replaced the Province of Catania and comprises the city o ...
is 1,107,702.[
Catania was founded in the 8th century BC by Chalcidian Greeks.] The city has weathered multiple geologic catastrophes: it was almost completely destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake in 1169
Year 1169 ( MCLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Late Summer – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) sends an embassy to Egypt to ...
. A major eruption and lava flow from nearby Mount Etna
Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...
nearly swamped the city in 1669 and it suffered severe devastation from the 1693 Sicily earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7. ...
.
During the 14th century, and into the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
period, Catania was one of Italy's most important cultural, artistic and political centres. It was the site of Sicily's first university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, 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
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania".
Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...
and Giovanni Pacini
Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fami ...
, and the writers Giovanni Verga
Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria ...
, Luigi Capuana
Luigi Capuana (May 28, 1839 – November 29, 1915) was an Italian author and journalist and one of the most important members of the ''verist'' movement (see also ''verismo'' (literature)). He was a contemporary of Giovanni Verga, both having ...
, Federico De Roberto
Federico De Roberto (16 January 1861 – 26 July 1927) was an Italian writer, who became well known for his historical novel (1894), translated as ''The Viceroys''.
Biography
De Roberto was born in Naples and began his writing career as a jou ...
and Nino Martoglio
Nino Martoglio (Belpasso, Paternò, 3 December 1870 — Catania, 15 September 1921) was an Italy, Italian writer, publisher, journalist and producer of theatrical works. He wrote mostly in Sicilian language, Sicilian and likewise, his theatrical w ...
.
Catania today is the industrial, logistical, and commercial center 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
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...
, prompted after the 1693 earthquake, and is a UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
Etymology
The ancient indigenous population
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of the Sicels
The Sicels (; la, Siculi; grc, Σικελοί ''Sikeloi'') were an Italic tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. Their neighbours to the west were the Sicani. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, bu ...
named their villages after geographical attributes of their location. The Sicilian word, ''katane'', means "grater, flaying knife, skinning place" or a "crude tool apt to pare". Other translations of the name are "harsh lands", "uneven ground", "sharp stones", or "rugged or rough soil". The latter etymologies are easily justifiable since, for many centuries following an eruption, the city has always been rebuilt within its black-lava landscape.
Around 263 BC, the city was variously known as ''Catĭna'' () and ''Catăna'' (; grc, Κατάνη ). The former has been primarily used for its supposed assonance with ''catina'', the Latin feminization of the name ''catinus''. ''Catinus'' has two meanings: "a gulf, a basin or a bay" and "a bowl, a vessel or a trough", thanks to the city's distinctive topography.
Around 900, when Catania was part of the emirate of Sicily
The Emirate of Sicily ( ar, إِمَارَة صِقِلِّيَة, ʾImārat Ṣiqilliya) was an Islamic kingdom that ruled the island of Sicily from 831 to 1091. Its capital was Palermo (Arabic: ''Balarm''), which during this period became a ...
, it was known in Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
as ''Balad al-fīl'' () and ''Madīnat al-fīl'' (), respectively meaning "the Village (or Country) of the Elephant" and "the City of the Elephant". The Elephant likely referred to the ancient lava sculpture, now placed over the fountain in Piazza Duomo. The sculpture is most likely a prehistoric sculpture that was reforged during the Byzantine Era, prized as a protective talisman against enemies, both human, natural or geologic. Another Arab toponym was ''Qaṭāniyyah'' (), allegedly from the Arabic word for the " leguminous plants". Pulses like lentil
The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...
s, beans, peas, broad beans
''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Variet ...
, and lupin
''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...
s were chiefly cultivated in the plains around the city well before the arrival of Aghlabid
The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a cen ...
s. Afterwards, many Arabic agronomists developed these crops and the citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
orchards in the area around the city. The toponym ''Wādī Mūsá'' (), or "the Valley of Moses" (from the Arabic name of the Simeto
The Simeto (; scn, Simetu; la, Symaethus; el, Σύμαιθος) is a long river in Sicily, southern Italy. At , it is the second longest river on the island after the Salso (also known as Southern Imera), but the most important in terms of wat ...
River), was rarely used.
Geography
As observed by Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
, the location of Catania at the foot of Mount Etna
Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...
has been both a curse and a blessing. On the one hand, violent outbursts of the volcano throughout history have destroyed large parts of the city, while on the other hand the volcanic ashes yield fertile soil, especially suited for the growth of vines. (Strab. vi. p. 269)
Two subterranean river
A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth. It is distinct from an aquifer, which may flow like a river but is contained within a per ...
s run under the city; the Amenano, which surfaces at one single point south of Piazza Duomo, and the Longane (or Lognina).
Climate
The Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
subtype for this climate is "Csa
CSA may refer to:
Arts and media
* Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
* Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics
* Crime Syndicate of Amer ...
" (Mediterranean Climate). It has hot summers, one of the hottest in the whole country of Italy (a feature characterising nearly every month). Temperatures of are surpassed almost every year a couple of times.
Winters are mild with chilly nights (not rare peaks around ) . Most of precipitation is concentrated from October to March, leaving late spring and summer virtually dry (some years there is no rain for 3–4 months). The city receives around of rain per year, although the amount can vary greatly from year to year (wettest over , driest under ,).
During winter nights lows can occasionally go under . Highs under may happen during winter. Snow, due to the presence of Etna that protects the city from the northern winds, is an uncommon occurrence, but occasional snow flurries have been seen over the recent years especially in the hilly districts, more substantial in the northern hinterland. More recently, light snowfalls occurred on 9 February 2015, 6 January 2017 and 5 January 2019, but the last heavy snowfall dates back to 17 December 1988.
Demographics
In January 2015, there were 315,601 people residing in Catania,[ of whom 47.2% were male and 52.8% were female. Minors (people under age 18) totalled 20.50 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 18.87 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners).
The average age of Catania residents is 41 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Catania declined by 3.35 percent, while ]Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
as a whole grew by 3.85 percent.[ The reason for this ]population decline
A population decline (also sometimes called underpopulation, depopulation, or population collapse) in humans is a reduction in a human population size. Over the long term, stretching from prehistory to the present, Earth's total human population ...
in the ''comune'' di Catania is mainly due to a large segment of the population leaving the city centre to go to live in the uptown residential areas of the ''comuni'' of the Metropolitan area. As a result of this, while the population in the ''comune'' di Catania declines, the population of the hinterland ''comuni'' increases making the overall population of the Metropolitan area increase.[
The current ]birth rate
The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
of Catania is 10.07 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. , 98.03% of the population was Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
. The largest immigrant groups come from Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
: 0.69%, South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
: 0.46%, and from other Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an countries (particularly from Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
): 0.33%. There is currently a small community of Samaritans from Israel.
History
Foundation
Around 729 BC, the ancient village of ''Katane'' was occupied by Chalcidian Greek settlers from nearby Naxos
Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...
along the coast. It became the Chalcidian colony of ''Katánē'' under a leader named Euarchos (Euarchus) and the native population was rapidly Hellenised
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek Greek culture, culture, Religion in Greece, religion, Greek language, language and Ethnic identity, identity by non-Greeks. In the Ancient Greece, ancient ...
.
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
states that it came into existence slightly later than Leontini (modern Lentini
Lentini ( scn, Lintini, historically Liuntini; la, Leontīnī; grc, Λεοντῖνοι) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, South East of Sicily (Southern Italy).
History
The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 72 ...
), which he claims was five years after Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
* Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Miss ...
, or 730 BC.
The settlement's acropolis was on the hill of Monte Vergine, a defensible hill immediately west of the current city centre. The port of Catania appears to have been much frequented in ancient time and was the chief place of export for the corn of the rich neighbouring plains.
Greek Catania
Catania was associated with the ancient legend of Amphinomos and Anapias, who, on occasion of a great eruption of Etna, abandoned all their property and carried off their aged parents on their shoulders. The stream of lava itself was said to have parted, and flowed aside so as not to harm them. Statues were erected to their honour, and the place of their burial was known as the ''Campus Piorum''; the Catanaeans even introduced the figures of the youths on their coins, and the legend became a favorite subject of allusion and declamation among the Latin poets
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
, of whom the younger Lucilius
The gens Lucilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The most famous member of this gens was the poet Gaius Lucilius, who flourished during the latter part of the second century BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vo ...
and Claudian
Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost ent ...
have dwelt upon it at considerable length.
The Greek polis of Catania appears to have been a local center of learning. The philosopher and legislator Charondas
Charondas ( grc-gre, Χαρώνδας) was a celebrated lawgiver of Catania in Sicily. It is uncertain when he lived; some identify him as a pupil of Pythagoras (c. 580 – 504 BC), but all that can be said is that he lived earlier tha ...
(late 6th c. BC), born in Catania, putatively wrote program of laws used here and in other Chalcidic cities, both in Sicily and through Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...
