CATANIA seven trip in one
Illustrating Catania to its visitors an American guidebook published in New York in 1954, Fodor’s Modern Guide, wrote that “the chief wonder about Catania is the fact that it is there at all”. This fact is historically accurate because no other city has been destroyed and rebuilt as many times within its same former location.
As a matter of fact the city's true symbol is not the Elephant (notorious monument in main square Piazza Duomo). Rather it is the Phoenix, mythical bird which is reborn of its own ashes and is found graven under the eighteenth-century arch of “Porta Ferdinanda” (now “Porta Garibaldi”, at the end of the street by the same name), accompanied by the proud Latin motto: “MELIOR DE CINERE SURGO”.
Thus Catania has become a city of a thousand faces, so to say, unknown/unscathed by time and its every centimetre is rich with history, magic, poetry, music, legends, flavours and tradition. It could therefore be said that it is a symphony of opportunities. Why go on seven different journeys rather than commencing them all simultaneously? Get smart and you'll find :
THE SEA
Catania ranks absolute second in Europe (after Alicante, in Spain and before Palma di Maiorca, clissified as third) in GoEuro's ranking of the best seaside cities in Europe.
As a matter of fact Catania is regarded as the black pearl of the Ionian Sea; to the north it overlooks a rocky coast, called “Scogliera” meaning “reef”, whilst to the south you'll find an extended fine-sand beach, called the “Playa”. Leaving from Corte dei medici – Palace, moving eastward, even on foot you can reach the city's promenade, the “Lungomare di Catania” as well as the ancient seafaring borough of San Giovanni Li Cuti with its enchanting harbour and a delightful little beach of black volcanic sand.
North of San Giovanni Li Cuti the coast stays high for over two kilometres, with overhanging rocky cliffs which have formed out-and-out impressive natural sculptures on the surface. Small beaches are situated in several spots which allow descent to the sea.
You'll reach a second marina, that of Ognina, and 5 Km further you'll find yourself in Aci Castello: in the main square, on a cliff over the sea, rises the castle of Aci, erected in 1076 and owned by Admiral Ruggero di Lauria, after whom an entire ironclad battleship fleet was named.
Today the castle is seat of a four-department museum featuring Mineralogy, Paleontology, Archeology and a Mediterranean Aquarium. Here too, at its feet, another beautiful descent to the sea. Venturing further northeastwards immediately after you'll reach the town of Acitrezza, the panorama of which is dominated by sea stacks, familiarly dubbed “faraglioni dei Ciclopi”. A small basalt reef archipelago which according to legend formed as the rocks were cast at Ulysses by Polyphemus as the former fled. Not far from the coast, at about 400 metre's distance, lies Lachea island which can be reached by one of the typical rowboats that leave every half-hour from the marina, so to spend a day at sea far from the crowd. It can also be reached by renting a canoe on the mainland.
Following an opposite path , from Corte dei medici – Palace going southward, at a 10 minutes' drive by car or bus you'll find the “Playa”, a typical low and sandy beach which extends for 22 km. Along the first 5 km of seashore there are over 40 bathing establishments and several summer nightclubs. At the end you'll find the mouth of Simeto river, declared Orientated Nature Reserve in 1984 the Sicilian Region; it is in fact a damp coastal area which offers a strategic wintering and nesting spot for waterfowl along the migratory routes from North Europe to Africa and viceversa. Along this tract of shore, it's possible to spot various species of seabirds.
So, to the Playa or Scogliera? This is the dilemma in a city in which the beaches are wet by a crystalline sea and allow you to contemplate the majestic volcano Etna in the distance.
ETNA
The exploration of Etna and its luring landscape is an unmissable experience. Mount Etna, one of Sicily's symbols, is the highest active volcano of Europe and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013. Immense and majestic it dominates the whole province. Its numbers are dumbfounding: it stands at 3.343 metres above sea leavel, it has a diameter of 45 kilometres and covers a surface area of 1.570 km².
From Corte dei medici - Palace, following directions towards “Nicolosi- Etna Sud”after about 18 km you reach Nicolosi's inhabited centre (690 m.a.s.l.), whence to proceed further northward towards “Etna-Rifugio Sapienza”, about 30 minutes away. Here you'll find the cableway departure station “Funivia dell'Etna” at 1.900 m.a.s.l., where excursions to the central crater start.
At Corte dei medici we'll provide information and contacts to help you carry out a dream walk at an altitude of 2.000 metres among ancient craters and more recent lava flows, surrounded by an incredible and surreal lunar landscape. An unforgettable hike and if you're lucky, who knows, Etna might want to yield … as a welcoming “homage” a stunning flash eruption to contemplate in all its power...
BAROQUE
Catania has been rebuilt from the end of the 17th century, when after the great earthquake the most prominent architects and and skilled workers from all of Sicily designed and realised it in such a splendid Baroque which has become Unesco World Heritage Site.
