Catania
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{{Infobox CityIT
|official_name = Comune di Catania
|img_coa = Catania-Stemma-Alt.png
|img_coa_small =
|image_skyline = Catane Fontana Dell elefante.jpg
|image_caption = ''u Liotru'', symbol of Catania
|region = {{RegioneIT|sigla=SIC}}
|province = {{ProvinciaIT (short form)|sigla=CT}} (CT)
|mayor = Raffaele Stancanelli
|mayor_party =
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 7
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 = 180.88
|population_footnotes =
|population_as_of = 12-2007
|population_total = 298957
|pop_density_footnotes =
|population_density_km2 = 1661,88
|coordinates = {{coor at dms|37|31|0|N|15|4|0|E|region:IT-CT_type:city(300601)}}
|gentilic = Catanesi
|telephone = 095
|postalcode = 95100
|frazioni = San Giovanni Galermo
|saint = [[Saint Agatha|St. Agatha]]
|day = [[February 5]]
|mapx = {{ #expr:37 + 31 / 60.0 }}
|mapy = {{ #expr:15 + 4 / 60.0 }}
|locator_position =
|native_name = Catania
|name = Catania
|website = http://www.comune.catania.it/
}}
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[[Image:Catania duomo Sicilia.JPG|thumb|250px|Catania Duomo, Sicilia. [[Giovanni Battista Vaccarini]]'s principal façade (1736) is an example of the city's [[Sicilian Baroque]] architecture.]]
[[Image:Catania - Piazza del Duomo - Foto di Giovanni Dall'Orto.JPG|thumb|250px|''Piazza Duomo'' (Cathedral Square) in Catania.]]
[[Image:Catane San Benedetto1.jpg|thumb|250px|The Baroque interior of the church of St. Benedict.]]
'''Catania''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{polytonic|Κατάνη}} – '''''Katánē'''''; [[Latin]]: '''''Catăna''''' and '''''Catĭna''''';<ref>Roman writers fluctuate between the two forms Catana and Catina, of which the latter is, perhaps, the most common, and is supported by inscriptions (Orell. 3708, 3778); but the analogy of the Greek {{polytonic|Κατάνη}}, and the modern Catania, would point to the former as the more correct.</ref> [[Arab language|Arabic]]: '''''Balad-al-Fil''''' or '''''Medinat-al-Fil''''', '''''Wadi Musa''''' and '''''Qataniyah''''') is an [[Italy|Italian]] city on the east coast of [[Sicily]] facing the [[Ionian Sea]], between [[Messina]] and [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]. It is the capital of the [[Province of Catania|eponymous province]], and with 298,957 inhabitants<ref>Official ISTAT figures [http://demo.istat.it/bil2007/index.html]</ref> (more than 700,000 in the Metropolitan Area)<ref>Official ISTAT figures, cit. in Leone, Piraino (1996) ''Le aree metropolitane siciliane'', Incipit - Collana Ancisicilia.[http://www.anci.sicilia.it/aree/immagini/ct_tab2.gif] The population of the Metropolitan Area of Catania (ie. Catania and its urban hinterland) has not to be confounded with the population of the Province of Catania, a far broader area that counts 58 Comuni and 1,081,915 inhabitants (Official ISTAT figures, 12-2007). [http://demo.istat.it/bil2007/index.html]</ref> it is the second-largest city on the island.
==Etymology==
===The Siculian Prehistory===
The ancient [[Sicels]] were wont to found and denominate cities and villages choosing between geographical connotations and peculiar attributes of the locations they discovered and peopled.The Siculian word ''"Katane"'' signifies ''"grater, flaying knife, scorch"''.This term was immediately adopted by the new Greek colonists that used it to name the preexistent indigenous place. An additional acceptation is: ''harsh lands, uneven ground,sharp stones, rugged or rough soil''. Such variety of senses is easily justifiable since the Etnean Metropolis has always been positioned, rebuilt and set inside a black lavic landscape.<ref>http://sicilia.indettaglio.it/eng/comuni/ct/catania/catania.html</ref>
===The Chalcidian Colony of the Sicilian Naxos===
Around 729 BC, the archaic village of ''Katane'' became a [[Chalcis|Chalcidian]] colony (''Katánē'') and its native population was bound to be rapidly assimilated and hellenized. The founders, coming from the coastwise [[Naxos (Sicily)|Naxos]], will make use of the autochthonal name for their new settlement.
===The Empire of Rome===
Around 263 BC, the Etnean ''Decuman City'' was far-famed as ''Catĭna'' and ''Catăna''. The former has been primarily utilized for a supposed assonance with ''"catina"'', namely the Latin feminization of the vocable ''"catinus"''.<ref>Adolf Holm - Catania Antica, Edizioni G.Libertini 1925</ref> ''Catinus'' has, in fact, two main values: ''“a gulf, a basin, a bay”'' and ''“a bowl, a vessel, a trough”''. Both explications may be admissible thanks to the city’s typical trait and topography. Catania has constantly abutted against the sea, bordering the Gulf of Catania, but at the same time, it has always been reconstructed like a dilating crown beside the acuminate slopes of Etna.