. suggesting a link between Catania and other cities during this time. The poets Ibycus
Ibycus (; grc-gre, Ἴβυκος; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, a citizen of Rhegium in Magna Graecia, probably active at Samos during the reign of the tyrant Polycrates and numbered by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria in the canonic ...
and Stesichorus
Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abou ...
(–555 BC) lived in Catania. The latter putatively was buried in a magnificent sepulchre outside one of the gates, therefore named ''Porta Stesichoreia''. Xenophanes
Xenophanes of Colophon (; grc, Ξενοφάνης ὁ Κολοφώνιος ; c. 570 – c. 478 BC) was a Greek philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φ ...
(-475 BC), one of the founders of the Eleatic
The Eleatics were a group of pre-Socratic philosophers in the 5th century BC centered around the ancient Italian Greek colony of Elea ( grc, Ἐλέα), located in present-day Campania in southern Italy.
The primary philosophers who are associat ...
school of philosophy, also spent the latter years of his life in the city. The first introduction of dancing to accompany the flute was also ascribed to Andron
Andron ( grc, Ἄνδρων) is the name of a number of different people in classical antiquity:
*Andron of Alexandria, a writer whose work entitled ''The Years'' (Χρονικὰ) is referred to by Athenaeus around the late 2nd century BCE.
* of ...
, a citizen of Catania.
Catania appears to have remained independent until the conquest by the despot Hieron of Syracuse
Hieron I ( el, Ἱέρων Α΄; usually Latinized Hiero) was the son of Deinomenes, the brother of Gelon and tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily from 478 to 467 BC. In succeeding Gelon, he conspired against a third brother, Polyzelos.
Life
During his ...
; in 476 BC, he expelled all the original inhabitants of Catania and replaced them with his subjects from the town of Leontini – said to have numbered no less than 10,000, consisting partly of Syracusans and Peloponnesians. Hieron changed the city's name to (''Aítnē'', Aetna or Ætna, after the nearby Mount Etna
Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...
, and proclaimed himself the Oekist
The ''oikistes'' ( gr, οἰκιστής), often anglicized as oekist or oecist, was the individual chosen by an ancient Greek polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancien ...
or founder of the new city. For this he was celebrated by Pindar
Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...
, and after his death he received heroic honours from the citizens of his new colony.
A few years after the death of Hieron and the expulsion of Thrasybulus of Syracuse
Thrasybulus ( el, Θρασύβουλος) was a tyrant who ruled Syracuse for eleven months during 466 and 465 BC. He was a member of the Deinomenid family and the brother of the previous tyrant Hiero, who seized power in Syracuse by convincin ...
, the Syracusans combined with Ducetius
Ducetius ( grc, Δουκέτιος) (died 440 BCE) was a Hellenized leader of the Sicels and founder of a united Sicilian state and numerous cities.LiviusDucetius of Sicily Retrieved on 25 April 2006. It is thought he may have been born around th ...
, king of the Sicels
The Sicels (; la, Siculi; grc, Σικελοί ''Sikeloi'') were an Italic tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. Their neighbours to the west were the Sicani. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, bu ...
, to expel the newly settled inhabitants of Catania, who went on to settle in the fortress of Inessa (to which they gave the name Aetna). The old Chalcidic citizens returned to the city in 461 BC.
The period that followed appears to have been one of great prosperity for Catania, as well as for the Sicilian cities in general.
In 415 BC, Catania became involved with the expedition to Sicily pursued by the Athenians
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
to punish Syracuse. Initially the Catanaeans refused to allow the Athenians into their city, but after the latter had forced an entrance, the Athenian leader Alcibiades
Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in t ...
made a famous speech in front of the assembly. Catania became an ally, and the headquarters of the Athenian army for the first year of the expedition, and a base of their subsequent operations against Syracuse. After the defeat of the Athenians, Catania was again threatened by Syracuse. In 403 BC, Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder ( 432 – 367 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in Sicily. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Gr ...
plundered the city, sold its citizens as slaves, and repopulated the town with Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
n mercenaries. However, the Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
would take possession of Catania under Himilco
Himilco was a Carthaginian navigator and explorer who lived during the late 6th or early 5th century BC, a period of time where Carthage held significant sway over its neighboring regions.
Himilco is the first known explorer from the Mediterranea ...
and Mago, after the nearby great naval Battle of Catana (397 BC) where they defeated Leptines of Syracuse Leptines ( grc-gre, Λεπτίνης; died 375 BC) was a military leader from Syracuse, Sicily, active during his brother, Dionysius the Elder's wars. He showed bravery in the fights against Carthage and mercy with the Thurians.
Biography
Leptine ...
, and in 396 BC forcing the local Campanian mercenaries to relocate to Aetna
Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...
.
Calippus, the assassin of Dion of Syracuse
Dion (; el, Δίων ὁ Συρακόσιος; 408–354 BC), tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily, was the son of Hipparinus, and brother-in-law of Dionysius I of Syracuse. A disciple of Plato, he became Dionysius I's most trusted minister and advis ...
, held Catania for a time (Plut. ''Dion.'' 58); and when Timoleon
Timoleon (Ancient Greek language, Greek: wikt:Τιμολέων, Τιμολέων), son of Timodemus, of Ancient Corinth, Corinth (c. 411–337 BC) was a Greek statesman and general.
As a brilliant general, a champion of Greece against Anci ...
landed in Sicily in 344 BC Catania was subject to the despot Mamercus who at first joined the Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
leader, but afterwards abandoned this allegiance for that of the Carthaginians. As a consequence he was attacked and expelled by Timoleon in 338 BC.
Catania was now restored to a fragile independence; changing sides during the wars starting in 311 BC of Agathocles of Syracuse
Agathocles ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθοκλῆς, ''Agathoklḗs''; 361–289 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse (317–289 BC) and self-styled king of Sicily (304–289 BC).
Biography
Agathocles was born at Thermae Himeraeae (modern n ...
with the Carthaginians. When Pyrrhus landed in Sicily in 278 BC, Catania was the first to open its gates to him, and welcomed him with great splendor.
Roman rule
During the First Punic War
The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...
, Catania was one of the first cities of Sicily to submit to the Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
after their first successes in 263 BC when it was taken by Valerius Messalla. A sundial was part of the booty which was placed in the Comitium
The Comitium ( it, Comizio) was the original open-air public meeting space of Ancient Rome, and had major religious and prophetic significance. The name comes from the Latin word for "assembly". The Comitium location at the northwest corner of the ...
in Rome. Since then the city became a ''civitas decumana'' i.e. was subject to the payment of a tenth of its agricultural income as a tax to Rome. The conqueror of Syracuse, Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC), five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War. Marcellus gained the most prestigious award a Roma ...
, built a gymnasium here.
It appears to have continued afterwards to maintain its friendly relations with Rome and though it did not enjoy the advantages of a confederate city (''foederata civitas''), like its neighbours Tauromenium (modern Taormina
Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...
) and Messana (modern Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
), it rose to a position of great prosperity under the Roman rule.
Around 135 BC during the First Servile War
The First Servile War of 135–132 BC was a slave rebellion against the Roman Republic, which took place in Sicily. The revolt started in 135 when Eunus, a slave from Syria who claimed to be a prophet, captured the city of Enna in the middle o ...
, it was conquered by rebel slaves.
One of the most serious eruptions
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...
of Mount Etna
Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...
happened in 121 BC, when a great part of Catania was overwhelmed by streams of lava, and the hot ashes fell in such quantities in the city itself, as to break in the roofs of the houses. Catana was in consequence exempted, for 10 years, from its usual contributions to the Roman state. The greater part of the broad tract of plain to the southwest of Catana (now called the ''Piana di Catania'', a district of great fertility), appears to have belonged, in ancient times
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...
, to Leontini or Centuripa (modern Centuripe
Centuripe (Latin: Centuripae; Sicilian: Centorbi) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Enna (Sicily, southern Italy). The city is from Enna in the hill country between the Rivers Dittaìno and Salso.
The economy is mostly based on agricu ...
), but that portion of it between Catana itself and the mouth of the Symaethus was annexed to Catana and must have furnished abundant supplies of grain.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
repeatedly mentions it as, in his time, a wealthy and flourishing city; it retained its ancient municipal institutions, its chief magistrate
Chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admini ...
bearing the title of ''Proagorus''; and appears to have been one of the principal ports of Sicily for the export of corn.
In the Sicilian revolt Sicilian revolt can refer to a number of military conflicts involving Sicily, including:
*First Servile War (135–132 BC) against Roman rule.
*Second Servile War (104-100 BC) against Roman rule.
*Sicilian Vespers (1282) against Angevin rule and the ...
from 44 BC Sextus Pompeius
Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the last ...
selected Sicily as his base and Catania gave in to Sextus' revolt and joined his forces. Sextus amassed a formidable army and a large fleet of warships at his base at Messana
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 in ...
