Catania and an Itinerary for Sicily

Impressions of Catania

I chose to start my first visit to Sicily with a week’s stay in Catania and as discussed below I would definitely change my itinerary if I travel to Sicily again. 

I have to admit up front that I did not particularly care for Catania, finding it gray and gritty.  Plus the locals did not seem friendly or welcoming.  My impression was probably strongly influenced by chilly, rainy weather most of the week plus an apartment that I did not particularly care for. (see Where not to Stay, Italy post) As I mentioned in that post, I once again chose a less than great apartment because it had a terrace, but it did have great views.

And I would definitely recommend going  in mid April rather than late March as I did. 

I had the same initial impression of Naples on my first visit there but after a day, I found that Naples had a vibrancy and charm I never experienced in Catania.  And even on a rainy day in Naples I found plenty to do; the Archeological Museum and shopping on via San Gregorio for example.  (see Three Days in Naples post) 

I arrived on a Friday after an exhausting trip made worse by being ripped off by the taxi driver who charged me 50 euros for the trip from the airport to the apartment.  My host had recommended Radio Taxi which is on Whatsapp but I couldn’t get wifi at the airport.  I would recommend taking the airport bus into Catania and then a taxi from there.

The next three days were the best of the week, although by Monday afternoon, the weather was beginning to change.  My first full day in Catania, I walked all over the city seeing the main sites.  Sunday I went to Siracusa (See Siracusa, Taormina and Agrigento  post.) And Monday I did another walkabout, going to Villa (Giardino) Bellini.  Then it was two full days being stuck in my apartment while it poured.  My last day I spent in Taormina. 

Things to see and do

Piazza del Duomo

https://www.cattedralecatania.it

My first full day in Catania was reasonably pleasant for late March, so early afternoon I walked from my apartment on via Alessandro Manzoni to Piazza del Duomo.  I zig zagged through several narrow streets, across via Antonino di Sangiulia and via Vittorio Emanuele, to via Giuseppe Garibaldi which leads into the piazza.     Via Garibaldi, while somewhat touristy, has lots of shops and restaurants  and I wish the weather had cooperated so I could have returned later in the week. 

As you enter the piazza from via Garibaldi, you see the cathedral, Basilica Sant’Agata, directly across the piazza, making up the east side. 

 

It’s a beautiful Baroque church having been restored after the earthquake of 1793 which devastated much of southeast Sicily.  According to articles I’ve read, its interior contains frescoes and sculptures that should not be missed.  However it was closed that day and due to the weather, I wasn’t able to return.

The Little Elephant Fountain

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/elephant-fountain

More or less in the center of the piazza is the Fontana dell’Elefante.

The charming little elephant, carved out of black basalt, stands on an ornately decorated pedestal.   An obelisk of unknown origin rises out of its back.  For centuries Catanians believed it had magical powers to predict earthquakes.

La Pescheria

I’m not sure what the two buildings are that form the south edge of the Piazza del Duomo but to get to La Pescheria, the fish market, you go through the arch between the buildings.    You exit into an area directly in front of a small park or green space.  Following the street to the right leads you past several food stands and then into the fish market (la Pescheria) itself.  The market is fairly small, 2-3 square blocks but full of lively vendors.  Obviously you can buy almost any type of fish there and I also recall seeing one or two stands of vegetables.  I love raw oysters and wish now I’d had the nerve to try one or two in la Pescheria.

A Walkabout from Piazza del Duomo to Piazza dei Martiri

After walking back to Piazza del Duomo and stopping to listen to some musicians, I started down via Vittorio Emanuele II. I first took some photos of the grounds next to the Duomo which I thought were exceptionally pretty.

I continued down via Vittorio Emanuele II all the way to Piazza dei Martiri in the harbor area, mainly looking for interesting sights and buildings.  Then I took a frolic and detour up via V. Crispi looking for the bus station.  I went too far north and had to double back finally finding the station.  Later I realized I could have taken via VII Aprile to Via della Liberta and arrived at the bus station in half the time.

I didn’t really see anything I thought was particularly interesting, eventually walking back through Piazza della Liberta, then along Corso Sicilia, through Piazza Stesicoro and back to my apartment.  That little jaunt gave me the courage to book bus tickets to Siracusa the next day.  And although I wasn’t particularly happy with my apartment, it was a fairly easy 15 minute walk to the station.

Villa/Parco Bellini

Monday afternoon, after a day of studying Italian, I got stir crazy and decided to walk up to Villa (Parco) Bellini.  From my apartment on via Alessandro Manzoni, I walked about 3 blocks through the area of the Anfiteatro Romano then up via S. Euplio.  There are lots of lovely Baroque building in that area and surrounding the park, making me wish that I’d chosen one of the apartments in that area.

I entered the park from the southeast corner and then wandered the different paths that criscross the grounds. And even though it was getting late in the day,  the green spaces, interesting plants, flowers and trees were a refreshing change compared to the endless gray buildings near my apartment.  There are lovely fountains and statues as well as a children’s playground along with benches to sit and enjoy the peace.

