Catania City
Catania is the second largest city of Sicily and is the capital of the province which bears its name. With some 313.110 inhabitants (1.054.778 in the metropolitan area) it has the second highest population density on the island.
The city's patron saint is Saint Agata. 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 Aitne, after the volcano, the city was later known as Kat?ne. 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.
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:
Also the so-called u Liotru, symbol of the city, is probably from Roman times: it is a manufact in lava stone portraying an elephant and surmounted by an obelisk. The names is perhaps a deformation of Heliodorus. A similar sculpture is in Piazza Santa Maria della Minerva in Rome.
Baroque churches and palaces
To get more information about Catania City you can visit CataniaMania.com
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