, with many slaves joining from the villas of patricians. After the victory of Augustus in 36 BC much of the vast farmland in Sicily was either ruined or left empty, and much of this land was taken and distributed to members of the legions which had fought there. Catania suffered severely from the ravages but was afterwards one of the cities raised to the status of colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
by Augustus which restored its prosperity through the settlement of veterans, so that in Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
's time it was one of the few cities in the island that was flourishing.
Another revolt led by the gladiator Selurus in 35 BC created mayhem for a while.
The Roman aqueduct of Catania was the longest in Roman Sicily at 24 km length starting from the springs of Santa Maria di Licodia.
It retained its colonial rank, as well as its prosperity, throughout the period of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
; so that in the 4th century Ausonius
Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him. H ...
in his '' Ordo Nobilium Urbium'', notices Catania and Syracuse alone among the cities of Sicily.
Middle Ages
Catania was sacked by the Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
of Gaiseric
Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the diff ...
in 440–441. After a period under the Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
, it was reconquered in 535 by the Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, under which (aside from a short period in 550–555) it remained until the 9th century. It was the seat of the Byzantine governor of the island.
Catania was under an Islamic emirate
An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
for two centuries, after which it fell to the Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
of Roger I of Sicily
Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Roger Bosso and The Great, was a Norman nobleman who became the first Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was a member of the H ...
. Subsequently, the city was ruled by a bishop-count (1072). In 1194–1197 the city was sacked by German soldiers during after the conquest of the island by emperor Henry VI. In 1232 it rebelled to the former's son, Frederick II, who later built a massive castle, ''Castello Ursino
Castello Ursino ( scn, Casteddu Ursinu, lit=Bear Castle), also known as Castello Svevo di Catania, is a castle in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It was built in the 13th century as a royal castle of the Kingdom of Sicily, and is mostly known fo ...
'' and also made Catania a royal city, ending the dominance of the bishops. Catania was one of the main centers of the Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of S ...
revolt (1282) against the House of Anjou
Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to:
* County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France
** Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou
** Counts and Dukes of Anjou
*House of Ingelger, a Fra ...
, and was the seat of the incoronation of the new Aragonese king of Sicily, Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
. In the 14th century it gained importance as it was chosen by the Aragonese as a Parliament and Royal seat. Here, in 1347, it was signed the treaty of peace that ended the long War of the Vesper
The War of the Sicilian Vespers or just War of the Vespers was a conflict that started with the insurrection of the Sicilian Vespers against Charles of Anjou in 1282 and ended in 1302 with the Peace of Caltabellotta. It was fought in Sicily, C ...
between Aragonese and Angevines. Catania lost its capital role when, in the early 15th century, Sicily was turned into a member of the Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
, and kept its autonomy and original privileges specially during the period from 1282 to 1410.
In 1434 King Alfonso V founded here the ''Siciliae Studium Generale'', the oldest university in the island.
Early modern times
With the unification of Castile and Aragon (early 16th century), Sicily became part of the Spanish Empire. It rebelled against the foreign government in 1516 and 1647.
In 1669 the city's surroundings suffered great material damage from the 1669 Etna eruption
Events January–March
* January 2 – Pirate Henry Morgan of Wales holds a meeting of his captains on board his ship, the former Royal Navy frigate ''Oxford'', and an explosion in the ship's gunpowder supply kills 200 of his crew an ...
. The city itself was largely saved by its walls that diverted most of the lava into the port. Afterwards, in 1693 the city was nearly completely destroyed by a heavy 1693 Sicily earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7. ...
and its aftershocks. The city was then rebuilt in the Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...
that nowadays characterizes it.
Unified Italy
Catania was one of the vanguards of the movement for Sicilian autonomy in the early 19th century.
In 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
's expedition of the Thousand
The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Ma ...
conquered Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
for Piedmont from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
. Since the following year Catania was part of the newly unified Italy, whose history it shares since then.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Catania was heavily bombed by the Allied air forces, owing to the presence of two of the main Axis airfields in Sicily ( Gerbini and Fontanarossa) and for its strategically important port and marshalling yard
A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ya ...
. Altogether, the city suffered eighty-seven air raids. The heaviest took place in the spring and summer of 1943, before and during the Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...
; they caused heavy damage to the city (among others, twenty-eight churches and most historic palaces suffered damage), killed 750 inhabitants and prompted most of the population to flee to the countryside. After heavy fighting across eastern Sicily, Catania was eventually captured by the British 8th Army
The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces ...
on 5 August 1943.
After the conflict, and the constitution of the Italian Republic
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(1946), Catania attempted to catch up with the economic and social development of Italy's richer northern regions. The problems faced in Catania were emblematic of those faced by other towns in the Mezzogiorno
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion A macroregion is a geopolitical subdivision that encompasses several traditionally or politically defined regions or countries. The meaning ...
, namely a heavy gap in industrial development and infrastructures, and the threat of the mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
. This notwithstanding, during the 1960s (and partly during the 1990s) Catania enjoyed development and a period of economic, social, and cultural success. In the first decade of the 21st century, Catania's economic and social development somewhat faltered and the city is again facing economic and social stagnation. This was aggravated by the economic crisis left by the Forza Italia
Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
administration of mayor Scapagnini in 2008.
Administrative divisions
Metropolitan City
The Metropolitan City of Catania
The Metropolitan City of Catania ( it, Città metropolitana di Catania) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Sicily, southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania. It replaced the Province of Catania and comprises the city o ...
was established in 2015 and replaced the former Province of Catania
The Province of Catania ( it, Provincia di Catania; scn, Pruvincia di Catania) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1, ...
. It includes the city proper and 57 ''comuni'' (municipalities). The population of the Metropolitan City is 1,107,702.[
]
Metropolitan area
The Metropolitan area of Catania includes the ''comune'' of Catania (311,584 inhabitants[) and 26 surrounding ''comuni'' forming an urban belt (498,650 inhabitants][). The total population of the Metropolitan area of Catania is therefore 810,234. The ''comuni'' of the Metropolitan area are:
* ]Aci Bonaccorsi
Aci Bonaccorsi ( scn, Jaci Bonaccossi) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northeast of Catania.
Aci Bonaccorsi borders the following ...
* Aci Castello
Aci Castello ( scn, Jaci Casteḍḍu) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, Italy. The city is located north of Catania on the Mediterranean coast. The primary economic sectors are agriculture and industry (in Catania). ...
* Aci Catena
Aci Catena ( scn, Jaci Catina) is a town and ''comune'' in Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy.
Main sights
Among the churches in town are the Santuario Maria Santissima della Catena and Santa Lucia.
Twin towns
* Ceuta, Spai ...
* Aci Sant'Antonio
Aci Sant'Antonio ( scn, Jaci Sant'Antoniu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region of Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northeast of Catania.
The ''frazione'' of Santa Ma ...
* Acireale
Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...
* Belpasso
Belpasso ( scn, Malupassu, Marpassu or Mappassu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Catania. Belpasso is the second biggest ...
* Biancavilla
Biancavilla () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is located between the towns of Adrano and S. Maria di Licodia, northwest of Catania. The town was founded and historically inhabited by the ...
* Camporotondo Etneo
Camporotondo Etneo ( scn, Campurutunnu Etneu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Catania.
Camporotondo Etneo borders t ...
* Catania
* Gravina di Catania
Gravina di Catania is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania.
Gravina di Catania borders the following municipalities: Cata ...
* Mascalucia
Mascalucia ( Sicilian: ''Mascalucìa'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania.
Mascalucia borders the following municipal ...
* Misterbianco
Misterbianco ( scn, Mustariancu; lat-med, Monasterium Album, lit=White Monastery' or 'White Minster) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about w ...
* Motta Sant'Anastasia
Motta Sant'Anastasia () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about west of Catania.
Geography
Motta Sant'Anastasia borders the following ...
* Nicolosi
Nicolosi ( scn, Niculùsi) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Catania.
Nicolosi borders the following municipalities: Adra ...
* Paternò
Paternò ( scn, Patennò) is a southern Italian town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. With a population (2016) of 48,009, it is the third municipality of the province after Catania and Acireale.
Geography
Paternò ...
* Pedara
Pedara ( scn, Pirara) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania.
Pedara borders the municipalities of Mascalucia, Nicolosi, ...
* Ragalna
Ragalna is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Catania.
Points of interest include the Giardino Botanico "Nuova Gussonea", a bot ...
* San Giovanni la Punta
San Giovanni la Punta ( Sicilian: ''San Giuvanni la Punta'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northeast of Catania.
San Giovanni la ...
* San Gregorio di Catania
San Gregorio di Catania ( Sicilian: ''San Grigoriu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northeast of Catania.
San Gregorio di Catania ...
* San Pietro Clarenza
San Pietro Clarenza ( Sicilian: ''San Petru Clarenza'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Catania.
San Pietro Clarenza b ...
* Sant'Agata li Battiati
Sant'Agata li Battiati ( Sicilian: ''Sant'Àita li Vattiati'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located very near to Catania.
Sant'Agata li Battiati borders the following municipal ...
* Santa Maria di Licodia
Santa Maria di Licodia ( Sicilian: ''Santa Marìa di Licuddìa '') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, eastern Sicily, southern Italy.