===The Arab Conquest of Sicily===
Around 900 AD, the Saracenic Dominance gave rise to ''Balad-Al-Fil'' and ''Medinat-Al-Fil'', the two official Catania's Arabic appellatives.The first translates ''"The Village or The Country of the Elephant"'' and the second is simply and proudly ''"The City of the Elephant"''.<ref>Michele Amari - Edrisi, Il Libro di Re Ruggero, I, p.71</ref> The Elephant is the lavic one of Piazza Duomo’s Fountain, probably a prehistorical sculpture reforged in Byzantine Era, an idolatrised talisman that was reputed able to protect the city from any sort of enemies and even so powerful to keep away misfortune, plagues or natural calamities.The Moslem Conquerors accepted this pachydermical protection deciding to name after it the vanquished town. Today's name stems from an Arab toponym. ''Qatanyiah'' are literally ''"[[Legume|the leguminous plants]]"'' (in Arab ''"Qataniyy"''), whose feminized collective suffix is ''"yiah"''.<ref>Autori Vari- Enciclopedia di Catania, Edizione Tringale 1987</ref> Products like [[lentil]]s, beans, peas, [[Vicia faba|broad beans]] and [[lupin]]s were chiefly cultivated in the Catanian Plain before the arrival of [[Aghlabid|Aghlabites]]' soldiery from [[Tunisia]]. Afterwards, many Islamic Agronomists will be the principal boosters and those who overcropped the [[citrus]]es orchards in the greater part of Sicily's ploughlands.Lastly, ''Wadi Musa'' intends the ''River or the Valley of Moses'' that is to say the sometime Arab name of the ''Symaethus River'', but this denomination was rarely associated to pinpoint the seat of the then ''[[Emirate of Sicily|Emirate]] of Catania''.<ref>Autori Vari- Enciclopedia di Catania, Edizione Tringale 1987</ref><ref>Santi Correnti - La Città semprerifiorente, Edizioni Greco 1981</ref><ref>Santi Correnti & Santino Spartà - Le strade di Catania, Edizioni Newton Compton, 2007</ref>
==Geography==
Catania is located on the east coast of the island, at the foot of the active volcano [[Mount Etna]]. The position of Catania at the foot of Mount Etna was the source, as Strabo remarks, both of benefits and evils to the city. For on the one hand, the violent outbursts of the volcano from time to time desolated great parts of its territory; on the other, the volcanic ashes produced a soil of great fertility, adapted especially for the growth of vines. (Strab. vi. p. 269.)
==Demographics==
As of December 2007, there are 298,597 people residing in Catania,<ref name=istat>http://demo.istat.it/bil2007/index.html</ref> of whom 47.2% are male and 52.8% are female. Minors (children agef 18 and younger) totalled 20.50 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 18.87 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Catania residents is 41 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Catania declined by 3.35 percent, while [[Italy]] as a whole grew by 3.85 percent.<ref name=istat/> The reason of this population decline in the Comune di Catania is mainly to be attributed to population leaving the city centre to go to live in the up-town residential areas of the comuni of the Metropolitan Area. As a result of this, while the population in the comune di Catania declines, the population of the hinterland comuni increases making the overall population of the Metropolian area of Catania increase.<ref name=istat/> The current birth rate of Catania is 10.07 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. As of 2006, 98.03% of the population was [[Italian people|Italian]]. The largest immigrant group came from [[sub-saharan Africa]]: 0.69%, [[South Asia]]: 0.46%, and from other [[European]] countries (particularly from [[Ukraine]] and [[Poland]]): 0.33%. Catania is almost entirely [[Roman Catholic]].
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==Catania's Escutcheon==
The symbol of the city is ''u Liotru'', or the ''Fontana dell'Elefante'' and was assembled in 1736 by [[Giovanni Battista Vaccarini]]. It is made of marble portraying an ancient lavic elephant and surmounted by an Egyptian obelisk from [[Aswan|Syene]].Tall tale 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 language|Sicilian]] name ''u Liotru'' is the deformation of [[Heliodorus (magician and necromancer from Catania)|Heliodorus]]. A similar sculpture is in [[Santa Maria sopra Minerva|Piazza Santa Maria della Minerva]] in [[Rome]].Catania's coat of arms is a red elephant on a light-blue field with an '''"A"''' (Agatha's initial or the first letter of Aetna) set higher above its back.
===Civic Mottoes===
The two most recurrent Latin mottoes of Catania are readable on the marble tags set on the baroque prospect of the monumental ''[[Triumphal Arch]]'' of ''Piazza Palestro'' whose name is "''Porta Garibaldi''" (''Garibaldi Gate'') but also "''Porta Ferdinandea''" (''Ferdinandean Gate'').
They still enunciate: "'''''Melior De Cinere Surgo'''''" (''I Arise Better From My Ashes'') and "'''''Armis Decoratur, Litteris Armatur'''''" (''Adorned with Weapons, Armed with Letters'').
The first underlines the interchange down the ages between its unforeseen destructions and the gradual and successive reconstructions, comparing such cyclicities of sudden ruinations and consequent rebirths to the legend of the mythical [[Phoenix (mythology)|Phoenix]], the fiery creature perennially fated to upspring anew from its own [[Ember|embers]].This [[Fire bird (mythology)|firebird]] is, in fact, sculpted atop the archway of the abovementioned arch-shaped structure.
The second simply wants to emphasize the role of cultural and [[University of Catania|University]] pole for the whole Sicily from [[Middle Ages]] till modern times since the armaments were largely reproduced and utilized as ornamental and architectural elements to bedight the fronts of the main noblest city's dwellings.
==History==
===Foundation===
All ancient authors agree in representing Catania as a Greek colony named '''{{polytonic|Κατάνη}}''' (''Katánē''—see also [[List of traditional Greek place names]]) of [[Chalcis|Chalcidic]] origin, but founded immediately from the neighboring city of [[Naxos (Sicily)|Naxos]], under the guidance of a leader named Euarchos (Euarchus). The exact date of its foundation is not recorded, but it appears from [[Thucydides]] to have followed shortly after that of Leontini (modern [[Lentini]]), which he places in the fifth year after [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]], or 730 BCE. (Thuc. vi. 3; [[Strabo]] vi. p. 268; [[Scymnus|Scymn. Ch.]] 286; [[Scylax|Scyl.]] § 13; [[Stephanus of Byzantium|Steph. B.]] ''s. v.'')
===Greek Sicily===
The only event of its early history which has been transmitted to us is the legislation of [[Charondas]], and even of this the date is wholly uncertain. But from the fact that his legislation was extended to the other Chalcidic cities, not only of Sicily, but of [[Magna Graecia]] also, as well as to his own country ([[Aristotle|Arist.]], ''Pol.'' ii. 9), it is evident that Catania continued in intimate relations with these kindred cities.
