People at roadside granita stall.

Matt Munro

Catania

For all the noise, chaos and scruffiness that hit the visitor at first glance, Catania has a strong magnetic pull. This is Sicily at its most youthful, a city packed with cool and gritty bars, abundant energy and an earthy spirit in sharp contrast to Palermo’s aristocratic airs.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Monastero delle Benedettine

    Monastero delle Benedettine

    Catania

    The Monastero delle Benedettine covers two adjacent sites: a Benedictine convent and the Chiesa di San Benedetto. Top billing goes to the church, built…

  • Teatro Massimo Bellini

    Teatro Massimo Bellini

    Catania

    Completed in 1890 and made for homegrown composer Vincenzo Bellini, Catania's opera house is suitably lavish, from the stucco-and-marble extravagance of…

  • La Pescheria

    La Pescheria

    Catania

    Catania's raucous fish market, which takes over the streets behind Piazza del Duomo every workday morning, is pure street theatre. Tables groan under the…

  • Fontana dell'Elefante and Saint Agatha cathedral, Piazza del Duomo, Catania, Sicily, Italy

    Piazza del Duomo

    Catania

    A Unesco World Heritage Site, Catania's central piazza is a set piece of contrasting lava and limestone, surrounded by buildings in the unique local…

  • date: 2006/09/06 | release status: NR

    Fontana dell'Elefante

    Catania

    Taking centre stage on Catania's showpiece Piazze del Duomo is the city's most memorable monument, the smiling Fontana dell'Elefante (Fountain of the…

  • Via Etnea

    Via Etnea

    Catania

    It's not difficult to see how Catania's main shopping street got its name – on a clear day you can see Mt Etna rising majestically at the end of it. Via…

  • Cattedrale di Sant'Agata

    Cattedrale di Sant'Agata

    Catania

    Inside the vaulted interior of this cathedral, beyond its impressive marble facade sporting two orders of columns taken from the Roman amphitheatre, lie…

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