Top Historic Sights in Catania, Italy
Explore the historic highlights of Catania
Palazzo degli Elefanti
Palazzo degli Elefanti ('Elephants Palace') currently houses the Town Hall of Catania. The palace, located on the northern side of the Cathedral square, was begun in 1696 after the devastating earthquake of 1693, its original designed having been commissioned to Giovan Battista Longobardo. The eastern, southern, and western façades were however designed at a later stage by Giovan Battista Vaccarini, while th ...
Founded: 1696 |
Location:
Catania, Italy
Terme Achilliane
The 'Achillian' Baths are numbered amongst the principal public bathing establishments of Roman date which survive in Catania, alongside the Terme dell"Indirizzo and the Terme della Rotonda, and constitute a mysterious and highly suggestive place. They are located beneath the Piazza Duomo and may be reached through a narrow underground passage next to the principal façade of the Cathedral. The name derive ...
Founded: 2nd century AD |
Location:
Catania, Italy
Catania Cathedral
Catania Cathedral has been destroyed and rebuilt several times because of earthquakes and eruptions of the nearby Mount Etna. It was originally constructed in 1078-1093, on the ruins of the ancient Roman Achillean Baths, by order of Roger I of Sicily, who had conquered the city from the Islamic emirate of Sicily. At the time it had the appearance of a fortified church. In 1169 it was almost entirely destroyed by an eart ...
Founded: 1711 |
Location:
Catania, Italy
University of Catania
The University of Catania is the oldest university in Sicily and the 13th oldest in Italy. The university was founded by King Alfonso V of Aragon (who was also King Alfonso I of Sicily) on 19 October 1434. Alfonso V with this gesture wanted to compensate the city (in which there had been recently established the Royal Court) for moving the Sicilian capital from Catania to Palermo. The activity of the Atheneum actually st ...
Founded: 1434 |
Location:
Catania, Italy
Basilica della Collegiata
The Basilica della Collegiata was built in the early 18th century, after the earthquake of 1693 that had destroyed most of the city. The design of the church is attributed to Angelo Italia (1628–1700), who changed the orientation of the previous edifice destroyed by the earthquake, in order to have it facing the new via Uzeda (current Etnea Street) according to the rebuilding plan of the city. The façade, design ...
Founded: 1768 |
Location:
Catania, Italy
Roman Amphitheatre of Catania
The amphitheatre of Catania is the most complicated and largest of all the amphitheatres in Sicily. It was built in the Roman Imperial period, probably in the 2nd century AD, on the northern edge of the ancient city at the base of the Montevergine hill. Only a small section of the structure is now visible, below ground level, to the north of Piazza Stesicoro. The external diameter was 125 x 105 metres, while the external ...
Founded: 2nd century AD |
Location:
Catania, Italy
San Benedetto Church
Dedicated to St. Benedict of Nursia, the church of San Benedetto was built from April 1334, then it was destroyed by 1693 Sicily earthquake. The church and the monastery were rebuilt between 1708 and 1763 and Giovanni Battista Vaccarini was one of the main architects. The church was also damaged by bombing in World War II and later restored by the architect Armand Dillon. Its most famous feature is the Angel"s Stai ...
Founded: 1708-1763 |
Location:
Catania, Italy
Teatro Massimo Bellini
The Teatro Massimo Bellini is an opera house in Catania. Named after the local-born composer Vincenzo Bellini, it was inaugurated in 1890 with a performance of the composer"s masterwork, Norma. The exterior of the house matches the distinctive Sicilian Baroque style of the neighboring buildings of the late 17th Century. Its marble foyer, the “Ridotto”, is ornate and stuccoed, and a statue of Bellini is locat ...
Founded: 1890 |
Location:
Catania, Italy
The Roman Theatre of Catania
The Roman Theatre of Catania was built in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD to the remains of earlier Greek theatre. It had seats for 7000 visitors.
Founded: 1st century AD |
Location:
Catania, Italy
Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena
The Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l"Arena in Catania, Sicily, is one of the largest monasteries in Europe and the second biggest Benedictine monastery in Europe. The monastery was founded in 1558 and today it hosts the Department of Humanities of the University of Catania. The monastery complex is located in the historical centre of the city of Catania, with the church of San Nicolò l"Arena. It shows a ...
Founded: 1558 |
Location:
Catania, Italy
Palazzo Biscari
Palazzo Biscari was built by will of the Paternò Castello family, the princes of Biscari, starting from the late 17th century, lasting for much of the following century, after the devastations of the 1693 earthquake. The new palace was built directly against the city walls (Charles V"s walls), which had partially withstood the earthquake. The oldest section was built under Ignazio, third prince of Biscari, who ent ...
Founded: 1763 |
Location:
Catania, Italy
Ursino Castle
Castello Ursino was built between 1239 and 1250, as one of the royal castles of Emperor Frederick II, King of Sicily. In 1295, during the Sicilian Vespers, the Parliament which declared deposed James II of Aragon as King of Sicily, replacing him with Frederick III, was held here. The following year it was captured by Robert of Anjou but was later again in Aragonese hands. After the move of the capital away from Catania a ...
Founded: 1239-1250 |
Location:
Catania, Italy