It seems to have retained its independence till the time of [[Hieron of Syracuse]], but that despot, in 476 BCE, expelled all the original inhabitants, whom he established at Leontini, while he repeopled the city with a new body of colonists, amounting, it is said, to not less than 10,000 in number, and consisting partly of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracusans]], partly of [[Peloponnese|Peloponnesians]]. He at the same time changed its name to '''{{polytonic|Αἴτνη}}''' (''Aítnē'', Aetna or Ætna, after the nearby [[Mount Etna]], an activevolcano), and caused himself to be proclaimed the [[Oekist]] or founder of the new city. As such he was celebrated by [[Pindar]], and after his death obtained heroic honors from the citizens of his new colony. ([[Diodorus|Diod.]] xi. 49, in 66; Strab. l.c.; Pind. ''Pyth.'' i., and Schol. ''ad loc.'') But this state of things was of brief duration, and a few years after the death of Hieron and the expulsion of [[Thrasybulus of Syracuse|Thrasybulus]], the Syracusans combined with [[Ducetius]], king of the [[Siculi]], to expel the newly settled inhabitants of Catania, who were compelled to retire to the fortress of [[Inessa]] (to which they gave the name of Aetna), while the old Chalcidic citizens were reinstated in the possession of Catania, 461 BCE. (Diod. xi. 76; Strab. ''l. c.'')
The period which followed the settlement of affairs at this epoch appears to have been one of great prosperity for Catania, as well as for the Sicilian cities in general: but we have no details of its history till the great [[ancient Athens|Athenian]] [[Sicilian Expedition|expedition to Sicily]] (part of the larger [[Peloponnesian War]]). On that occasion the Catanaeans, notwithstanding their Chalcidic connections, at first refused to receive the Athenians into their city: but the latter having effected an entrance, they found themselves compelled to espouse the alliance of the invaders, and Catania became in consequence the headquarters of the Athenian armament throughout the first year of the expedition, and the base of their subsequent operations against Syracuse. (Thuc. vi. 50-52, 63, 71, 89; Diod. xiii. 4, 6, 7; [[Plutarch|Plut.]] ''Nic.'' 15, 16.)
We have no information as to the fate of Catania after the close of this expedition: it is next mentioned in 403 BCE, when it fell into the power of [[Dionysius I of Syracuse]], who sold the inhabitants as slaves, and gave up the city to plunder; after which he established there a body of [[Campania]]n mercenaries. These, however, quit it again in 396 BCE, and retired to [[Aetna (city)|Aetna]], on the approach of the great [[Carthage|Carthaginian]] armament under [[Himilco (general)|Himilco]] and [[Mago (fleet commander)|Mago]]. The great sea-fight in which the latter defeated [[Leptines of Syracuse|Leptines]], the brother of Dionysius, was fought immediately off Catania, and the city apparently{{weasel-inline}} fell, in consequence, into the hands of the Carthaginians. (Diod. xiv. 15, 58, 60.)
But we have no account of its subsequent fortunes, nor does it appear who constituted its new population; it is only certain that it continued to exist. [[Callippus]], the assassin of [[Dion]], when he was expelled from Syracuse, for a time held possession of Catania (Plut. ''Dion.'' 58); and when [[Timoleon]] landed in Sicily we find it subject to a despot named [[Mamercus]], who at first joined the [[Corinth]]ian leader but afterwards abandoned his alliance for that of the Carthaginians, and was in consequence attacked and expelled by Timoleon. (Diod. xvi. 69; Plut. ''Timol.'' 13, 30-34.) Catania was now restored to liberty, and appears to have continued to retain its independence; during the wars of [[Agathocles]] with the Carthaginians, it sided at one time with the former, at others with the latter; and when [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]] landed in Sicily, Catania was the first to open its gates to him, and received him with the greatest magnificence. (Diod. xix. 110, xxii. 8, Exc. Hoesch. p. 496.)
===Roman rule===
In the [[First Punic War]], Catania was one of the first among the cities of Sicily, which made their submission to the [[Roman Republic]], after the first successes of their arms in 263 BC. (Eutrop. ii. 19.) The expression of [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (vii. 60) who represents it as having been taken by [[Valerius Messala]], is certainly a mistake. It appears to have continued afterwards steadily to maintain its friendly relations with Rome, and though it did not enjoy the advantages of a confederate city (''foederata civitas''), like its neighbors Tauromenium (modern [[Taormina]]) and Messana (modern [[Messina]]), it rose to a position of great prosperity under the Roman rule.
[[Cicero]] repeatedly mentions it as, in his time, a wealthy and flourishing city; it retained its ancient municipal institutions, its chief magistrate bearing the title of ''Proagorus''; and appears to have been one of the principal ports of Sicily for the export of corn. (Cic. ''Verr.'' iii. 4. 3, 83, iv. 23, 45; [[Livy|Liv.]] xxvii. 8.) It subsequently suffered severely from the ravages of [[Sextus Pompeius]], and was in consequence one of the cities to which a [[Colonia (Roman)|colony]] was sent by [[Augustus]]; a measure that appears to have in a great degree restored its prosperity, so that in [[Strabo]]'s time it was one of the few cities in the island that was in a flourishing condition. (Strab. vi. pp. 268, 270, 272; [[Dion Cassius|Dion Cass.]] iv. 7.)
It retained its colonial rank, as well as its prosperity, throughout the period of the [[Roman Empire]]; so that in the [[4th century]] [[Ausonius]] in his ''[[Ordo Nobilium Urbium]]'', notices Catania and Syracuse alone among the cities of Sicily. (Plin. iii. 8. s. 14; Ptol. iii. 4. § 9; Itin. Ant. pp. 87,90, 93, 94).
===Locational significance===
<!-- needs merging into the appropriate bits of History and Geography sections -->
One of the most serious eruptions of Etna happened in 121 BCE, when great part of Catania was overwhelmed by streams of lava, and the hot ashes fell in such quantities in the city itself, as to break in the roofs of the houses. Catania was in consequence exempted, for 10 years, from its usual contributions to the Roman state. (Oros. v. 13.) The greater part of the broad tract of plain to the southwest of Catania (now called the ''Piana di Catania'', a district of great fertility), appears to have belonged, in ancient times, to Leontini or Centuripa (modern [[Centuripe]]), but that portion of it between Catana itself and the mouth of the Symaethus, was annexed to the territory of the latter city, and must have furnished abundant supplies of corn. The port of Catania also, which was in great part filled up by the eruption of 1669, appears to have been in ancient times much frequented, and was the chief place of export for the corn of the rich neighboring plains. The little river Amenanus, or Amenas, which flowed through the city, was a very small stream, and could never have been navigable.
