Catania (Italy) > Reviews > In the shadow of Etna

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Sightseeing
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around

Advantages:	The Volcano, the food, the black beach
Disadvantages:	the horse meat stall in the market (don't buy anything from a butchers with a cute photo of a horse outside !  _

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Catania lies on the eastern coast of Sicily and is, historically and culturally a part of the 'Greek' part of the Island (as opposed to the arabic West of Sicily).

The most striking thing about the city is the constantly puffing, and frequently erupting volcano which colours (sometimes quite literally) the city in a magical manner.

Some people don't have the temperament for Sicily, the cities here don't have the manicured edges of Tuscany or the Emilian hills, but can provide far more beauty and exhiliration than any other part of Italy.

So Catania itself takes a little getting used to. It doesn't have the beauty of Syracuse and Palermo probably has more immediate attractions in it.

It has a fine Sicilian Baroque architectural style, best seen around the Piazza del Duomo with it's famous elephant statue - the symbol of the city.
This same said statue is carved from volcanic rock and, as I was cheerfully told on any number of occasions, was smashed by drunken Englishmen during clashes that took place during the 1990 World Cup Tornament - but at least, so I was also told, some rather embarrassed compatriots did pay for it's repair.

Behind the same piazza you will find the Pescheria (literally the fish market, which, indeed, it is). This market sells, not only fish, but typical of the traditional sicilian markets, sells all manner of things, amongst all manner of people.

It is certainly great to wander round and the sheer energy and noise levels owe far more to the souks of northern African markets than to Rome, Milan or Turin.

Bellini was a proud son of Catania and his home has been converted into a tiny but interesting museum that remains free and contains a number of curios that make it a worthwhile diversion.

The principle shopping street and one of my favourite shopping streets ever actually, is Via Etnea. The reason it is my favourite is not so much the range of shops (although it is certainly better than what Palermo has to offer and has a wide broad avenue which is uncommon in Sicily), but simple because it is a long street with a volcano at the end of it.. and a huffing, puffing smoking volcano at that!
There can be fewer more exhilirating sights to take in as you wander in and out of the shops.

The patron saint of Catania is Saint Agatha, another native of the city and her dedicated church lies above the prison in which she was incarcerated and is another fine example of the Baroque architecture of the period, but also impressive is the Roman Amphitheatre built out of black volcanic rock, just outside the church.

Catania is a black city, having been built in the shadows of the volcano and one of the civic beaches has black sand, one of my favourites, actually. Many of the locals hang out on the civic beaches from about late May until late September, but for me anyway,it was certainly warm enough to go swimming there on my birthday (beginning of November!).

As for the nightlife, in Catania the squares are large and open, unlike Palermo which is a little closed in, there are many bars in the city and pubs are increasingly popular. It certainly is more lively than any other sicilian city, except in the middle of the summer when everyone moves out to the beaches.

I loved this city and her people and feel fortunate enough to have been able to spend a good deal of time there and to have discovered her intricacies, but to be brutally honest, I probably wouldn't recommend her to a tourist who has very limited time in Sicily.

Syracuse has more historical interest and caters better to the tourists, Taormina is a resort town that is more refined, less earthy and gives you a sanitised sense of what Sicily is.. on the other side of the island, Palermo has more 'sights' although the nightlife is more open and accessible.

Etna is unmissable and tours leave regularly from the tourist office in Catania. As is probably discernible from this review, I adored the volcano and going up there never lost it's attraction for me and never will (I've been quite a few times and feels it would warrant a review of it's own rather than tagging it onto Catania!).

When Etna erupts (as it does on an almost annual basis) the best firework show possibly in the world can be seen from the city and the ash really does rain down to the stage that people carry umbrellas to shade them from the ash.

These eruptions often last for a while so if you hear of one starting, it may be worth booking a flight (incidently, there is no risk usually from these eruptions as the lava from Etna is slow flowing so it's patterns are well-known in advance).. it is an area prone to earthquakes, however, but again, it can add to the excitement!

In short, it may make a good stopover if you are on the eastern side of the island. It is easy to access Syracuse, Etna, the Coast of the Cyclops and Taormina from Catania, as well as being a good place to go out to the mosaics of Piazza Armerina and the ceramics of Caltagirone. So it would be a good place to base yourself around if you wanted to take a number of day trips. The accommodation is cheap and easy to find and the people are generous and very happy to see tourists as they don't get so many.

And if you can link it in with an erupting volcano, all the better!

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