Museo Civico

Catania


Housed in the brooding 13th-century Castello Ursino, Catania's civic museum holds the valuable Biscari archaeological collection, an extensive collection of paintings, vases and sculpture, and an impressive coin collection. It's also home to a series of 15th- to 19th-century paintings, with notable works including Jusepe de Ribera’s Profetta, Pietro Novelli's San Cristoforo and Natale Attanasio’s quietly unnerving Sunt Lacrimae rerum (Crazy Women).

Also on display is a small collection of historical etchings, engravings, maps and watercolours depicting Catania through the ages.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Catania attractions

1. Castello Ursino

0.01 MILES

Catania's forbidding 13th-century castle once guarded the city from atop a seafront cliff. However, the 1669 eruption of Mt Etna changed the landscape and…

2. La Pescheria

0.23 MILES

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…

3. Fontana dell'Amenano

0.24 MILES

Separating Piazza del Duomo from rough-and-tumble food market La Pescheria is gushing Fontana dell'Amenano, a Carrara-marble fountain created by…

4. Parco Archeologico Greco Romano

0.25 MILES

West of Piazza del Duomo lie Catania's most impressive ancient ruins: the remains of a 2nd-century Roman Theatre and its small rehearsal theatre, the…

5. Porta Uzeda

0.25 MILES

Built to connect Via Etnea to the port, Porta Uzeda was commissioned by the Duke of Camastra and completed in 1696. The gate is named in honour of Spanish…

6. Museo Emilio Greco

0.26 MILES

The Museo Emilio Greco hosts a large collection of sketches by renowned Italian artist Emilio Greco (1913–1995), whose work is marked by a sensual, erotic…

7. Museo Belliniano

0.26 MILES

One of Italy's great opera composers, Vincenzo Bellini was born in Catania in 1801. The house he grew up in has since been converted into this museum,…

8. Museo Diocesano

0.27 MILES

The most obvious reason to visit this museum, adjacent to Catania's duomo, is to see the Fercolo, the famous silver reliquary bust of Saint Agata that's…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "italy/sicily/catania/attractions/museo-civico/a/poi-sig/471670/360005",
      "destination": "Catania",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Italy",
      "region": "Sicily",
      "city": "Catania",
      "position": "superzone"
    }