===Catania's renown in antiquity===
Catania was the birth-place of the philosopher and legislator Charondas; it was also the place of residence of the poet [[Stesichorus]], who died there, and was buried in a magnificent sepulchre outside one of the gates, which derived from thence the name of ''Porta Stesichoreia''. ([[Suda]], under {{polytonic|Στησίχορος}}.) [[Xenophanes]], the philosopher of [[Elea]], also spent the latter years of his life there (Diog. Laert. ix. 2. § 1), so that it was evidently, at an early period, a place of cultivation and refinement. The first introduction of dancing to accompany the flute, was also ascribed to [[Andron]], a citizen of Catania (Athen. i. p. 22, c.); and the first sundial that was set up in the Roman forum was carried thither by Valerius Messala from Catania, 263 BCE. (Varr. ''ap. Plin.'' vii. 60.) But few associations connected with Catania were more celebrated in ancient times than the ''Legend of the Pii Fratres'', [[Amphinomus and Anapias (Catanean Pii Fratres)|Amphinomus and Anapias]], who, on occasion of a great eruption of Etna, abandoned all their property, and carried off their aged parents on their shoulders, the stream of lava itself was said to have parted, and flowed aside so as not to harm them. Statues were erected to their honor, and the place of their burial was known as the ''Campus Piorum''; the Catanaeans even introduced the figures of the youths on their coins, and the legend became a favorite subject of allusion and declamation among the Latin poets, of whom the younger [[Lucilius]] and [[Claudian]] have dwelt upon it at considerable length. The occurrence is referred by [[Hyginus]] to the first eruption of Etna that took place after the settlement of Catania. (Strab. vi. p. 269; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]] x. 28. § 4; Conon, ''Narr.'' 43; Philostr. ''Vit. Apoll.'' v. 17; Solin. 5. § 15; Hygin. 254; Val. Max. v. 4. Ext. § 4; Lucil. ''Aetn.'' 602-40; Claudian. ''Idyll.'' 7; [[Silius Italicus|Sil. Ital.]] xiv. 196; Auson. ''Ordo Nob. Urb.'' 11.)
===From the Fall of the Roman Empire to Unification of Italy===
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After the fall of the [[Roman Empire]], Catania, like the rest of [[Sicily]], became subject of various dominations by a series of Empires, dynasties and populations:<ref>Correnti (1994), ''Breve Storia della Sicilia'', Rome, Newton Compton, pp. 22-49</ref>
* The Byzantin domination from VI c. to IX c.
* The Arabic domination from IX c. to XI c.
* The Norman domination from XI c. to XII c.
* The Svevian domination from XII c. to XIII. c.
* The Angioin domination during the XIII c.
* The Aragon domination from XIII c. to XV c.
* The Spanish domination from XV. c. to XVIII. c
* The Sabaudian domination during the XVIII c.
* The Austrian domination during the XVIII c.
* The Borbonic domination from XVIII c. up to the [[Unification of Italy]] (1861)
In 1693 the city was completely destroyed by earthquakes and by lava flows which ran over and around it into the sea. The city was then rebuilt in the precious [[baroque]] architecture that nowadays enjoys.
===Catania in Unified Italy===
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In 1860 General [[Garibaldi]] freed [[Sicily]] putting an end to fourteen centuries of foreign domination, and since 1861 Catania is a free city of [[Italy]], whose history it shares since then.
After [[World War II]], and the constitution of [[Italy|Italian Republic]] (1946), the history of Catania is, like the history of other cities of Southern [[Italy]], an attempt to catch up with the economic and social development of the richer Northern [[Italy]] and to solve the problems that for historic reasons plague the south of [[Italy]], namely a heavy gap in industrial development and infrastructures, and the presence of criminal organisations.
This notwithstanding, Catania during the 60s (and partly during the 90s) enjoyed a great development and an economic, social and cultural effervescence.
In the last years, Catania economy and social development somewhat faltered and in these years the city is facing economic and social stagnation.
==Landmarks==
===Classical===
[[Image:Catania Greek-Roman theater.JPG|thumb|250px|Ruins of Greek-Roman theater, Catania, Sicily.]]
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 [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] city that preceded it, and the Greek city before that. Many of the ancient monuments of the Roman city have been destroyed by the numerous seisms. Currently, remains of the following buildings can be seen:
*The [[Theatre of Ancient Greece|Greek-Roman Theatre]] (2nd century)
*The [[Odeon]] (3rd century CE)
*The Catanian [[Amphitheatre]] (2nd century)
*The Greek [[Acropolis]] of Mountvirgin's Hill (Collina di Montevergine)
*The Roman [[Aqueduct]]'s Ruins
*The Roman [[Forum (Roman)|Forum]] in Piazza San Pantaleone
*Roman ruins in Cortile Archirotti
*Several Christian [[basilica]]s, [[Hypogeum|hypogea]], Roman burial monuments and [[Catacombs]] in some urban areas.
