A Stop in Sicily - Catania

As the cruise continues exploring islands of the Mediterranean, yesterday's port was Catania in Sicily.  The island is popular for its famous volcano, Mt. Etna; towns with Roman ruins like Siracusa and Taormina; and Baroque towns like Ragusa and Noto.  Sicily features beautiful beaches, rugged coastlines, and charming seaside towns.  Its capital, Palermo, has buildings with beautiful Byzantine mosaics.  While there were opportunities to explore these parts of Sicily, I chose to focus on Catania, partly because I had already visited Taormina on a previous visit here and also because it was not possible to visit the Baroque towns because of time constraints which tour operators couldn't accommodate.  

Catania is set on the eastern coast of the island at the foot of Mt. Etna.  Known for its striking Baroque architecture, lively markets, and ancient ruins, Catania blends old-world charm with vibrant modern life.  Visitors can wander through Piazza del Duomo, admire the Cathedral of Saint Agatha, and explore the bustling fish market.  Catania is the oldest and largest cities of Sicily.  Several eruptions of Mt. Etna throughout history have covered the city with lava.  Following an earthquake in 1693 along with the eruptions almost destroyed the city.  However, it was rebuilt with lava brick in the Baroque style making this grey city unique in the world.

I had booked a walking tour called Catania:  Heart of the City Walking Tour.  I took a shuttle bus from the port for €10 return to the Piazza San Placido and, from there, it was a short walk to Piazzo del Duomo.  There were 30 of us in the tour group and, thankfully, we had “whisperers” (individual headsets) so we were able to hear what the guide was saying.  The first stop where we were for almost an hour was in the Piazza del Duomo, a UNESCO listed square) in front of the Basilica Cathedrale di Sant’Agata.  We learned how the 1693 earthquake destroyed many of the buildings.  While we were standing there, as it was just before 11 am, all the church bells starting ringing.  It was lovely.  After learning about the very brutal story of St. Agatha and the history of Fontana dell’Elefante (a smiling lava-stone elephant topped with an Egyptian obelisk in the middle of the piazza), we walked on to La Pescheria, the city’s fish market.  

Because it was Sunday, there weren’t many fishmongers so a lot of the area was devoted to a flea market.  Nearby, there were a few streets filled with restaurants, many of them focussed on seafood - no surprise.  Some of them were decorated with umbrellas, much like Pink Street in Lisbon.

We continued on to where some old Roman baths were and then to where one the lava flows from Mt. Etna had stopped.  

Next up was a castle called Castello Ursino ('Bear Castle'), which 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.. From there we walked to an area where there were lots of Baroque buildings passing by the Teatro Romano and Odeon on the way.  Throughout our walk, we occasionally got glimpses of Mt. Etna in the distance.  

Mt. Etna in the background

It had been an okay tour but I think I was just getting exhausted from all the detail and suffering, so to speak, from "information overload".  Early that evening, we passed through the Strait of Messina which separates Sicily from mainland Italy.  There were some stunning views.  The only downside was that, during the late evening and overnight, the seas were quite rough as we sailed up the west coast of Italy to Sorrento.