Given the late afternoon light my pictures don’t really do the park justice and you may want to explore this website https://www.sicily.co.uk/things_to_do/villa-bellini/ for a better sense of the park.

I took a street going east from the north corner of the park, or so I thought, planning to take the next street south back to Piazza Stesicoro.  But I got hopelessly turned around and had to ask locals for directions.

Via Gemmelaro and a Vino Experience

This is probably the only post on Italy in which I haven’t included a section on food and wine. My host sent me several restaurant suggestions but when I looked them up most of them didn’t appeal to me or I couldn’t find them.

He also suggested Via Gemmelaro as a good place for a drink and aperitivo so I went there after finding my way back to Piazza Stesicoro on Monday.  It had started to sprinkle just as I found the street so I went to the only bar that had a covered seating area. 

  I ordered a vino and tagliere and was disappointed in both.  In fact I ate only one or two bites of the tagliere.    I so wish I’d gone back to the street leading into Piazza del Duomo, via  Giuseppe Garibaldi, I think.  There looked to be far more options for food and drink there than near my apartment.

Lessons Learned and A Different Itinerary

On this, my first trip to Sicily, my itinerary, especially starting with Catania, was  influenced by several factors:  a Youtube series I had been following, the Bees Sicilian Adventure, about a couple who bought an abandoned farm in the country side, my desire to move to Italy and my desire to continue learning Italian.  The ‘Bees’ series made me want to see southeast Sicily, some other Youtube videos on Catania made it look like a good place to live and the website for the language school, Culturforum, in Palermo looked like the perfect place to study Italian. 

I thought I might be able to find an affordable long term  apartment in Catania plus assumed it would be a good location for side trips to Siracusa, Noto and Taormina and equally importantly that it would be warmer there in late March than in Palermo. 

I was wrong on almost all counts.  I didn’t look for an apartment in Catania largely because after one day I decided that it was not the place for me.  If I had it to do over again, I would only spend 2-3 days there and go later in the spring.  You can get to Taormina and Siracusa fairly easily from Catania but otherwise I would not recommend an extended stay.  

After  2-3 days stay in Catania, I would probably stay in Siracusa, or a nearby town, for a few days so I could visit Noto and some of the other Baroque towns in the area.  Another option  would be an agriturismo stay in the countryside, using it as a base to see the towns in southeast of Sicily—Noto, Ragusa, Siracusa, and  Palazzolo Acreide, for example

My reasoning for an agriturismo stay is based on my train trip from Palermo to Agrigento.  (See Siracusa, Taormina and Agrigento post)  While the train is slow, stopping at every tiny station, it is worth trip; the scenery is spectacular.   For the first 30-40 minutes, the train follows the coast, through small resort towns on one side and the beautiful Mediterranean on the other side.  Then it turns inland through a valley with giant lime stone outcroppings that soar into the sky, some with the remains of forts (probably Norman).

 Having lived in Colorado for many years these outcroppings looked to me more like escarpments or cliffs with incredibly steep slopes.  But they are considered mountains:  the Sicanian range in west central Sicily associated with the myth of Icarus.  While the train did traverse several lovely woodland areas, what used to be a heavily forested  area is now mainly open fields and in mid April they were a verdant green with thousands of brilliant wildflowers, especially the poppies, plus orange and olive groves, fields of cacti and the occasional herd of sheep or cows.  There are also a surprisingly large number of hilltop towns and villages with roads that seem to go straight up.

From the southeast area I would travel to Agrigento again, spending at least a couple of days there and then I would definitely return to Palermo for up to a week. (I definitely wouldn’t go to the language school in Palermo for the reasons mentioned in my Two weeks in Palermo post.)  I would also like to spend some time in one of the many lovely beach towns near Palermo.  I would finish my trip by taking a ferry directly to Naples or Salerno, probably the former.

A word about transportation

As a final note, let me add here that I found it much easier to take the bus in Sicily than the train, largely because I didn’t have to hassle with taking my bags on and off the train; just simply stow them underneath the bus.  As mentioned in my  Siracusa, Taormina and Agrigento post, I took the bus from Catania to Taormina and Siracusa.  I also took the bus from Catania to Palermo, about a 2 and a half hour trip, made longer that day due to heavy rains.  My final bus trip in Sicily was from Palermo to Messina, also about a 2 and a half hour trip.  I enjoyed the scenery as the bus route follows the coastline, going over huge gorges (which made me a bit nervous.)  There is a constant ‘string’ of beach towns along the coast and I loved seeing the smaller islands in the Mediterranean as we got closer to Messina.

 I wasted a lot of time going from Catania to Palermo and then Palermo to Messina.  Although I loved crossing the straits of Messina, I should have gone straight from Palermo to Naples.

 

 

 

 I did enjoy many of the places I saw and would definitely come again.  Lessons learned.