*The Roman Columns in Piazza [[Giuseppe Mazzini]]
Roman structures:
*The Achillean [[Thermæ]] • Terme Achilliane or Terme Achillee
*The Guidance's Thermæ • Terme dell'Indirizzo
*The [[Hodegetria|Itria]]'s Thermæ • Terme dell'Itria
*The [[Rotunda (architecture)|Rotunda]]'s Thermæ • Terme della Rotonda
*The Four Quoin's Thermæ • Terme dei Quattro Canti
*Palazzo Asmundo's Thermæ • Terme di Palazzo Asmundo
*[[University of Catania|University]]'s Thermæ • Terme del Palazzo dell'Università
*Casa Gagliano's Thermæ • Terme di Casa Gagliano
*[[Anthony the Great|Saint Anthony Abbot]]'s Thermæ • Terme della Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate
===Baroque and historical churches===
*''[[Agatha of Sicily|Saint Agatha]]'s Cathedral'' • '''''[[Duomo]] di Sant'Agata''''' ([[1070]]-[[1093]])
*''Saint Agatha's [[Abbey]]'' • '''''Badìa di Sant'Agata''''' ([[1620]])
*''[[Saint Placidus|Saint Placid]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Placido'''''
*''[[Saint Joseph]] by the [[Dome]]'' • ''Chiesa di San Giuseppe al Duomo''
*''Most Holy Sacrament by the Dome'' • ''Chiesa del Santissimo Sacramento al Duomo''
*''[[Martin of Tours|Saint Martin]] of the White Garbs'' • '''''Chiesa di San Martino dei Bianchi'''''
*''Saint Agatha the Eldest'' • '''''Chiesa di Sant'Agata la Vetere''''' ([[254]])
*''Saint Agatha by the Furnace'' or ''[[Saint Blaise]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Sant'Agata alla Fornace''''' or '''''San Biagio''''' ([[1098]], rebuilt in [[1700]])
*''Saint Prison's Church'' or ''Saint Agatha in Jail'' • '''''Chiesa del Santo Carcere''''' or '''''Sant'Agata al Carcere''''' ([[1760]])
*''[[Francis of Assisi|Saint Francis of Assisi]] nigh [[Immaculate Conception|the Immaculate]]'' ('''''Chiesa di San Francesco d'[[Assisi]] all' Immacolata''''') , housing the mortal remains of Queen [[Eleanor of Sicily]]. ([[1329]])
*''[[Benedict of Nursia|Saint Benedict of Nursia]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Benedetto di [[Norcia]]''''' ([[1704]]-[[1713]])
*''Great Abbey and Little Abbey of [[Benedictine|Benedictine Nuns]]' Cloister'' • '''''Badìa Grande e Badìa Piccola del Chiostro delle Monache Benedettine'''''
*''Benedictine Nuns' Arch'' • '''''Arco delle Monache Benedettine'''''
*''Saint Mary of [[Alms]]' [[Collegiate church|Collegiate]] [[List of Italian basilicas|Basilica]]'' (early 18th century).
The '''''Basilica Collegiata di Santa Maria dell'Elemosina''''' is on the Latin cross plan with a nave and two aisles. The high altar has a ''Madonna'' icon, probably of Byzantine manufacture.
*''Saint Mary of Ogninella'' • ''Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ogninella''
*''Saint Michael the Lesser'' • ''Chiesa di San Michele Minore''
*''[[Michael (archangel)|Saint Michael Archangel]]'' or ''[[Franciscan|Minorites]]' Church'' • '''''San Michele Archangelo''''' or '''''Chiesa dei Minoriti'''''
*''[[Julian the Hospitaller|Saint Julian]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Giuliano'''''
*''Monastery of Saint Julian'' • '''''Monastero di San Giuliano'''''
*''[[Teresa of Ávila|Saint Teresa]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Teresa'''''
*''[[Francis Borgia|Saint Francis Borgia]]'' or ''[[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]]' Church'' • '''''San Francesco Borgia''''' or '''''Chiesa dei Gesuiti'''''
*''Convent of the Jesuits'' • '''''Convento dei Gesuiti'''''
*''Saint Mary of [[Jesus]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù''''' ([[1465]], restored in [[1706]])
*''[[Saint Dominic]]'' or ''Saint Mary the Great'' • '''''Chiesa di San Domenico''''' or '''''Santa Maria la Grande''''' ([[1224]])
*''[[Dominican Order|Dominicans]]' Friary'' • '''''Monastero dei Domenicani''''' ([[1224]])
*''Saint Mary of Purity'' or ''[[Visitation (Christian)|Saint Mary of Visitation]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Purità''''' or '''''Chiesa della Visitazione''''' ([[1775]])
*''[[Madonna (art)|Madonna]] of [[Divine grace|Graces]]' Chapel'' • '''''Cappella della [[Madonna delle Grazie]]'''''
*''[[Saint Ursula]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Sant'Orsola'''''
*''Saint Agatha at [[Lava|the Lava Flows]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Sant'Agata alle Sciare'''''
*''[[Euplius|Saint Euplius]] Old Church Ruins'' • '''''Ruderi della Vecchia Chiesa di Sant'Euplio'''''
*''[[Saint Cajetan]] at [[Grotto|the Grottoes]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Gaetano alle Grotte''''' ([[260]])
*''Basilica of the Most Holy [[Annunciation|Annunciated]] Mary of [[Mount Carmel|Carmel]]'' • '''''Basilica di Maria Santissima Annunziata al [[Our Lady of Mount Carmel|Carmine]]''''' ([[1729]])
*''Saint Agatha at the Borough'' • '''''Chiesa di Sant'Agata al Borgo'''''. ([[1669]], destroyed in [[1693]] and rebuilt in [[1709]]). The ''"Borough"'' (''il Borgo'') is an inner district of Catania.
*''[[Saint Nicholas]] at the Borough'' • '''''Chiesa di San Nicola al Borgo'''''
*''[[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|Most Holy Sacrament]] at the Borough'' • '''''Chiesa del Santissimo Sacramento al Borgo'''''
*''Saint Mary of [[Divine Providence|Providence]] at the Borough'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Provvidenza al Borgo'''''
*''Chapel of the [[Blindness|Blind]]'s Hospice'' • '''''Cappella dell'Ospizio dei Ciechi'''''
*''[[Camillus de Lellis|Saint Camillus]] of [[Crucifer|the Crucifers]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Camillo dei Crociferi'''''
*''Catanian [[Benedictine]] Monastery of Saint Nicholas the Arena'' • '''''Monastero Benedettino di San Nicola l'Arena''''' ([[1558]])
*''Basilica of Saint Nicholas the Arena'' • '''''Chiesa di San Nicola l'Arena''''' ([[1687]])
*''Saint Mary of Guidance'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Indirizzo''''' ([[1730]])
*''[[Clare of Assisi|Saint Clare]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Chiara''''' ([[1563]])
*''Convent of the [[Order of Poor Ladies|Poor Clares]]'' • '''''Monastero delle Clarisse''''' ([[1563]])
*''[[Saint Sebastian|Saint Sebastian Martyr]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Sebastiano Martire''''' ([[1313]])
*''[[Saint Anne]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Sant'Anna'''''
*''[[Shrines to the Virgin Mary|Marian Sanctuary]] of Saint Mary of Help'' • '''''Santuario di Santa Maria dell'Aiuto'''''
*''[[Shrine of the Holy House|Madonna of Loreto]]'' • '''''Chiesa della Madonna di Loreto'''''
*''Church of the Saint Joseph at Transit'' • '''''Chiesa di San Giuseppe al Transito'''''
*''Immaculate Conception of Little Minorites'' • '''''Chiesa dell'Immacolata Concezione dei Minoritelli'''''
*''Saint Agatha by Little Virgins' Boarding Convent'' • '''''Chiesa di Sant'Agata al Conservatorio delle Verginelle'''''
*''Our Lady of Itria'' or ''[[Hodegetria|Saint Mary Hodigitria]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Itria''''' or '''''Odigitria'''''.
