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CATANIA
Catania is the second largest city of Sicily and is the
capital of the province which bears its name. With some
306,000 inhabitants (750,000 in the metropolitan area) it
has the second highest population density on the island. The
city's patron saint is Saint Agatha.
Catania is located on the east coast of the island, half way
between Messina and Siracusa and is at the foot of the
active volcano Mount Etna.
It was founded in the 8th century BC by Greek colonizers
from Chalcis in Euboea led by Euarchos. Initially called
Αἴτνη (Aítnē or Ætna), after the volcano, the city was later
known as Κατάνη (Katánē—see also List of traditional Greek
place names). It was extensively destroyed by earthquakes in
1169 and 1693 and by lava flows which ran over and around it
into the sea. The first Sicilian university was founded
there in 1434.
The city has been buried by lava a total of seven times in
recorded history, and in layers under the present day city
are the Roman city that preceded it, and the Greek city
before that.
Giovanni Battista Vaccarini's principal façade (1736) is an
example of the city's Sicilian Baroque. The Baroque interior
of the church of St. Benedict.Much of the ancient monuments
of the Roman city have been destroyed by the numerous
earthquakes. Currently, remains of the following buildings
can be seen:
The Theater (2nd century)
The Amphitheater (2nd century)
The Odeon (3rd century CE)
The symbol of the city is u Liotru, or the Fontana
dell'Elefante and was constructed in 1736 by Giovan Battista
Vaccarini. It is a manufact in lava stone portraying an
elephant and surmounted by an obelisk. Legend has it that
Vaccarini's original elephant was neuter, which the men of
Catania took as an insult to their virility. To appease them,
Vaccarini appended appropriately elephantine testicles to
the original statue. The Sicilian name u Liotru is perhaps a
deformation of Heliodorus. A similar sculpture is in Piazza
Santa Maria della Minerva in Rome.
Baroque churches and palaces
The Cathedral (Duomo)
The Badia of St. Agatha
Sant'Agata la Vetere
Sant'Agata alla Fornace
St. Francis, housing the mortal remains of Eleanor of Sicily
St. Benedict
Basilica Collegiata (early 18th century). It is on the Latin
cross plan with a nave and two aisles. The high altar has a
Madonna icon, probably of Russian manufacture.
Biscari Palace
Elephants Palace
Reburdone Palace
Benedictine monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena
Villa Cerami
The Castello Ursino, built by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen
in the 13th century.
The church of Santa Maria del Gesù (16th century)
The Porta Ferdinandea, a triumphal arch erected in 1768 to
celebrate the marriage of Ferdinand I of Two Sicilies and
Marie Caroline of Austria.
Under the city runs the river Amenano, visible in just one
point, south of Piazza Duomo.
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