Catania
Catania is the second-largest city in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy, after Palermo, both by area and by population.
Catania is the second-largest city in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second largest city of the island, Catania is the centre of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, which is among the largest in Italy. It has important road and rail transport infrastructures, and hosts the main airport of Sicily. The city is located on Sicily's east coast, facing the Ionian Sea at the base of the active volcano Mount Etna. It is the capital of the 58-municipality province known as the Metropolitan City of Catania, which is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Italy. The population of the city proper is 296,984, while the population of the metropolitan city is 1,067,550.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Catania
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01University of Catania
The University of Catania is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest in the world.
500 m · Italian university · Wikipedia - 02Stadio Angelo Massimino
Stadio Angelo Massimino is a multi-use stadium in Catania, Italy. It is used mostly for football matches and the home of Calcio Catania.
2.4 km · multi-use stadium in Catania, Italy · Wikipedia - 03Catania Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Agatha, usually known as the Catania Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It was the seat of the Bishops of Catania until 1859, when the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese, and since then has been the seat of the Archbishops of Catania.
300 m · Roman Catholic cathedral in Catania, Sicily, Italy · Wikipedia - 04Castello Ursino
Castello Ursino, also known as Castello Svevo di Catania, is a castle in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It was built in the 13th century as a royal castle of the Kingdom of Sicily, and is mostly known for its role in the Sicilian Vespers, when it became the seat of the Sicilian Parliament.
500 m · thirteenth century castle built on the will of King Federico II, Catania, Italy · Wikipedia - 05Teatro Massimo Bellini
The Teatro Massimo Bellini is an opera house located on Piazza Vincenzo Bellini in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. Named after the local-born composer Vincenzo Bellini, it was inaugurated on 31 May 1890 with a performance of the composer's masterwork, Norma.
500 m · opera house in Catania, Italy · Wikipedia - 06Basilica della Collegiata
The Ancient Royal and Eminent Basilica Collegiate of Our Lady of the Alms, better known as Basilica della Colleggiata, is a church in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. Finished in 1794, it is an example of Sicilian Baroque.
600 m · minor basilica · Wikipedia - 07Elephant Fountain
The Elephant Fountain is a monument located in the center of Piazza del Duomo in the Sicilian city of Catania, designed by architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini between 1735 and 1737. Its main element is a black basalt statue of an elephant, commonly called u Liotru, which has become the emblem of the city of Catania.
400 m · symbolic monument of the city of Catania · Wikipedia - 08San Benedetto, Catania
San Benedetto is a late-Baroque architecture, Roman Catholic church and former Benedictine monastery in the city Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. The church facade faces Via Crociferi, parallels across via San Benedetto the former-Jesuit church of San Francesco Borgia, and both are about a block south along Crociferi from the church and convent of San Giuliano.
700 m · church building in Catania, Italy · Wikipedia - 09Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena
The Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena in Catania, Sicily, is a former Benedictine monastery located at Piazza Dante 30. Together with the Palace of Mafra, it ranks among the largest Benedictine monasteries in Europe.
1 km · Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena in Catania, Sicily · Wikipedia - 10Catania Astrophysical Observatory
The Catania Observatory is an astronomical observatory in the city of Catania, on the island of Sicily in southern Italy. It is operated by INAF, the National Institute for Astrophysics.
3.6 km · astrophysical observatory in Sicily, Italy · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Piazza del Duomo
Here you can find the Fontana dell'Elefante (Elephant Fountain) or U Liotru - the symbol of the city.
- 02Cattedrale di Sant'Agata
An imposing cathedral, well worth visiting.
- 03Museo Diocesano
The collection of the museum contains various religious artefacts from the Cathedral and some other churches around.
- 04Palazzo degli Elefanti
- 05Palazzo dei Chierici
- 06Chiesa della Badia di Sant'Agata
Via Vittorio Emanuele 184.
From Wikivoyage: Catania, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
- 01Via Etnea
Walk the main shopping avenue, running north from the Piazza del Duomo has most of the city's imposing building and is busy throughout the day and evening.
From Wikivoyage: Catania, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Catania is proud of its specialities. A famous speciality is pasta alla Norma which consists in pasta (generally macaroni) dressed with tomato sauce and topped with fried eggplant slices, grated ricotta salata (salty ricotta) and fresh basil. The fish is also good, as Catania is a large port. The city is also known for horse meat, especially in some areas around the "Benedictine Monastery".
- 01Camelot
73 Piazza Federico di Svevia (near Castello Ursino).
- 02L'Angolo dello Chef
21 Via Grimaldi (corner of Via Plebiscito).
- 03Il Borgo di Federico
Piazza Federico di Svevia, 100.
- 04Ristorante da Antonio
Via Castello Ursino, 59.
- 05Scirocco Sicilian Fish Lab
Piazza Alonzo di Benedetto, 7.
From Wikivoyage: Catania, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Catania
- Airports
- Catania-Fontanarossa (CTA), 4 km · Lamezia Terme Sant'Eufemia (SUF), 186 km · Falcone–Borsellino (PMO), 191 km
- Stations
- Catania-Fontanarossa Airport, 4.4 km · Catania Centrale railway station, 1.1 km · Galatea, 1.9 km · Giuffrida, 2.3 km · Italia, 1.9 km
- Lamezia Terme (CZ) → Catania196 km · quickest by road, 4h 20m · €23–33
- Palermo → Catania165 km · quickest by road, 3h 19m · €21–29
- Napoli → Catania380 km · quickest by air, 3h 45m · €80–120
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Catania
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Catania. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inThree of these per day are direct services to Naples (7-8 hours) and Rome (10 hours), via the Straits ferry.
- Get inMost travellers from mainland Italy use the 20-minute shuttle between Villa San Giovanni and Messina; there are also frequent ferries from Reggio to Messina.
- Get inA car ferry runs every night between Naples and Catania: it's run by TTT lines and takes 12 hours.
- Get inOther ferries sail from the mainland to Palermo.
- Get inA car ferry runs twice a day between Pozzallo (90 km south of Catania) and Valletta, Malta.
From Wikivoyage: Catania, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01617 km
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If you know how people move in Catania – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Catania
- Valverdecomune (municipality) of Catania, Sicily, Italy9.3 km
- Metropolitan City of CataniaItalian metropolitan city in the region of Sicily2.8 km