Trawling through the web planning my trip to Eastern Sicily was a slog. So many places to go, 10 days in Sicily, not enough time! Many forum members advised to avoid Catania altogether. Arrive at the airport and do one to Eastern Sicily’s more picturesque destinations…. Being the rebel that I am, I eschewed the advice and booked us in for two nights in Sicily’s second city.
To Catania or not to Catania??
Ahh, the age-old question! Many use Catania as a base for viewing Mount Etna and not much else. In the end, we spent two whole days and nights there at the start of our trip, choosing to save Mount Etna for our penultimate day. Why you ask? Because we didn’t want to see Etna in the rainstorm, plus we found we actually liked the vibe of Catania. Bustling with life, scooters, crazy drivers and the smell of the city’s sewerage systems and dumped rubbish, it isn’t for the faint-hearted. Anybody who has been to Naples and loved it would be sure to love Catania. There’s enough history (isn’t there everywhere in Italy?!), interesting buildings, the people (who mostly had an excellent grasp of English) and the food, oh the food- some of the best we tasted on the entire island. If you like something gritty that slaps you in the face with its realness, Catania’s ya boi. My verdict is, visit if you like interesting, loud, smelly places like Naples and don’t if ya don’t. Simples.
Where did we stay?
Our bed-and-breakfast was a 20 min walk from the ‘main’ square. But still pretty central. I am including it in this guide because of its awesomeness. Decorated in a historical baroque style, it was one of the most original places I’ve stayed in Italy, period. They gave us the option of having breakfast there, eating in our room, or at the café across the street. That is where we met the Pistachio Cornetto for the first time and fell in sweet, sweet love. The b and b was a decent price for the bougieness. They had bottles of various liquors to calm the nerves before embarking out into the baffling world that is Catania city centre.
What’s to do in Catania?
Here’s my summary of things we enjoyed in no particular order. With a caveat, on any holiday, our activity of choice is always to wander around aimlessly. Catania is a decent place with enough intrigue to make doing that an enjoyable endeavour.
The fish market
Walk around on a weekday morning and experience the fresh smell of dead fish, hark at the shouts of sellers, and marvel at the sheer size of the fish for sale (who knew tuna was THAT big??). Am I selling it to you? It’s worth walking around the fish market just to soak up the atmosphere and experience a real in your face, full-of-life Sicilian market. One of the realist. If we were staying in an apartment, we would have had us some tuna.
Castello Ursiono
A medieval castle in the middle of Catania ready to explore for castle geeks like us! But seriously, the inside is pretty bare. Nothing to show what it would have looked like/ been like to inhabit back in its day. That’s fine though, you can close your eyes and imagine the extra large dining table with a boar’s head centrepiece and giant turkey legs. Instead, feast your actual eyes on the exhibits of archaeological finds from around the Catania area dating from around the 1st century AD onwards. There’s even an old statue with a very lifelike, defined, sexy male torso (from the Biscari collection, so I heard). Be still my beating heart. Upstairs there was art from local artists (up to the 18th century AD) and I have to say, I wasn’t complaining. I found it all rather interesting and worth the entrance fee, a castle cum museum. If you like old things, then you will enjoy this place.
Piazza del Duomo
Where all the guides tell you to go, you don’t need me to tell you it’s good, they already probably have. It’s fit. An impressive square with a beautiful church, cathedral and a decent fountain. A great example of Sicilian baroque architecture due to a rebuild after a city flattening earthquake. We stopped off for an espresso at the espresso bar next to the fountain. The cannoli there was fresh, filled with ricotta and honey. We found ourselves pulled here via Via Etna on our many forays to the city centre.
Food Street- Via Santa Filomena
Something we didn’t find in a guide but happened upon by a lucky mistake with empty bellies on our first day in Catania. A cute, narrow street overlooked by balconies with tables and parasols outside excellent-looking eateries. We stopped at Fud, which was busy with clientele, serving oozing burgers and more. My hubby went for a deconstructed burger and I went for a charcuterie board of local cheeses and meats. Washed down with delicious local Etna wine. We only wish we had more time to get to know the eats on that street!
Pizzaaaaaa
Ok Pizza is everywhere in Italy and Catania is probably not the best place for it – cough Naples- but my favourite pizza in the whole of Sicily was here, in an area we found with pizza restaurants galore. I’m sure they were all delicious. Our restaurant of choice was Le Quinte. Hard recommend.
Chiesa della Badia di Sant’Agata
Come for the holy water; stay for the panoramic views of Catania overshadowed by Etna.
Razzmatazz Wine bar
Another fortunate mistake. After a massive nap on our first night, we hangrily wandered the city looking to be fed. We found what we were looking for and were not disappointed… The menu changes daily, written up on a blackboard. I had the nicest ravioli I’ve ever encountered. My hubby had the squid ink risotto. If only I could be there now, washing down my food with red.
Not an extensive list, but we found there was enough to keep us interested for a couple of days before moving on. There is so much more to Catania than its landmarks. It is the beating, breathing, heaving life of the city. In between visiting all the wonderful places listed above, we wandered the streets, to the port round, down and back up again, happy to just take it all in. If you are anything like me, you will appreciate it.
Over Here. 