Planning a Trip

52km (32 miles) S of Taormina, 60km (37 miles) N of Syracuse

Standing in the ominous shadow of Mount Etna, Catania is a city of lava. A bustling port opening onto the Ionian Sea, it's known as the "city of black and white." Black lava and white plaster and marble form major parts of its architectural look.

Catania is the second-largest city in Sicily, with a population of 380,000. It's a lively place, and the seat of a bishop and a great university. In deference to its hometown boy, Vincenzo Bellini (1801-35), Catania boasts one of Italy's grandest opera houses, where you can hear the operas and the eternal arias of this virtuoso composer.

Its second hometown boy who made good was Giovanni Verga (1840-1922), acclaimed as one of Italy's greatest writers. Known for his naturalistic fiction, he wrote such masterpieces as Vita dei Campi and Mastro Don Gesualdo.

If we can believe the historian Thucydides (he wasn't always right), Catania was founded in 729 B.C. It's had a rough go of it ever since. In 403 B.C., Dionysius of Syracuse sold off its citizens into slavery. Its patron saint, Agatha, in 253 B.C. had her breasts lopped off and has been carrying them around on a platter ever since -- at least in artistic depictions of herself. That was the penalty she suffered for turning down the advances of the Roman praetor, Quintianus. Catania grew up on the Laestrygonian Fields known in Book 10 of the Odyssey as the home of the cannibalistic Laestrygones.

The Catania you see today, a city of wide boulevards, is a direct result of those disasters. The architect Battista Vaccarini (1702-68) was assigned the task of rebuilding. He decided to turn it into "the city of the baroque," since that was the fashionable architectural statement of the time. Many famous artists were commissioned, and fragments of solidified black lava were used extensively. This lava, and the way it was positioned into the masonry, gave added strength to the walls of various buildings. The result was so successful that in the 18th and 19th centuries Catania was a mandatory stopover for those rich dandies making the "Grand Tour" of Europe. Regrettably, the Allied bombing raids of 1943 did much to damage many monuments.

Grime and neglect have also taken their toll. Today Catania is often called the most degraded city of Europe, largely because of the decay of its once-beautiful historic core. Urban flight to the suburbs is common, with residents leaving behind an inferno of garbage, the despair of poverty, and crime. In fact, Catania vies with Palermo for the dubious distinction of crime capital of Sicily. Sicilians living elsewhere on the island generally express disdain for Catania.

Yet, in spite of its crime and poverty, the city's industry and burgeoning economy have earned it the appellation of "the Milano of the South." And the inner city has seen improvements in recent years, including a few brightly restored antique buildings.

Our verdict on Catania? You'll either love it or hate it. We're among its devotees because we don't judge a city by whether it's pretty or not or even by whether it's well kept. We gravitate to places that bustle with life, and Catania is blessed with plenty of that. In what some critics have called a "rotting urban carcass," we have found joy in its people, pleasure in its food, and spiritual fulfillment in its artistic treasures.

There is no greater symbol of Catania, a city wiped off the map at least seven times, than the hideously ugly but endearing puce-colored elephant in front of the Duomo. It's made entirely of lava spewed from Etna. Somehow this tough little elephant is an appropriate mascot for Catania itself: It symbolizes the city's ability to bounce back from one disaster after another, and even to create art from the lava that destroyed it.

Catania is a cauldron in summer, one of the hottest cities in Italy, with temperatures known to shoot up to 104°F (40°C). Winters are mild, but the best time to visit is spring or autumn.

Getting There

By Plane -- Flights from across Italy arrive at Aeroporto Fontanarossa (tel. 095-340505), 7km (4 1/3 miles) to the south. Major links are via Palermo, Naples, and Rome.

Major carriers flying into Catania include the market leader, Alitalia (tel. 800/223-5730 in the U.S.; tel. 06-2222 in Italy for information on domestic links). You can also fly in on Meridiana (tel. 892928 in Italy) from Milan (but not Rome or Naples). To reach Meridiana from abroad, call tel. 0789-52682. Air Europe (tel. 199-414500 in Italy or tel. 070-4603397 from abroad) offers service from Milan and Venice. A taxi into the city center costs around 16€ ($19). You can also take an Alibus to the Stazione Centrale, or rail depot, in the heart of Catania. Bus departures between the two points are every 20 minutes from 5pm to midnight. A ticket costs the same as a ride on a city bus.