Leaving from Corte dei medici – Palace you can stroll amidst the most important monuments of that era and of the remains of previous ages. At a few metres you'll find the pedestrian area , the main road via Etnea, treading which you'll arrive in Stesicoro square where the ruins of the roman amphitheatre lay underground, partially exposed to the eye and accessible at the very centre of the square. Then, further down the main road, at the very end of which you'll find yourself in pizza Duomo, the favourite starting point of every tour of Catania. Here has always been the seat of city government, il Municipio ( the City Hall) and of the church, the “Duomo”.
Piazza Duomo is the city's meeting spot during the most intense city life moments. Locals gather and sit on the broad marble steps around the central monument, proudly dubbed “Fontana dell'Elefante” the fountain of the elephant, a structure created between 1735 and 1737 by architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini. Closing the square to the south towers the former seminary “Plazzo del Seminario dei Chierici”, today divided into two parts: the one containing the Diocesano museum and the southern part is the seat of municipal offices, joined by the towering gateway “Porta Uzeda”. The iconic fountain of underground river Amenano, considered as a divinity by the ancients, springs in the southwest corner of the square.
However Piazza Duomo reveals other surprises: in the underground are the Achillean baths and on the other side of the fountain is the “Pescheria”, the typical fish market, reminding us that the sea is but a few steps away.
Heading down via Garibaldi you'll be able to reach Ursino Castle, built by the will of Frederick II of Swabia between 1239 – 1250 in an encirclement of fortifications along the borders of the empire. Originally the edifice stood very close to the sea and was surrounded by a moat and highly advanced defense wallings. During the 1669 eruption it was surrounded by lava from the flow which continued towards the sea and distanced the castle several hundreds of metres from the shore. After a long, thorough excavation campaign il the castle has regained its original aspect and has now become a prestigious city museum.
On the way back to Corte dei medici we recommend you pass by the street “via dei Crociferi”. If with the post-earthquake reconstruction via Etnea was to become the street of nobiliary palaces, via Crociferi was to become the street traced by ecclesistical authorities to build new monasteries and churches: within no more than 200 metres there are fourchurches with three monateries and a college.
Due to the beautiful fronts of these churches the street has been chosen in more recent times as a film shooting location: it appears in "Il bell'Antonio" by Bolognini and in Zeffirelli's "Storia di una capinera", in "I Vicerè" by Faenza and many others. Moreover here one of the most touching moments of the festivity of S.Agata takes place when the benedictine nuns intone their sweet songs for the city's patron saint.
Just to mention a few of the many other museums near us: the Museum of Allied Landing of WW2 in “viale Africa” (the street bordering the marina), the Benedictine Monatery which is open to visiting also at night, the Palace of Culture... Just be aware that if you'd like to discover the city's hidden treasures going on foot will show you much more than what is written in guidebooks. And we'll know how to point out some of the most evocative.
MUSIC
Catania is also represented by Bellini theatre, which is located in the homonymous square dedicated to Catania's famed composer, is one of the main architectural jewels and an important artistic and cultural centre.
The theatre “Teatro Massimo Vincenzo Bellini” has featured on its stage many of the 1900's great musicians, from Gino Marinuzzi to Vittorio Gui, Antonio Guarnieri and Georg Solti, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Alain Lombard; from Toti Dal Monte to the great Callas, from Caballé to Scotto and Freni; Schipa and Gigli, Corelli and Pavarotti, Pertile, Del Monaco and Di Stefano; from Galeffi to Bechi, Gobbi, Nucci, et al.
The theatre has practically displayed all of the masterpieces of theatre music. Today it boasts an orchestra of 80 elements, a choir of 57 and continues to be the fostering centre of music in Catania, after over a hundred years.
Mounted between via Teatro Greco and via Vittorio Emanuele are il the greco-roman thatre and the Odeon, used from time to time even today for performances and concerts. It is supposed that the construction of the theatre, which could host an audience of 7000 dates back to the 2nd century a.D. And that it had been realised on a pre-existing structure from the greek period built in the ancient acropolis of Catania.
In a diameter of about 80 metres, still visible lay the orchestra, the cavea (which overlays high volta-topped corridors) ans some parts of the stage. In 1908 the theatre was stripped of its comprising marble and stone by the will of Count Roger I, in order to quicken completion of the construction of Saint Agatha's Cathedral. Obsolescence thus befell it as it was gradually abandoned as its marble, columns etc. were plundered.
But it nevertheless continued to harbour life, construction, music recitation... a story that lasts over 2000 years: are you ready to listen to it?
FOOD
Catania, placed in an island at the centre of the Mediterranean, has given rise to a syncretic and finely nuanced cuisine, which reveals the traces of all cultures established therein over the last two millennia. Its contemporary declension is “Critical Regionalism”, a movement originated in modern architecture - Kenneth Frampton coined this term to define a building approach that takes local specificities into consideration without renouncing modernist teachings – and applied to a type of cuisine that uses local products without falling into vernacular imitation. Critical Regionalism aims at including deliberately contrasting ingredients, even in a traditional dish to exalt its characteristics. A regionalism which aims at being, as it were, void of commonplace or worse, folklore, vernacular or dialect, intended to make the genius loci a source of cultural inspiration.