History
Santa Maria di Licodia occupies traditionally the site of the ancient ''Aet ...
* Santa Venerina
Santa Venerina ( Sicilian: ''Santa Vinirina'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northeast of Catania.
Santa Venerina borders the foll ...
* Trecastagni
Trecastagni ( scn, Triccastagni) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania.
Trecastagni borders the following municipaliti ...
* Tremestieri Etneo
Tremestieri Etneo ( scn, Trimmisteri) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania.
Tremestieri Etneo borders the following mun ...
* Valverde
* Viagrande
Viagrande ( Sicilian: ''Varanni'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania. Viagrande is from the summit of Mount Etna, which ...
* Zafferana Etnea
Zafferana Etnea (; scn, Zafarana ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania.
The municipality of Zafferana Etnea contains the ...
These ''comuni'' form a system with the centre of Catania sharing its economical and social life and creating an organic urban texture.
City proper
The city of Catania proper (''comune di Catania'') is divided in six administrative areas called ''circoscrizioni''. The current administrative setup was established in 2013, modifying previous setups dating back to 1971, 1978 and 1995.
The six areas are:
Main sights
The symbol of the city is ''u Liotru'', or the ''Fontana dell'Elefante'', assembled in 1736 by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini
Giovanni Battista Vaccarini (3 February 1702 – 11 March 1768) was a Sicilians, Sicilian architect, notable for his work in the Sicilian Baroque style in his homeland during the period of massive rebuilding following the 1693 Sicily earthquake, ea ...
. It portrays an ancient lavic stone elephant and is topped by an Egyptian obelisk from Syene
Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate.
Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the ...
. Legend has it that Vaccarini's original elephant was neuter, which the men of Catania took as an insult to their virility. To appease them, Vaccarini appropriately appended elephantine testicles to the original statue.
The Sicilian name ''u Liotru'' is a phonetic change of Heliodorus, a nobleman who, after trying without success to become bishop of the city, became a sorcerer and was therefore condemned to the stake. Legend has it that Heliodorus
Heliodorus is a Greek name meaning "Gift of the Sun". Several persons named Heliodorus are known to us from ancient times, the best known of which are:
*Heliodorus (minister) a minister of Seleucus IV Philopator c. 175 BC
* Heliodorus of Athen ...
himself was the sculptor of the lava elephant and that he used to magically ride it in his fantastic travels from Catania to Constantinople. Another legend has it that Heliodorus was able to transform himself into an elephant.
The presence of an elephant in the history of Catania is surely connected to both zooarcheology and popular creeds. In fact, the prehistoric fauna of Sicily from the Upper Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
, included dwarf elephant
Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea which, through the process of allopatric speciation on islands, evolved much smaller body sizes (around ) in comparison with their immediate ancestors. Dwarf elephants are an example ...
s. Paleontologist Othenio Abel
Othenio Lothar Franz Anton Louis Abel (June 20, 1875 – July 4, 1946) was an Austrian paleontologist and evolutionary biologist. Together with Louis Dollo, he was the founder of "paleobiology" and studied the life and environment of fossilized or ...
suggested that the presence of dwarf elephant
Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea which, through the process of allopatric speciation on islands, evolved much smaller body sizes (around ) in comparison with their immediate ancestors. Dwarf elephants are an example ...
s in Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
may be the origin of the legend of the Cyclops
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
. Ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...
, after finding the skulls of dwarf elephant
Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea which, through the process of allopatric speciation on islands, evolved much smaller body sizes (around ) in comparison with their immediate ancestors. Dwarf elephants are an example ...
s, about twice the size of a human skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
, with a large central nasal cavity
The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The nasal c ...
(mistaken for a large single eye socket) supposed that they were skulls of giants with a single eye.
The ''Catanian Museum of Mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
, Paleontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
and Vulcanology
Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin word '' vulcan''. Vulcan was the anci ...
'' holds the integral unburied skeleton of an ''Elephas falconeri
''Palaeoloxodon falconeri'', also known as the pygmy elephant, Maltese pygmy elephant, or Sicilian dwarf elephant, is an extinct Siculo- Maltese species of elephant that was derived from the straight-tusked elephant. It is amongst the smallest ...
'' in an excellent state of conservation. The first inhabitants of Etna molded such lavic artifacts to idolize the mythical proboscidian.
Classical buildings
The city has been buried by lava a total of seventeen times in recorded history
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...
, and in layers under the present-day city are the Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
city that preceded it, and the Greek city before that. Many of the ancient monument
In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The '' Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 197 ...
s of the Roman city have been destroyed by these numerous incidents. Currently, different ancient remains can be seen and visited in the city centre, as part of an archaeological park (Parco Archeologico Greco-Romano di Catania).
Catania Greek-Roman theater.JPG, Church of St Francis of Assisi
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a Mysticism, mystic Italian Catholic Church, Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most vener ...
backs Cavea of the Greek-Roman Theatre.
Odeum Catania.JPG, Odeon.
Catania anfiteatro romano2423.jpg, Roman Amphitheatre.
Catania terme indirizzo23434.jpg, Roman Thermae of ''Santa Maria dell'Indirizzo''.
Ancient edifices include:
*Greek-Roman Theatre of Catania
The Roman Theater of Catania (Teatro Romano di Catania) consists of the ruins of two open-air semicircular ancient Roman theaters, located between Piazza San Francesco, via Vittorio Emanuele, via Timeo, and via Teatro Greco in the center of Cata ...
and Odeon (2nd to 3rd century CE)
*Amphitheatre of Catania
The Amphitheatre of Catania is a Roman amphitheatre in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, built in the Roman Imperial period, probably in the 2nd century AD, on the northern edge of the ancient city at the base of the Montevergine hill. Only a small ...
* Greek Acropolis of Montevergine
*Roman Forum
*Christian basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
s, hypogea
A hypogeum or hypogaeum (plural hypogea or hypogaea, pronounced ; literally meaning "underground", from Greek language, Greek ''hypo'' (under) and ''ghê'' (earth)) is an underground temple or tomb.
Hypogea will often contain niche (archite ...
, burial monuments, and catacombs
Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
Etymology and history
The first place to be referred ...
*Thermae
** Achillean Baths
**'' Terme dell'Indirizzo''
**''Terme di Santa Maria Odigitria''
**'' Terme della Rotonda''
** Baths of the Four Quoins
**''Terme di Palazzo Asmundo''
**''Terme di Casa Gagliano''
**''Terme della Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate''
Baroque and historical churches
Chiesa di San Placido (Catania).JPG, ''San Placido''
2893 - Catania - Giov. Batt. Vaccarini - Chiesa della Badia di S. Agata (1767) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 4-July-2008.jpg, ''Badìa di Sant'Agata''
ChiesaSFrancescoImmacolataCT.JPG, ''San Francesco d'Assisi all'Immacolata''
SAgataFornaceEst.JPG, ''Sant'Agata alla Fornace'' or ''San Biagio''
Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'aiuto (Catania, XVIII sec.).jpg, ''Santa Maria dell'Aiuto''
Catania Chiesa San Benedetto234232.jpg, ''San Benedetto da Norcia''
Chiesa di San Francesco Borgia a Catania.jpg, ''San Francesco Borgia''
The Baroque city centre of Catania is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
*Catania Cathedral
Catania Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Catania; Cattedrale di Sant'Agata), dedicated to Saint Agatha, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It was the seat of the Bishops of Catania until 1859, when the diocese was elevate ...
(1070–1093, rebuilt after 1693 earthquake) built atop ''Terme Achilliana''
* Sant'Agata, Badia di (1620), church and monastery
* Sant'Agata la Vetere (254) church
* Sant'Agata al Borgo, built 1669, destroyed 1693, rebuilt 1709). The "Borough" (''il Borgo'') is an inner district of Catania.
* Sant'Agata al Carcere or ''Santo Carcere'' (1760). Church built above jail (carcere) where Ste Agatha was allegedly imprisoned during her martyrdom.
*Sant'Agata on the Lavic Runnels
* Sant'Anna church
*San Antonio Abate
* San Benedetto (1704–1713) church and adjacent ''Badìa Grande e Piccola del Chiostro delle Monache Benedettine''
* San Biagio, church formerly called ''Sant'Agata alla Fornace'' (1098, rebuilt 1700)
*Basilica della Collegiata
The Ancient Royal and Eminent Basilica Collegiate of Our Lady of the Alms (in Italian language, italian known as ''Antichissima Regia ed Insigne Basilica Collegiata di Maria Santissima dell'Elemosina''), better known as Basilica della Colleggiata, ...
, Sicilian Baroque
Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture which evolved on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the , when it was part of the Spanish Empire. The style is recognisable not only by its typical Baroque c ...
façade by Stefano Ittar
Stefano Ittar (March 15, 1724 - January 18, 1790) was a Polish-Italian architect.
