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Sicily, East, Catania

An undervalued city in the mid eastern coast of Sicily, Catania standing under the shadows of Mount Etna has an interesting and varied history of Greek and Roman origins, particularly when considered against the context of regular lava flows from nearby Mount Etna.

Perfect for any holiday or vacation, villas near Taormina, Etna, Syracuse, Italy can be rented weekly or longer rentals can be organised.

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Villas & apartments for rent at Catania, Sicily. Holiday accommodation lettings with self-catering facilities for your villa vacation.

Holiday accommodation in self-catering villas, cottages and apartments for rent in Catania, Sicily near Taormina, Etna, Syracuse

Description

Founded by the Siculi and colonized by Chalcidians (a Greek people) from Naxos in 729 BC, Catania was conquered by the Romans in AD 263, eventually becoming the most prosperous city in Roman Sicily. Archeological evidence, however, indicates man's presence in the area one thousand years earlier during the Bronze Age.

The city has been destroyed on several occasions by lava flows, however a particularly destructive volcanic eruption in 1669 was followed by a serious earthquake in 1693, and most of the present city represents building since that time. However some signs of previous races are still present; the city has two Roman Ampitheatres, one built ontop of a previous Greek theatre, and part of the Duomo was salvaged, although the façade is built in the Baroque style.

Among Catania's more recent sights are the many Baroque churches and palazzi, although most of Catania's wide streets and majestic palaces were built during the eighteenth century, coincidental to the Bourbon's development of Naples, and the architectural similarity between the two cities is striking.

Subject to Mount Etna's fickle temperament, Catania has been damaged by lava flows and earthquakes on several occasions. Though extensively rebuilt on Baroque and neo-classical models after the devastating earthquake of 1669, the city of Catania boasts Greek and Roman ruins, including two Roman amphitheaters, with the smaller built upon an earlier Greek theater.

During the Aragonese dynasty, between the end of 13^th and 15^th centuries, Catania began to compete with Messina to become the most important city of eastern Sicily. Later in the seventeenth century there were two significant events, first in 1669, the eruption that engulfed Catania in lava and then with the earthquake of 1693 which destroyed swathes of Catania, Syracuse and the smaller centres of Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Caltagirone and Scicli, killing around five percent of the population of Sicily in the process. The eighteenth century rebuilding of these areas is a delight for anyone who likes baroque architecture.