''Hodigitria'' is a Greek word meaning '''''She who shows the Way'''''.
*''[[Philip Neri|Saint Philip Neri]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Filippo Neri'''''
*''[[Martha|Saint Martha]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Marta'''''
*''[[Child Jesus|Holy Child]]'' • '''''Chiesa del Santo Bambino'''''
*''Our Lady of [[Divine Providence|Providence]]'' • ''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Provvidenza''
*''Saint Beryllus (or Birillus) inside Saint Mary of the Sick'' • '''''Chiesa di San Berillo in Santa Maria degli Ammalati'''''
*''Our Lady of the Poor'' • ''Chiesa della Madonna dei Poveri''
*''Saint [[Vincent de Paul]]'' • ''Chiesa di S.Vincenzo de'Paoli''
*''Saint [[John the Baptist]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista''''' in the suburb of ''San Giovanni di Galermo''
*''[[Anthony the Great|Saint Anthony Abbot]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate'''''
*''Little Saviour's [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] [[Chapel]]'' • '''''Cappella Bizantina del Salvatorello'''''
*''[[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]]'' •'''''Chiesa di Sant'Agostino'''''
*''Church of the Most Holy [[Trinity]]'' • '''''Chiesa della Santissima Trinità'''''
*''Church of the Little Virgins'' • '''''Chiesa delle Verginelle'''''
*''Our Lady of the Rotunda'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Rotonda'''''
*''Church of the Most Holy Retrieved Sacrament'' • '''''Chiesa del Santissimo Sacramento Ritrovato''''' ([[1796]]).
This church was constructed on the [[Lava|Lavas]] of "Armisi", a shelfy locale on the seaward coast of Catania where a Sacred [[Monstrance]] with its [[Sacramental bread|Holy Hosts]] were repossessed after a sacrilegious theft occured in 1796.On May 29th, a pair of scoundrels entered undisturbed inside the Jesuits' Church to seize without apparent hindrance the precious Ostensory.In that period the ''Dome of Saint Agatha'' was closed for repairs, so this parish was considered the most apt to assume the cathedral's functions.The two rascals were rapidly singled out and caught, but the broadmindedness of their misdeed produced a profound upset and a palpable indignation that pervaded both the civilian and religious society of the city.The meticulous researches involved the whole citizenship that contributed with extreme participation and great affliction.Some well-grounded evidences would have led to most precise traces near a lavic expanse looking on to the sea not far from the purlieu of the current central railway station.And moreover, the presence and the yelps of a black [[mongrel]], nestled by the scabrous hollow where the ''[[Pyx|Holy Pyx]]'' was hidden permitted its exact identification.Amazingly, however, the meek animal had not half a mind to stand aside from the filthy rag that wrapped the ''Casket''.Rather than go away it kept lying down steadily for a long time. It was as though it wanted to protect and care for the mysterious and not edible result of its flair.A few people started throwing stones toward it but this solution was completely ineffectual and incapable sending it away from its temporary dog's bed.The tries of persuasion of those present will last quite a while.Because of such disconcerting stubbornness, the then religious authorities decided unanimously to lay the foundation stone of the new ''Temple of the Most Holy Retrieved Sacrament'' over a "''forlorn and unsuited area abounding in magmatic scales''".The district, where the episode took place, will be commonly known as the Quarter of "''Our Lord Found''" ("''Nostru Signuri Asciatu''" after Catania's dialect).
*''Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ognina'' • '''''Santuario di Santa Maria in Ognina''''' ([[1308]]). ''"Ognina"'' is the maritime quarter of Catania.
[[Ulysses]] and his companions landed in these precincts during the Sicilian scenes of the [[Odyssey]] when they will encounter and encave inside the cavern of [[Polyphemus]].Immediately after the blinding of the [[cyclops]], the ''King of [[Ithaca]]'' and the survived few will flee from his fury reaching the nearby [[roadstead]] of Ognina.Owing to this reason the charming [[Sound (geography)|seaway]] of the ''Gulf of Ognina'' (''Golfo di Ognina'') or ''"Porticciolo di Ognina"'' is still identified with the dual names of "''Porto Ulisse''" ( ''Ulysses' Port'' ) or "''Baia d'Ulisse''" ( ''Ulysses' Bay'' ).
*''[[Virgin of Montserrat|Our Lady of Montserrat]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria di Monserrato'''''
*''Our Lady of Good Health'' • ''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute''
*''[[Our Lady of La Salette|Saint Mary of La Salette]]'' • ''Chiesa di Santa Maria de La Salette''
*''[[Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy|Saint Mary of Mercy or Saint Mary of Merced]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Mercede'''''
*''[[Catherine of Siena|Saint Catherine]] at the Sandfield'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Caterina al Rinazzo'''''
*''Our Lady of Concord'' • ''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Concordia''
*''Our Lady of the Guard'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Guardia'''''
*''Our Lady of Consolation'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Consolazione'''''
*''[[Crucifix|Most Holy Crucifix]] of [[Marjoram]]'' • '''''Chiesa del Santissimo Crocifisso Maiorana'''''.