Biography
Ittar was born in Owrucz (then in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, now in Ukraine), where his father, a member of one of Italy's aristocratic fa ...
* San Camillo ai Crociferi, church
*Santa Caterina al Rinazzo church
* Santa Chiara (1563) church, and former convent of Poor Clares
* San Domenico or Santa Maria la Grande (1224), church and convent
*Sant'Euplio, ruins of church
* San Filippo Neri
* San Francesco d'Assisi all'Immacolata (1329), Franciscan church with tomb of its founding patron, Queen Eleanor of Sicily
Eleanor of Sicily (1325–1375) was Queen of Aragon from 1349 until 1375 as the third wife of King Peter IV.
Early life
Eleanor was the daughter of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. She was the second of eight children, six of who ...
* San Francesco Borgia church and adjacent former Jesuit college
* San Francesco di Paola
* San Gaetano alle Grotte (260) church
* San Gaetano alla Marina
*San Giovanni Battista, in the suburb of San Giovanni di Galermo
* San Giuliano church and convent
*San Giuseppe al Duomo church
*San Giuseppe al Transito church
*Madonna del Carmine
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount C ...
(1729) Basilica church and sanctuary
* Santa Maria di Gesu church (1465, restored in 1706)
*Santa Maria della Guardia church
* Santa Maria dell'Indirizzo (1730) church
*Santa Maria della Mercede church
* Santa Maria della Mercede church
*Santa Maria di Ogninella
* Santa Maria della Purità or ''della Visitazione'' (1775), church and conservatory
*Santa Maria della Providenza al Borgo, church
* Santa Maria della Rotonda
*Santa Maria del Soccorso or Santa Maria della Palma church
* Santa Maria dell'Aiuto parish church and sanctuary
*''Santa Maria dell'Itria'' or ''Odigitria'', church
*Santa Marta
Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...
* San Martino dei Bianchi church
*San Michele the Lesser
* San Michele Arcangelo ai Minoriti (Franciscan) church, a second Minoritelli church is nearby
* San Nicolò l'Arena (1687), unfinished basilica church and extensive Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena
The Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena in Catania, Sicily is a former Benedictine monastery, located on Piazza Dante 30 in the city of Catania, region of Sicily, Italy. After the Mafra, this abbey is the second largest Benedictine monastery in Eur ...
(1558)
*San Nicolas al Borgo
* San Placido (1769) church
*Madonna delle Grazie Chapel
* Santa Rita in Sant'Agostino church
* San Sebastiano (1313)
* Santa Teresa, Carmelitan church and convent
* Santissima Trinità, church
* Santa Ursula
* Chiesa delle Verginelle di Sant'Agata
* San Vincenzo de' Paoli, church
*Santissimo Sacramento al Borgo church
*Chapel of the ''Blind's Housing'' (''Ospizio dei Ciechi'')
*''Santissimo Sacramento al Duomo'', church
*Church of the Holy Child
The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12.
The four canonical gospels, ...
*Our Lady of Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
*San Berillo in Santa Maria degli Ammalati, church
*Our Lady of the Poor
*Little Saviour's Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
Chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
*Church of the ''Santissimo Sacramento Ritrovato'' (1796).
*Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ognina (1308). ''Ognina'' is the maritime quarter
The Maritime Quarter (including Swansea Marina) is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, UK located immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swansea's Castle ward. The area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swans ...
and the main fishing port in Catania. Many bareboats and sailing vessels gather here all year round. In its close vicinity is a cylindrical tower known as Saint Mary's Tower (''Torre Santa Maria''), which was restructured in the 16th century to prevent the frequent plundering by the Saracen pirates. The church is the result of the gradual modification of the Greek Temple ''Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
Longatis'' or ''Parthenos Longatis'' that existed on the steep reef. This cult was imported from a Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
n region of Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
called ''Longas'' from where the first Hellenic settlers of this borough probably came. After the earthquake of 1693 it was rebuilt in the same place, but with a different orientation.
*Our Lady of Montserrat
Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat ( ca, Mare de Déu de Montserrat) is a Marian title associated with a statue of the Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on the Montserrat Mountain in Catalonia ...
(1755)
* Saint Mary of La Salette
*Our Lady of Concordia
*Our Lady of Consolation
*Santissimo Crocifisso Maiorana church
*''Crucifix of Miracles''
*Crucifix of Good Death
*Our Lady of La Mecca
*Most Holy Redeemer
*''Divina Maternità'' church
*Chapel of Mary Auxiliatrix
*Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus church
*''Sacro Cuore al Fortino'' (1898) church
*Saints George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
and Denis
*Sacred Heart Church of the Capuchins
Capuchin can refer to:
*Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of Roman Catholic friars
*Capuchin Poor Clares, an order of Roman Catholic contemplative religious sisters
*Capuchin monkey, primates of the genus ''Cebus'' and ''Sapajus'', named af ...
*Saint Christopher
*Saints Cosmas and Damian
*Saint Vitus
*''Santi Angeli Custodi'' church
*''Santissimo Salvatore'' church
Other
* Ursino Castle, built by emperor Frederick II in the 13th century.
*Palazzo degli Elefanti
Palazzo degli Elefanti (English: "Elephants Palace") is a historical building in Catania, region of Sicily, southern Italy. It currently houses the city's Town Hall. In the past, the prior building was also known as the Palazzo Senatorio or Logg ...
(Palace of the Elephants), designed by Vaccarini, houses the municipality offices.
* Biscari Palace
* Tezzano Palace
*Uzeda Gate
*The Medieval Gothic-Catalan Arch of Saint John of Friars (''San Giovanni de' Fleres'')
*'' Porta Garibaldi'', triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crow ...
, originally ''Porta Ferdinandea'' erected in 1768 to celebrate the wedding of King Ferdinand I and Marie Caroline of Austria
Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia (13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was List of consorts of Naples, Queen of Naples and List of Sicilian consorts, Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As ''de facto'' ruler ...
*Porta del Fortino ("Redoubt Gate")
* Bellini Theater
*Sangiorgi Theater
*Palazzo Rosa ("Pink Palace")
*Negozio Frigeri ("Frigeri Shop", or "Frigeri Palace")
*The House of the Mutilateds of War (''Casa del Mutilato'') built in Fascist-style architecture
*Catania War Cemetery, a Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
Graveyard located in the southern country hamlet of Bicocca
*Palazzo delle Poste
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
("Post Office Palace")
* Bellini Garden, or Villa Bellini
* Catania Botanical Garden
*Giardino Pacini
The Giardino Pacini (English translation: "Pacini Garden"), also known as Villa Pacini or the Villa Varagghi, is a small circular urban park located just south of the Porta Uzeda, on the seaward side of the elevated railway viaduct, in Catania, r ...
(Pacini Garden), or Villa Pacini
*Gioeni Park
Economy
Catania is the first economic and industrial hub of Sicily. The city is famous for its mainly petrochemical industry
The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics (polymer) industry. It directly interfaces with the petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector.
Compan ...
, and the extraction of sulphur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
. In the year 2000, according to Census, Catania was the 14th richest city in Italy, with a GDP of US$6.6 billion (€6.304 billion), which was 0.54% of the Italian GDP, a GDP per capita of US$21,000 (€20,100) and an average GDP per employee of US$69,000 (€66,100).
In the late-19th century and early-20th century, Catania began to be heavily industrialised, with its several factories and chimneys, often being referred to as Southern Italy's "Manchester". The economy of Catania suffered heavily from the bad effects of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and was marked by an economic crisis and recession that culminated in the 1920s. Since then, the city lost its industrial and entrepreneurial importance. In the 1930s, Catania remained a small fishing town with derelict and disused industries. However, after the destruction of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Catania's economy began to re-grow in the late-1950s and early-1960s. The city's economic growth was so rapid and dynamic that it was often nicknamed the ''"Milan of the South"'', or in Italian ''"Milano del Sud"''. This rapid economic growth prompted a great number of Sicilians living in the more rural areas, or smaller towns such as Enna, Ragusa and Caltanissetta, to move to the city to seek new jobs.
Today, Catania, despite several problems, has one of the most dynamic economies in the whole of Southern Italy. It still has a strong industrial and agricultural sector, and a fast-growing tourist industry, with many international visitors coming to visit the city's main sights and the nearby Etna volcano. It contains the headquarters or important offices of companies such as STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics N.V. commonly referred as ST or STMicro is a Dutch multinational corporation and technology company of French-Italian origin headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates near Geneva, Switzerland and listed on the French stock market. ST ...
, and also several chemical and pharmaceutical
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...
businesses. There have been several new business developments to further boost Catania's economy, including the construction of Etnapolis, a big shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
designed by Massimiliano Fuksas
Massimiliano Fuksas (born January 9, 1944) is an Italian architect. He is the head of ''Studio Fuksas'' in partnership with his wife, Doriana Mandrelli Fuksas, with offices in Rome, Paris and Shenzhen.
Biography
Fuksas was born in Rome in 194 ...