In our blog “Sorprendente sicilianità”, “Surprising Sicilianness” (www.sorprendentesicilianita.it) you can find the essence of this quest: Sicily is a land full of contrasts in its contradictions and its locations summon and inspire.
Therefore Critical Regionalism isn't isn't so much the setting as it is a choice of style that leads to internal cohesion of a work of art. When the world manages to create interiority in a busines, enterprise, artwork or even a dish, then this consistency can be achieved.
Here at Corte dei medici (www.cortemedici.com) we pursue this school of thought and and the uproar aroused by our pizza “Antonius Musa”, inspired by Gualtiero Marchesi's renowned risotto with saffron and gold leaf (not without reason the unique and perhaps only great master who has renewed Italian cuisine pulling it out of the fogeydom in which it was stuck), actually made us become a small media phenomenon in the food industry.
Within a 300 metres radius you can experience a most varied food scene even late into the night, until morning: at the patisserie Savia in via Etnea, or when exiting the “Arena Argentina”, where art films are showcased, a lemon seltzer with salt at the kiosk in Vittorio Emanuele square. Glass of wine at a wine bar, then you enter one of the pubs of the alley “Vico Santa Filomena” for a snack of a drink.
NIGHTLIFE
Catania is known Europe-wide as one of the most lively cities in terms of amusement and entertainment. It's a dynamic city at all hours of the day thanks to its craft stores, shops, the open-air markets which still defy large-scale distribution; also due to its being a university town. One of the “coolest” evening areas is surely the one where Corte dei medici – Palace is situated, in the historical centre, in the “golden square” between via Umberto and via Etnea, Piazza Università and Piazza Teatro Massimo.
In the folds of Baroque art ever crowded night clubs can be found expanding their their activity into the open space just outside the premises, turning into famous concert cafés dubbed "Caffè Concerto", with music, film screening and multimedia events. The Caffè Concertos, inaugurated twenty years ago by the municipality in agreement with the associations of public operators, have been the real "start up" of the historical centre's action.
The choice of entertainment is vast: there are theatres, discos, pubs and many other places to hear great live music and take part in jam sessions. The people of Catania are very fond of entertainment hanging out till late, maybe to not have to pass up a hot cornetto and capuccino caldi in one of the many night bars open. Enjoy the action but don't forget to drink for the shere delight in drinking and not to quarrel with the breathalyser because there are evening police checks and it's to everyone's benefit!
Of course at Corte dei medici – Palace we'll give you all the recommendations on where to go to enjoy yourself without risking ending up in the wrong places.
DEVOTION
After the Holy week in Seville and the Corpus Domini in Cuzco, Peru, “Sant'Agata” is the third highest-attended christian festival in the world. From the 3rd to the 6th February on average one million people participate in the procession, worshippers who arrive to hail the martyr of Etna from the world over. Entered into the REIS register (registro delle eredità immateriali or register of immaterial heritage), atto propedeutico al riconoscimento dell'Unesco come Bene immateriale patrimonio dell'umanità, Sant'Agata is attended year after year by the people of Catania and tourists who escort the city's parton saint starting from the the candle offering (translated from Italian “offering of the wax”) on the 3rd until re-entry into the cathedral at dawn on the 6th, in a long procession which passes through via Umberto and right under Corte dei medici - Palace.
The white tide of worshippers who wear the "white sackcloth", a black hat, a cord around the waist,gloves, a handkerchief and a cockade over their hearts, follows the reliquary bust starting at dawn of day 4 when with the evocative “messa dell'Aurora”, mass at dawn the faithful hail the saint on her first exit of the year.
Young noblewoman Agata, which means “good” in greek, lived in the third century during Quintianus' proconsulate. According to tradition it was Quintianus himself who was infatuated with the girl, asking that she renounce her faith and marry him. Agata refused without hesitation and was imprisoned for this and tortured til one of her breast was amputated. Finally she underwet the torture of blazing embers. In the course of the final martydom it is told that the only thing that wasn't destroyed by the flames was the veil she was wearing, today one of the most precious relics.
Catania is also much, much more than what we've briefly recounted. But, at least, it is certainly seven journeys in one. You could chose to make seven different trips; to go in seven different locations, once enjoying the sea, once again the city, yet once more excursions on the volcano… Or you could make seven trips in one. And it's not a matter of saving time and money. It's a matter of enrichment: your own and of your beloved.
A wealth of culture, thrills, discovery and marvel the first step toward which to be taken is here below. In a few clicks our last rooms at a 10% discount rispetto compared to what you find in touristic portals and OTA.
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