Many people fly into Catania but choose to skip the city and go on to Taormina. If that suits you, you can catch a bus just outside the airport that will take you into Taormina in about an hour, for 5€ ($6) one-way.

By Train -- Arrivals are at the Stazione Centrale, Piazza Papa Giovanni XXIII (tel. 095-7306255). Catania is a 10-hour train ride from Rome, with eight trains arriving daily and costing 49€ ($59). Catania also enjoys links with all the major cities of Sicily: Palermo (trip time: 3 1/2 hr.), costing 12€ ($14); Agrigento (trip time: 4 hr.), costing 12€ ($14); Messina (trip time: 2 hr.), costing 5.20€ ($6.25); and Taormina (trip time: 1 hr.), costing 3.15€ ($3.80). For rail information, call tel. 892021.

By Bus -- There is no central bus company; all operate independently and in total chaos. Companies are found on Via D'Amico across from the Stazione Centrale. The most useful for visitors include SAIS Trasporti (tel. 095-536201), running eight buses per day to Agrigento (trip time: 3 hr.), costing 11€ ($13) one-way; and SAIS Autolinee (tel. 095-536168), running 24 buses per day to Messina (trip time: 1 1/2 hr.), costing 6.70€ ($8.05), and 17 buses per day to Palermo (trip time: 2 3/4 hr.), costing 13€ ($16).

By Car -- From Messina, which will probably be your gateway into Sicily, take A18 south, passing Taormina and continuing on to Catania.

Visitor information

Tourist offices are found at the Stazione Centrale, Piazza Giovanni XXIII (tel. 095-7306255; www.apt.catania.it), and at Via Cimarosa Domenico 10 (tel. 095-7306211), both open daily 8am to 8pm. There is also a branch at the airport (tel. 095-7306266), open daily 8am to 8pm.

City Layout

Catania was rebuilt using antiseismic measures. Its major boulevards were made straight and wide, virtually eliminating anything that had existed from medieval Catania. Broad piazzas punctuate many streets. The aim was to make streets wide enough to allow Catanians to escape in case lava flows through the streets again.

In recent years, unchecked growth has sent Catania crawling up the southern slopes of the ferocious Etna and sprawling across the fertile lands of the Simeto River.

The old center of the city is the Piazza Duomo, with the aforementioned fountain of the ancient elephant. Splitting Catania in two parts is its main street, Via Vittorio Emanuele II, which begins east at Piazza del Martini running west past Piazza Duomo.

Running on a north-south axis, Via Etnea is the grand boulevard of Catania that runs north from Piazza Duomo for 3km (1 3/4 miles). Along this avenue are the best restaurants and boutiques. Eventually Via Etnea reaches Villa Bellini, the beautiful public gardens.

In western Catania, Via Crociferi is the city's gracious street of the baroque, flanked by churches and palazzi.

Getting Around

Traffic is not quite as horrendous as in Palermo, but it's still the second worst in Sicily. Don't even attempt to use a car. Go by bus or taxi. Most of the historic treasures in Catania can be covered on foot.

By Bus -- AMT (Azienda Municipale Trasporti), Via Plebiscito 747 (tel. 095-7517111), operates a good network of buses, branching out across the city. Tickets cost .80€ (95¢) and are valid for 90 minutes. A ticket valid for a day goes for 2€ ($2.40). You can purchase tickets at tabacchi (tobacco stands) and news kiosks. Tip: If you take circular bus no. 410, you'll be treated to a round-trip of all the major sightseeing attractions for the cost of a one-way fare. The service is run only by appointment; call tel. 095-7517111.

By Metro -- The very limited subway system has trains running every 15 to 30 minutes daily from 7am to 8:45pm, costing .80€ (95¢) for a ticket valid for 90 minutes. Metro tickets, like bus tickets, are available from news kiosks and tobacco shops. Service runs from Stazione Centrale at Platform 11 south to Catania Porto and north and northwest all the way to Catania Borgo, the terminus for the Stazione Circumetnea via Caronda 490.

By Taxi -- CST (tel. 095-330966) operates 24-hour taxi service. Taxi ranks are found at the Stazione Centrale and Piazza Duomo.