, the same architect who designed the FieraMilano industrial fair in Milan, or the Etna Valley, where several high-tech offices are located.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
is a fast-growing industry in Catania. Lately, the administration and private companies have made several investments in the hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants and bars.
Sector ...
in order to make tourism a competitive sector in the Metropolitan City. Etnaland, a large amusement
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with posi ...
and water park
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
located in Belpasso
Belpasso ( scn, Malupassu, Marpassu or Mappassu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Catania. Belpasso is the second biggest ...
, is in the metropolitan area of Catania, 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the city center. It is the largest of its kind in Southern Italy and attracts thousands of tourists, not only from Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, but also from the rest of Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. According to Tripadvisor (2018) it is the third-largest water park in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
The seaport of Catania is linked to the road-rail distribution hub of Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
. In September 2020 Mercitalia Logistics opened the first full railway route to link the city to Northern Italy. It replaced an older mixed maritime-railway line.
Education
Established in 1434, the University of Catania
The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...
is the oldest university in Sicily. Its academic nicknames are: ''Siculorum Gymnasium'' and ''Siciliae Studium Generale''. It hosts 12 faculties and over 62,000 students; and offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
Catania hosts the ''Scuola superiore di Catania
Scuola Superiore di Catania (SSC) is an education institute in Italy. It was founded in 1998 followed by the model of Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.
Scuola Superiore di Catania
The aims of Scuola Superiore di Catania are:
* to develop the ...
'', linked to the University of Catania, aimed at excellence in education; they offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs for teachers.
Catania is home to the prestigious ''Istituto Musicale Vincenzo Bellini'' an advanced institute of musical studies (Conservatory) and the ''Accademia di Belle Arti'' an advanced institute of artistic studies. Both institutions offer programs of university level for musical and artistic education.
Culture
Opera composer Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania".
Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...
was born in Palazzo Gravina-Cruyllas
The Palazzo Gravina-Cruyllas is a palace located on the corner of Piazza San Francesco and Via Vittorio Emanuele (Il Corso), in the center of the city of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. Vincenzo Bellini was born here, and the site now houses a mu ...
in the city center, the palace now houses a museum about him.
The Teatro Massimo Vincenzo Bellini, which opened in 1890, presents a variety of works through a season, which run from December to May, including the works of its namesake.
Giovanni Verga
Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria ...
was born in Catania in 1840. He became the greatest writer of ''Verismo
In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini.
''Verismo'' as an ...
'', an Italian literary movement
Literary movements are a way to divide literature into categories of similar philosophical, topical, or aesthetic features, as opposed to divisions by genre or period. Like other categorizations, literary movements provide language for comparing ...
akin to Naturalism. His novels portray life among the lower levels of Sicilian society, such as fishermen and stonemasons, and were written in a mixture of both literary language and the local dialect. Francesco Longo Mancini was a painter known for his paintings of nudes, who was born in Catania in 1880.
The city's patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
is Saint Agatha
Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mas ...
, who is celebrated with religious pageantry, the Festival of Saint Agatha, on 5 February every year.
The city is the base of the newspaper ''La Sicilia
''La Sicilia'' is an Italian daily newspaper for the island of Sicily. Published in Catania, it is the second best-selling newspaper in Sicily. It was first published in 1945.
History and profile
''La Sicilia'' was founded and first published i ...
'' and of the TV channel Antenna Sicilia
Antenna Sicilia is a regional Italian television station own and operated by La Sicilia, a daily newspaper for the island of Sicily. The most popular program of the channel is "Insieme
Together ( it, Insieme), whose complete name was Italy Euro ...
, also known as the Sicilia Channel. Several other local television
The terms local programme, local programming, local content or local television refers to a television program made by a television station or independent television producer for broadcast only within the station's transmission area or television ...
channels and free-press magazines have their headquarters in Catania.
Catania hosts Etna Comics
Etna Comics – International Festival of Comics, Games and Pop Culture (Italian language, Italian: ''Etna Comics – Festival Internazionale del Fumetto, del Gioco e della Cultura Pop'') is an annual convention held in Catania, Sicily at the b ...
, a successful comic book convention
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at con ...
.
The city is home to the Catania Jazz Festival, which typically runs for several winter months with concerts in different locations. In the late 1980s and during the 1990s Catania had a energetic and unique popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
scene. Indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
and indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
bands, local radio stations, and dynamic independent music
Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...
record labels sprung up as a result. As a result, in those years the city experienced a vital and effervescent cultural period. Artists like Carmen Consoli
Carmen Consoli (; born 4 September 1974 in Catania) is an Italian singer-songwriter. She has released 11 studio albums, one greatest hits, one soundtrack album, two live albums, four video album and 33 singles, selling 2 million copies in Ital ...
and Mario Venuti
Mario Venuti (born 28 October 1963) is an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and record producer.
Life and career
Born in Syracuse, Sicily, he started his career as a member of the new wave band Denovo.Giorgio Dell’Arti, Massimo Parrini. ...
, and internationally known indie rock bands like Uzeda
Uzeda is an Italian underground rock group founded in Catania, Sicily, in 1987 by lead singer Giovanna Cacciola, guitarists Agostino Tilotta and Giovanni Nicosia, bassist Raffaele Gulisano and drummer Davide Oliveri.
Steve Albini met the band a ...
came out of this cultural ''milieu''.
Sports
Catania is home to many sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
s covering a wide range of disciplines. The most famous club is the Calcio Catania
Catania S.S.D., commonly known as Catania, is an Italian football club based in the city of Catania, Sicily, that plays in .
Originally founded in 1908 as ''Associazione Sportiva pro Educazione Fisica'', the club boasts 17 appearances in the ...
football team
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
, followed by approximately half a million supporters. Another club standing out from the rest is Orizzonte Catania
Associazione Sportiva Orizzonte Catania Waterpolo, also known as Ekipe Orizzonte for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional women's water polo club from Catania.
Founded in 1985, Orizzonte has dominated the Italian championship in the ...
, which is the leading women's water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
club in Italy, with 22 National Championship titles (15 in a row from 1992 to 2006), and also in Europe, with 8 European Champions Cup titles.
Catania is the most successful city in team sports in the entire south of Italy (including Sicily and Sardinia), leading (as of October 2021) with 68 National Championships titles and 9 European Champions Cups titles, ahead of Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
(55 National Championships titles and 5 European Champions Cups titles) and of Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
(17 National Championships titles).
Considering the total number of titles won by Sicilian sports clubs, 68 out of 96 National Championships titles and 9 out of 10 European Champions Cups titles are from Catania, with the capital Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
following with just 11 National Championships titles.
As for individual sports, 56 athletes from Catania have won world titles, 54 have won European titles and 139 have won national titles.
In the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, over the years, Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
athletes from Catania have won a total of 7 gold medals, 8 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals.
National Championships Titles Teams (December 2022)
Champion Cups Titles Teams (December 2022)
Main Sports Facilities
Catania holds the Catania-Etna car competition, organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia The Automobile Club d'Italia (usually known by its acronym ACI) is a not-for-profit statutory corporation of the Italian Republic. The club originated through the efforts of Count Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia as the "Automobile Club of Turin" found ...
. The competition dates back to 1923 and has been taking place on a regular basis (with some gaps) from 1947. Suspended in 2010 due to a serious accident, the 46th edition is planned for the end of June 2021.
From 1960 to 2011 Catania held the International event named ''Trofeo Sant'Agata'', a road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...
competition which took place in the streets of the city center, every year on the 3rd of February (the day the Festival of Saint Agatha begins.)
The city also hosted a series of International Sports Events: in 1992 Catania hosted the first ever qualification tournament for the Rugby World Cup Sevens
Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport ...
, and the associated Etna Cup, which was won by the host Sicily team. In 1994 the city hosted, together with Agrigento and Palermo, the UCI Road World Championships
The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay.
Events
...
. In 1997 Catania hosted, together with Palermo and Messina, the Universiade
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The Universiade is referred t ...
. In 2003 the city hosted the Military World Games
The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for military sportspeople, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). They have been held since 1995, although championships for separate sports had been held for some years. A w ...
and in 2011 the Men's EuroHockey Championship III
The Men's EuroHockey Championship III, formerly known as the Men's EuroHockey Nations Challenge I, is a competition for European national field hockey teams. It is the third level of European field hockey Championships for national teams.
Underne ...
. In 2011 Catania also hosted the World Fencing Championships
The World Fencing Championships is an annual competition in fencing organized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE; ''International Fencing Federation'' in English). Contestants may participate in Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and S ...
: Italy came out of this competition as the top winning nation with 11 medals, one won by the local fencer Paolo Pizzo.
Food and cuisine
Food is an important part of Catania's culture and way of life. Local cuisine emphasizes several traits of Sicilian cuisine
Sicilian cuisine is the style of cooking on the island of Sicily. It shows traces of all cultures that have existed on the island of Sicily over the last two millennia. Although its cuisine has much in common with Italian cuisine, Sicilian food a ...