This church was entitled this way, since prior to its construction in that very place there was a little devotional [[altar]] with an hand painted [[icon]] of the Crucifix.The anonymous pious author depictured the tablet obtaining a coloured substance from the leaves of the marjoram.
*''Crucifix of Miracles'' • ''Chiesa del Crocifisso dei Miracoli''
*''Crucifix of Good Death'' •''Chiesa del Crocifisso della Buona Morte''
*''Our Lady of La Mecca'' •''Chiesa di Santa Maria della Mecca''.
''La Mecca'' is not the Saudiarabian Holy City, but a vernacular Catanian word that identifies a "[[silk]] mill" that existed, in effect, in its vicinity.
*''Saint Cajetan at the [[Marina]]'' •''Chiesa di San Gaetano alla Marina''
*''Most Holy [[Redeemer]]'' • ''Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore''
*''Saint [[Francis of Paola]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Francesco di Paola'''''
*''Divine Maternity'' • ''Chiesa della Divina Maternità''
*''Chapel of [[Mary Help of Christians|Mary Auxiliatrix]]'' • ''Cappella di Maria Ausiliatrice''
*''Chapel of [[Sacred Heart|Sacred Heart of Jesus]]'' • ''Cappella del Sacro Cuore di Gesù''
*''[[Sacred Heart]] by [[Redoubt]]'' • '''''Sacro Cuore al Fortino''''' ([[1898]])
*''Saints [[Saint George|George]] and [[Denis]]'' • ''Chiesa dei Santi Giorgio e Dionigi''
*''[[Sacred Heart]] by [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]]'' • '''''Sacro Cuore ai Cappuccini'''''
*''[[Saint Christopher]]'' • ''Chiesa di San Cristoforo''
*''[[Saints Cosmas and Damian]]'' • '''''Chiesa dei Santi Cosma e Damiano'''''
*''[[Our Lady of Perpetual Help|Saint Mary of Succour]]'' or ''Saint Mary of the [[Arecaceae|Palm]]'' • '''''Chiesa di Santa Maria del Soccorso''''' or '''''Santa Maria della Palma'''''.
The ancient presence of a palm (nowadays disappeared) in the nearby forechurch justifies its second name.
*''[[Vitus|Saint Vitus]]'' • '''''Chiesa di San Vito'''''
*''[[Guardian angel|Saints Guardian Angels]]'' • '''''Chiesa dei Santi Angeli Custodi'''''
*''Most Holy [[Savior|Saviour]]'' • ''Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore''
===Touristic urban spots===
*La "''Villa Bellini''" or "''Giardini [[Vincenzo Bellini]]''", (the ''Vincenzo Bellini's Gardens'', more commonly known as ''Villa Bellini'', are the "Main Park" of the city)
*''[[Orto Botanico dell'Università di Catania]]'', (''Catania's [[Botanical garden]]'')
*''The Ursino Castle'' (''il Castello Ursino''), built by emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] in the 13th century.
*''Uzeda Gate'' (''la Porta Uzeda'')
*The Medieval ''Gothic-Catalan Arch of Saint John of Friars'' in Via Cestai (''l'Arco Gotico-catalano di San Giovanni de' Freri in Via Cestai'')
*''Ferdinandean Gate'' or ''[[Garibaldi]] Gate'' (la ''Porta Ferdinandea'' or ''Porta Garibaldi''), a [[triumphal arch]] erected in 1768 to celebrate the marriage of [[Ferdinand I of Two Sicilies]] and [[Marie Caroline of Austria]]
*''Redoubt's Gate'' (''la Porta del Fortino'')
*''The House of the War-Mutilated'' built in fascist-style architecture (''la Casa del Mutilato'')
*''Catania War Cemetery'', a [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] Graveyard located in the southern country hamlet of Bicocca<ref>http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=2006200&mode=1</ref><ref>http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=feature/italy99/backgrounders/catania</ref>
===Subterranean rivers===
Under the city run the river Amenano, visible in just one point, south of Piazza Duomo and the river Longane or Lognina.
==Administrative division==
[[Image:Municipalities of Catania.gif|thumb|Municipalities of Catania]]
The city of Catania is divided in ten administrative areas called ''Municipalità'' (Municipalities).<ref>Administrative division of Catania, from Comune di Catania Official Website [http://www.comune.catania.it/portale/comctnet/municipalita/index.asp]</ref> The current administrative set-up was established in 1995, modifing previous set-ups dating back to 1971 and 1978.
The ten Municipalities of Catania are:
* I. Centro
* II. Ognina-Picanello
* III. Borgo-Sanzio
* IV. Barriera-Canalicchio
* V. San Giovanni Galermo
* VI. Trappeto-Cibali
* VII. Monte Po-Nesima
* VIII. San Leone-Rapisardi
* IX. San Giorgio-Librino
* X. San Giuseppe La Rena-Zia Lisa
==Education==
The [[University of Catania]] dates back to 1434 and it is the oldest university in Sicily.<ref>History of the University of Catania by Unict main site {{it icon}}[http://www.unict.it/Pagina/Portale/Ateneo/La_nostra_storia.aspx] and {{en icon}} (translation) [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unict.it%2FPagina%2FPortale%2FAteneo%2FLa_nostra_storia%2FLa_storia_dell_Ateneo_scritta_da_Giarrizzo%2F0%2Farticolo_535%2Fpagina_6_.aspx&sl=it&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8]</ref> Its academic nicknames are: ''Siculorum Gymnasium'' and ''Siciliae Studium Generale''. Nowadays it hosts 12 faculties and over 62,000 students,<ref> History of the University of Catania, by Professor Giuseppe Giarrizzo, from Unict.it {{it icon}}[http://www.unict.it/Pagina/Portale/Ateneo/La_nostra_storia/La_storia_dell_Ateneo_scritta_da_Giarrizzo/0/articolo_535/pagina_6_.aspx] and {{en icon}} (translation)[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unict.it%2FPagina%2FPortale%2FAteneo%2FLa_nostra_storia%2FLa_storia_dell_Ateneo_scritta_da_Giarrizzo%2F0%2Farticolo_535%2Fpagina_6_.aspx&sl=it&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8]</ref> and it offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
Catania hosts the ''Scuola Superiore'', an academic institution linked to the University of Catania, aimed at the excellence in education.<ref>Official site[http://www.scuolasuperiorecatania.it/include/cambialingua.php?idpagina=1&lingua=2]</ref> The ''Scuola Superiore di Catania'' offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs too.
