Guide to the Old Town Center


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Catania is beautiful, lively and has a wealth of sites of artistic, historical and religious value. A cradle of theater and music, it was the birthplace and home of illustrious writers and musicians (such as Giovanni Verga, Vincenzo Bellini and Vitaliano Brancati) who captured the city's soul and transformed it into unforgettable notes and prose.
No tourist guide to the old town center of Catania could ever be exhaustive because the vivacity of Catania's nightlife is extraordinary; because its devotion to Sant'Agata, the city's patron, celebrated with a festival that involves the entire city every February 3rd to 5th in an extraordinary procession joined by all its residents who, for three days (and three nights!), experience a touching religious fervor and revive ancient traditions, is incredible; because the voices, odors and colors of the market and fish market are uniquely and spectacularly beautiful.

Our guide to Catania uses different colors to identify the areas of the old town center where sites, piazzas, palazzi, churches, museums, fountains and theaters await you, along with our hotels to experience Catania with you.

Some tourist information about Catania
and the old town center

Blue Catania

In Blue Catania, you will find:
· Piazza Federico di Svevia with the imposing Castello Ursino commissioned by Frederick II in the mid-13th century, which has retained its fascination and Norman authority over the years and is today the home of Catania's Museo Civico.
· Piazza Università, defined by two masterpieces by Vaccarini, the principal architect that designed Catania's magnificent Baroque face: Palazzo dell'Università, with an elegant double-loggia courtyard, the university's home since 1434, the year it was established by Alfonso V of Aragon, the Magnanimous, and the magnificent Palazzo di Sangiuliano.
· Piazza Mazzini, framed by magnificent porticos.
· Piazza Duomo, a jewel of Baroque architecture with its monument-symbol in the center, the Fountain of the Elephant, facing the Cathedral with the Chapel of Sant'Agata and its precious treasure, the Palazzo degli Elefanti, the City Hall and the Palazzo dei Chierici.
· Via Sant'Anna, just a stone's throw from Piazza Mazzini, where the Museum Home of Giovanni Verga is at no. 8
· Via Vittorio Emanuele II flanked by splendid noble 18th-century palazzi and the magnificent remains of the Roman Theater and the Odeon.

Green Catania

In Green Catania, you will find:
· Piazza Dante and the magnificent Benedictine Monastery, which today houses several university departments; the Church of San Nicolò and the remains of a Roman period bath.
· Piazza San Francesco d'Assisi, at the beginning of the splendid Via Crociferi.
· Via Crociferi, a triumph of 18th-century Baroque, this is one of the most charming streets of Catania, with a seamless succession of religious buildings such as the Church of San Benedetto, the Church of the Gesuiti and the Church of San Giuliano.
· Villa Bellini, charming public gardens named for the great musician and, with their age old trees, palms and flowerbeds, among the most beautiful in Europe. The monumental entrance is on Via Etnea.

Yellow Catania

In Yellow Catania, you will find:
· Piazza Cutelli, which takes its name from the magnificent 18th-century palazzo that overlooks it, the Convitto Cutelli, once called the Collegio dei Nobili with its beautiful circular courtyard.
· Piazza Vincenzo Bellini, the fulcrum of Catania's life after sunset, in front of the splendid Teatro Massimo Bellini, a temple of classical music dedicated to Vincenzo Bellini, the great composer known as the Swan of Catania, that hosts important lyric and classical seasons. A grandiose work by Carlo Sada, with exemplary acoustics and elegant decorations both inside and outside.
· Piazza Carlo Alberto, the site of the picturesque market that the Catanians call “Fera O luni”.
· Scalinata Alessi, a unique scenic staircase that comprises Via Alessi, the street that joins Via Crociferi to Via Manzoni in the heart of Baroque Catania. It is very lively in the evening when the classic and trendy nightspots light-up and stay open until late in the evening and where Catania's famous “movida catanese,” or nightlife, begins.
· Via Etnea, the ancient Via Uzeda, is today the beautiful Via Etnea where magnificent palazzi and sumptuous churches alternating with innumerable boutiques and pastry shops make for a delightful stroll. Along Via Etnea, you can see the Palazzo dell’Università and the Palazzo di Sangiuliano, the Basilica Collegiata and the Church of the Minoriti, all 18th-century Catanian Baroque buildings.