, whilst developing some of its own character.
Street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
is one of the best ways to experience traditional dishes. Arancini
Arancini (, , , ) are Italian rice balls that are stuffed, coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried, and are a staple of Sicilian cuisine. The most common arancini fillings are: ''al ragù'' or ''al sugo'', filled with ragù (meat or mince, slow ...
are perhaps the city's most iconic: they are stuffed rice balls coated in bread-crumbs and deep fried; in Catania, they are shaped like a cone to remind of Mount Etna
Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...
. Typical specialties from the city include ' (puff pastry with onion, tomato, and prosciutto filling), ''bolognese'' (a small pizza topped with tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, and boiled egg, and covered in puff pastry), ' (deep fried dough balls with ricotta
Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the ...
or anchovies filling.)
During street fairs and religious festivals, street stalls sell ' (toasted chickpeas and pumpkin seeds). Typical from old street markets are ' (cooked pork blood), ' (pork tripe), ' (pork jelly), ' (edible seaweed), and raw seafood. Horse meat
Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existe ...
is very traditional and it is sold in shops called ' ("roast it and eat it"), which roast the meat in streetside barbecues.
Apart from street food, typical dishes from Catania are: ''pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma (), earlier called ''pasta con le melanzane'' 'pasta with eggplant',Touring Club Italiano, ''Vie d'Italia e del mondo'', 1928?p. 750/ref>Gioacchino Balducci, ''Italia moderna'', 1973, , p. 109 is an Italian dish of pasta and e ...
'' (pasta with fried aubergine, tomato sauce and ricotta salata cheese), named after the namesake opera by Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania".
Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...
; ' (pasta in cuttlefish ink), ' (fava beans purée), ' or ' (stewed cauliflower or broccoli), ' (sautéed vegetables) and ' (a pie filled with tuma cheese) which is traditional during Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
time.
Catania is also famous for its ''pasticceria'' (pastries and cakes). Pastries vary according to season and to seasonal events: during the Festival of Saint Agatha, patron saint of the city, there are the ' (small cassata
Cassata or cassata siciliana ( , , ) is a traditional cake from Sicily, Italy. Cassata consists of round sponge cake moistened with fruit juices or liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese and candied fruit, a filling also used with cannoli. Cass ...
s) and ' (olive shaped almond paste
Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added as a binder. It is similar to ''marzipan'', but has a coarser texture. Almond pa ...
). In Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
, there are ' (boiled eggs covered in biscuit). In summer
Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
there is granita
Granita (; in Italian also granita siciliana ) is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings. Originally from Sicily, it is available throughout Italy in varying forms. It is related to sorbet and Italian ice; however, i ...
. During the ''Festa dei morti'' (traditional celebrations in All Souls' Day
All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and ...
) there are biscuits called ', ' and '.
Drink kiosks
Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist in an ...
are everywhere in town and serve soft drink
A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...
s. Traditional soft drinks are made by mixing fruit syrups with soda
Soda or SODA may refer to:
Chemistry
* Some chemical compounds containing sodium
** Sodium carbonate, washing soda or soda ash
** Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda
** Sodium hydroxide, caustic soda
** Sodium oxide, an alkali metal oxide
* Sod ...
and other flavors such as anisette
Anisette, or Anis, is an anise-flavored liqueur that is consumed in most Mediterranean countries. It is colorless, and because it contains sugar, is sweeter than dry anise flavoured spirits (e.g. absinthe). The most traditional style of anisette ...
.
Local products include blood orange
The blood orange is a variety of orange ( ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'') (also referred to as raspberry orange) with crimson, almost blood-colored flesh.
The distinctive dark flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanins, a family of polyp ...
s, pistachio
The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food.
''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
s from Bronte, extra-virgin olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
, cactus fruit, cherries
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...
, grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
s from Mazzarrone
Mazzarrone ( Sicilian: ''Mazzarruni'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania.
Mazzarrone borders the following municipa ...
, strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
from Maletto
Maletto ( scn, Malettu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about northwest of Catania.
Maletto borders the following municipalities: Adrano, Belpa ...
, mushrooms
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the na ...
, honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
and wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
.
Transport
Catania has a commercial seaport ( Catania seaport), an international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
( Catania Fontanarossa), several railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s ( Catania Centrale is the main one) and it is the main node of the Sicilian motorway system.
The motorways serving Catania are the A18 Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
-Catania and the A19 Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
-Catania; and the prosecution of the A18 going from Catania to Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
* Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Miss ...
and to Gela
Gela (Sicilian and ; grc, Γέλα) is a city and (municipality) in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province of Cal ...
.
The Circumetnea
The Ferrovia Circumetnea (roughly translated as ''"Round- Etna Railway"'') is a narrow-gauge, , regional railway line in Sicily. It was constructed between 1895 and 1898.
As the name suggests, the line follows a route which almost completely enc ...
is a narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
railway that runs for from Catania around the base of Mount Etna
Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...
. It attains an elevation of above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
before descending to rejoin the coast at Giarre
Giarre ( scn, Giarri) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. The town is located about southeast of Palermo and around north of Catania.
Geography
Giarre is bounded by the municipalities of Acireale, Mascali ...
-Riposto
Riposto ( scn, Ripostu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Catania area of southern Italy. The small seafront town is located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania.
History
Riposto is both historically and literally conn ...
to the north.
In the late 1990s, the first line of an underground railway
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
('' Metropolitana di Catania'') was built. The underground service started in 1999 and it is currently active on a route of , from the station Nesima (west of town), passing through the stations of San Nullo, Cibali, Milo, Borgo, Giuffrida, Italia, Galatea, Giovanni XXIII, to Stesicoro. The last two stations, bringing Catania's underground into the city centre, opened on 20 December 2016.[Underground railway of Catania from Subways.ne]
and from CityRailways.net i
and (translatio
/ref> The line is planned to be extended from the satellite city
Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have mun ...
of Paternò
Paternò ( scn, Patennò) is a southern Italian town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. With a population (2016) of 48,009, it is the third municipality of the province after Catania and Acireale.
Geography
Paternò ...
to Fontanarossa Airport.
Catania public transport statistics
The average amount of time people spend commuting on public transit in Catania on a weekday is 56 min. 13% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 23 min, while 46% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 4.7 km, while 3% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.
Notable residents
*Aaron ben Gershon abu al-Rabi
Aaron ben Gershon Abu Al-Rabi of Catania (also Aaron ben Gershon Abualrabi, Aaron Alrabi; Italian: ''Aronne Abulrabi'') was a Sicilian-Jewish scholar, cabalist, and astrologer of the 15th century.
Life
He was a son-in-law of Don Moses Gabbai, an ...
, 15th century rabbi
*Oriana Bandiera
Oriana Bandiera, FBA (born 26 August 1971) is an Italian economist and academic, specialising in development economics. She has been Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics since 2009. She is currently the Sir Anthony Atkinson Pr ...
(born 1971), economist and academic
*Pippo Baudo
Giuseppe Vittorio Raimondo Baudo (born 7 June 1936), known as Pippo Baudo, is one of the most famous Italian television presenters, with a career spanning six decades. He is often nicknamed "Superpippo" (referencing the Italian name of Super Go ...
(born 1936), TV presenter
*Franco Battiato
Francesco "Franco" Battiato (; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes, a ...
(1945–2021), singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker
*Gianni Bella
Giovanni Bella, best known as Gianni Bella (born 14 March 1946), is an Italian composer and singer-songwriter.
Background
Born in Catania, Bella started his career as composer for his sister, singer Marcella Bella authoring several hits with lyr ...
(born 1947), singer-songwriter
*Marcella Bella
Giuseppa Marcella Bella (born 18 June 1952 in Catania) is an Italian pop singer. Her brothers Antonio and Salvatore Bella are famous musicians, and her brother Gianni Bella is another popular singer who has composed several songs for her.
In 1 ...
(born 1952), singer
*Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania".
Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...
(1801–1835), composer
*Ornella Bertorotta
Ornella Bertorotta (born 25 August 1967) is an Italian politician for the Five Star Movement. She sat in the Italian Senate in the Legislature XVII of Italy after she was elected in the 2013 Italian general election.
References
External ...
(born 1967), politician
*Alfredo Bonanno
Alfredo Maria Bonanno (born 1937 in Catania, Italy) is a main theorist of contemporary insurrectionary anarchism A long-time anarchist, he has been imprisoned multiple times. Bonanno is an editor of ''Anarchismo Editions'' and many other public ...
(born 1937), anarchist
*Vitaliano Brancati
Vitaliano Brancati (; 24 July 1907 – 25 September 1954) was an Italian novelist, dramatist, poet and screenwriter.
Biography
Born in Pachino, Syracuse, Brancati studied in Catania, where he graduated in letters and where he spent the most pa ...