Apart from the University and the ''Scuola Superiore'' Catania is base of the prestigious ''Istituto Musicale Vincenzo Bellini''<ref>Official site[http://www.istitutobellini.it/eng/home.php]</ref> an advanced institute of musical studies (Conservatory) and the ''Accademia di Belle Arti'' an advanced institute of artistic studies.<ref>{{it icon}}Official site[http://www.accademiadicatania.com]</ref> Both institutions offer programs of university level for musical and artistic education.
==Culture==
The [[List of opera composers|opera composer]] [[Vincenzo Bellini]] was born in Catania, and a museum exists at his birthplace.
The [[Teatro Massimo Bellini|Teatro Massimo "Vincenzo Bellini"]], which opened in 1890, is named after the composer. The opera house presents a variety of [[opera]]s through a season, which run from December to May, many of which are the work of Bellini. [[Giovanni Verga]] was born in Catania in 1840.<ref name="Verga">{{Citation |last=Drabble |first=Margaret |author-link=Margaret Drabble |publication-date=1985 |edition=5th |publication-place=London |publisher=Guild Publishing |page=1026 |isbn= |title=The Oxford Companion to English Literature: Verga, Giovanni}}</ref> He became the greatest writer of ''[[Verismo]]'', an Italian literary movement akin to [[Naturalism]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Drabble |first=Margaret |author-link=Margaret Drabble |publication-date=1985 |edition=5th |publication-place=London |publisher=Guild Publishing |page=1026 |isbn= |title=The Oxford Companion to English Literature: Verismo}}</ref> His novels portray life among the lower levels of Sicilan society, such as fishermen and stone-masons, and were written in a mixture of both literary language and local dialect.<ref name="Verga"/>
The city is base of the newspaper [[La Sicilia]] and of the tv-channel [[Antenna Sicilia]] also known as [[Sicilia Channel]]. Several others local television channels and free-press magazines have their headquarters in Catania. Noted Italian Tv host [[Pippo Baudo]] is from Catania.
In the late 1980s and 1990s Catania had a sparkling and unique popular music scene. [[Indie pop]] and [[indie rock]] bands, local radio station and dynamic [[independent music]] record labels sprung. As a result, in those years the city experienced a vital and effervescent cultural period. Artists like [[Carmen Consoli]] and [[Mario Venuti]] and international known [[indie rock]] bands like [[Uzeda]] came out of this cultural ''milieu''.
The city is the home of [[Amatori Catania]] rugby union team, [[Calcio Catania]] football team and [[Orizzonte Catania]], the latter being a brilliant women's water polo club, winning eight European Champions Cup titles from 1994 to 2008. Noted Italian [[basketball]] coach [[Ettore Messina]] is a native of Catania.
The city's [[patron saint]] is [[Saint Agatha]], who is celebrated with a religious pageantry on [[5 February]] every year.
==Transportation==
Catania has a commercial seaport ([[Catania seaport]]), an international airport ([[Catania Fontanarossa]]), a central train station ([[Catania Central Station|Catania Centrale]]) and it is a main node of the Sicilian motorway system. The motorways serving Catania are the A18 [[Messina]]-Catania and the A19 [[Palermo]]-Catania; extensions of the A18 going from Catania to [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] and to [[Gela]] are currently under construction. The [[Circumetnea]] is a small-gauge railway which runs for 110 km from Catania round the base of [[Mount Etna]]. It attains the height of 976 m above sea level before descending to rejoin the coast at [[Giarre]]-[[Riposto]] to the North.
In the late 1990s the first line of an underground railway (''[[Metropolitana di Catania]]'') was built. The underground service started in 1999 and it is currently active on a route of 3.8 km, from the station Borgo (North of town) to the seaport, passing through the stations of Giuffrida, Italia, Galatea, and Central Station.<ref name="Subway"> Underground railway of Catania from subways.net [http://www.subways.net/italy/catania.htm] and from metroitaliane.it in {{it icon}}[http://www.metroitaliane.it/catania.html] and {{en icon}}(translation)[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.metroitaliane.it%2Fcatania.html&sl=it&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8]</ref> First line is planned to extend from the satellite city of [[Paternò]] to [[Catania Fontanarossa|Fontanarossa Airport]]. Segments Borgo-Nesima (extending the underground railway from the station Borgo to the suburban area of Nesima) and Galatea-Stesicoro (extending the underground railway from the station Galatea to Piazza Stesicoro, in the heart of town) are currently under construction.<ref name="Subway"/>
== Sister cities ==
*{{flagicon|United States}} [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[USA]]
*{{flagicon|France}} [[Grenoble]], [[France]] (1961)
*{{flagicon|Canada}} [[Ottawa]], [[Canada]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Notes==
* ''Vito Maria Amico'' (1697-1792) - ''Catana Illustrata'' (1740)
* ''Autori Vari'' - ''Enciclopedia di Catania'', Edizione Tringale 1987
* ''Santi Correnti'' - ''La Città semprerifiorente'', Edizioni Greco 1981
* ''Santi Correnti'' - ''Cataniamia'', Edizioni Greco 2000
* ''Santi Correnti & Santino Spartà'' - ''Le strade di Catania'', Edizioni Newton Compton, 2007
*This article incorporates some information taken from http://www.hostkingdom.net/ with permission.
*Other material is translated from the Italian Wikipedia site.
*{{SmithDGRG}}
==External links==
{{commons|Catania}}
*[http://www.comune.catania.it/portale/ Catania City Official web site] {{it icon}}
*[http://www.anci.sicilia.it/aree/area_ct.htm Catania Metropolitan Area (Hinterland)] from ANCI (Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani, Italian National Association of Comuni) {{it icon}}
*[http://www.provincia.ct.it/ Province of Catania Official web site] {{it icon}}
{{Template group
|list =
{{Province of Catania}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Italy}}
}}
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