(1907–1954), writer
* Giuseppa Bolognara Calcagno (1826–1884), freedom fighter of the Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
*Luigi Capuana
Luigi Capuana (May 28, 1839 – November 29, 1915) was an Italian author and journalist and one of the most important members of the ''verist'' movement (see also ''verismo'' (literature)). He was a contemporary of Giovanni Verga, both having ...
(1839–1915), writer
*Charondas
Charondas ( grc-gre, Χαρώνδας) was a celebrated lawgiver of Catania in Sicily. It is uncertain when he lived; some identify him as a pupil of Pythagoras (c. 580 – 504 BC), but all that can be said is that he lived earlier tha ...
(6th c. BC), jurist
*Carmen Consoli
Carmen Consoli (; born 4 September 1974 in Catania) is an Italian singer-songwriter. She has released 11 studio albums, one greatest hits, one soundtrack album, two live albums, four video album and 33 singles, selling 2 million copies in Ital ...
(born 1974), singer-songwriter
*Angelo d'Arrigo
Angelo d'Arrigo (April 3, 1961 – March 26, 2006) was an Italian aviator who held a number of world records in the field of flight, principally with microlights and hang gliders, with and without motors. He has been referred to as the "Human Cond ...
(1961–2006), aviator
*Federico De Roberto
Federico De Roberto (16 January 1861 – 26 July 1927) was an Italian writer, who became well known for his historical novel (1894), translated as ''The Viceroys''.
Biography
De Roberto was born in Naples and began his writing career as a jou ...
(1861–1927), writer
* Tea Falco (born 1986), actress
*Giuseppe Fava
Giuseppe "Pippo" Fava (; 15 September 1925 in Palazzolo Acreide – 5 January 1984 in Catania) was an Italian writer, investigative journalist, playwright, and Antimafia activist who was killed by the Mafia. He was the founder of the ''I Sicilia ...
(1925–1984), journalist, writer, playwright
*Turi Ferro
Salvatore "Turi" Ferro (10 January 1921 – 10 May 2001) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. He is considered the most important actor in the Sicilian theatre post-World War II era.
Life and career
Born in Catania, Ferro laun ...
(1921–2001), actor
*Rosario Fiorello
Rosario Tindaro Fiorello (born 16 May 1960), known just as Fiorello, is an Italian comedian, singer, radio, and television presenter.
Career
Fiorello was born in Catania, Sicily, and raised in Augusta, Sicily. He began his career working in tour ...
(1960), comedian, singer, radio and TV presenter
*Libero Grassi
Libero Grassi (; 19 July 1924 – 29 August 1991) was an Italian clothing manufacturer from Palermo, Sicily, who was killed by the Mafia after taking a solitary stand against their extortion demands. The businessman wrote an open letter to the lo ...
(1924–1991), businessman
*Leo Gullotta
Salvatore Leopoldo "Leo" Gullotta (born 9 January 1946) is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian and writer.
Biography
Born in Catania and the last of six children, Gullotta started his career as an extra in Teatro Massimo Bellini. In his long ...
(born 1946), actor
*Andrea Lo Cicero
Andrea Lo Cicero Vaina (; born Catania, 7 May 1976) is an Italian rugby union footballer, who retired from playing in 2013.
Born in Catania, Sicily, Lo Cicero began his professional career in the town of his birth with Amatori Catania. Later he ...
(born 1976), rugby footballer
*Miriam Leone
Miriam Leone (born 14 April 1985) is an Italian actress, presenter and model, winner of the Miss Italia beauty contest in 2008.(14 September 2008)Miss Italia è Miriam Leone Siciliana dai capelli rossi ''La Repubblica'' (in Italian)
Biography
M ...
(born 1985), Miss Italia
Miss Italia is a beauty pageant awarding prizes every year to young, female contestants from Italy. Since the first edition of the contest in 1939 many of the contestants have gone on to notable careers in television and film.
History
The foreru ...
2008
*Ettore Majorana
Ettore Majorana (,, uploaded 19 April 2013, retrieved 14 December 2019 ; born on 5 August 1906 – possibly dying after 1959) was an Italian theoretical physicist who worked on neutrino masses. On 25 March 1938, he disappeared under mysteri ...
(1905–?), physicist
*Nino Martoglio
Nino Martoglio (Belpasso, Paternò, 3 December 1870 — Catania, 15 September 1921) was an Italy, Italian writer, publisher, journalist and producer of theatrical works. He wrote mostly in Sicilian language, Sicilian and likewise, his theatrical w ...
(1870–1921), writer
*Massimo Maugeri
Massimo Maugeri is an Italian writer, journalist and radio presenter. He was born in Catania, Sicily in 1968.
Career
He contributes to the 'culture' section of magazines, newspapers and on Radio Polis. Maugeri is the managing editor of ''Letter ...
(born 1968), writer and journalist
*Angelo Musco
Angelo Musco (18 December 1872 – 6 October 1937) was an Italian actor in theater and film. He was known for his comic abilities as well as for his carefully drawn psychological portraits.
Life and career
Born in Catania, Catania, Sicily to ...
(1872–1937), actor
*Tuccio Musumeci
Tuccio Musumeci (born 20 April 1934) is an Italian actor and comedian.
Life and career
Born in Catania, Musumeci started his career in the 1960s, performing in local cabarets and avanspettacolo companies.Santino Mirabella. ''In scena - conversa ...
(born 1934), actor
*Giovanni Pacini
Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fami ...
(1796–1867), composer
*Luca Parmitano
Colonel Luca Parmitano (born 27 September 1976 in Paternò, Sicily) is an Italian astronaut in the European Astronaut Corps for the European Space Agency (ESA). He was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009.
Parmitano is also a Colonel and te ...
(born 1976), astronaut
*Ercole Patti
Ercole Patti (16 February 1903 – 15 November 1976) was an Italian writer, dramatist, screenwriter and journalist.
Born in Catania into an upper-middle-class family, the nephew of author Giuseppe Villaroel, Patti started working as a journalist ...
(1903–1976), writer and journalist
*Goliarda Sapienza
Goliarda Sapienza (10 May 1924 – 30 August 1996) was an Italian actress and writer. She is best known for her 1998 novel '' L'arte della gioia'' (The Art of Joy).
Life Early life
Sapienza was born on 10 May 1924 in Catania, Sicily to Maria Giu ...
(1924–1996), writer
*Giuseppe Sciuti
Giuseppe Sciuti (Zafferana Etnea, Sicily, 26 February 1834 - Rome, 13 March 1911) was an Italian painter.
Biography
His father, a pharmacist, insisted his son follow his trade. But he relented and allowed Giuseppe to study locally at age 15, and ...
(1834–1911), painter
* Piermaria Siciliano (born 1974), swimmer
*Stefania Spampinato
Stefania Spampinato is an Italian actress. She is known for her role in ABC's ''Grey's Anatomy'' and the ''Grey's Anatomy'' spinoff ''Station 19'' as Dr. Carina DeLuca, a Sicilian OB-GYN.
Life and career
Born in Catania (Sicily), Stefania Spa ...
(born 1982), actress
*Stesichorus
Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abou ...
( – 555 BC), poet
*Giovanni Verga
Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria ...
(1840–1922), writer
International relations
Consulates
The following countries have a Consulate
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...
in Catania: Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
Twin towns – sister cities
Catania is twinned with:
* Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
, France, since 1961
* Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, United States, since 2001
* Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Canada, since 2002
* Oświęcim County
__NOTOC__
Oświęcim County ( pl, powiat oświęcimski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gove ...
, Poland, since 2010
* Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England, UK, since 2012
* Borgo Maggiore
Borgo Maggiore (; rgn, E Bórgh) is one of the 9 communes or ''castelli'' of San Marino. It lies at the foot of Monte Titano and has a population of 6,871 (May 2018), making it the second largest town of San Marino, after Dogana.
Etymology
From ...
, San Marino, since 2015
* Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
, Russia, since 2017
* Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, Egypt, since 2019
Influence on the planning of Adelaide, Australia
The site of what was to become the major Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n city of Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
was surveyed and laid out by Colonel William Light, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. In 1823, Light had fondly written of Catania: "The two principal streets cross each other at right angles in the square in the direction of north and south and east and west. They are wide and spacious and about a mile .6 kmlong". This became the basis for his plan of Adelaide.[Johnson and Langmead]
''The Adelaide city plan: fiction and fact''
Wakefield Press, 1986.
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
* Ilaria Di Pietra, ''Catania. Viaggi e viaggiatori nella città del vulcano'', Giuseppe Maimone Editore, Catania 2007
* Antonino Recupero, ''Catania. Città del mediterraneo'', (Fotografia di Alfio Garozzo. Prefazione di Andrea Camilleri), Giuseppe Maimone Editore, Catania 2007,
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Coastal towns in Sicily
Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy
Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Catania
Ancient cities in Sicily
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Italy
Cities destroyed by earthquakes
Euboean colonies of Magna Graecia
Roman towns and cities in Italy
Sicilian Baroque
Populated places established in the 8th century BC
8th-century BC establishments in Italy
World Heritage Sites in Italy
Archaeological sites in Sicily