Catania.
The second largest city in Sicily by population, Catania spreads out over the Plain of Catania, between the Ionian Sea and the slopes of Etna. The surrounding countryside, which the volcanic eruptions have made very fertile, is mainly given up to the cultivation of citrus fruit. The close link between the city and the volcano is also visible in the buildings, many of which are constructed in lava stone. According to Thucydides, Katane was founded after 729 BC by the Chalcidian settlers from Naxos, on the hill now known as the "Colle dei Benedettini". In the 7th c. the legislator Caronda gave the city a moderately inspired government, half-way between oligarchy and democracy. In 476 BC Catania was conquered by Hieron of Syracuse, and the inhabitants were deported, only to return after 15 years. During the Punic Wars the town was conquered by the Romans (263 BC) and it succeeded in maintaining a position of considerable affluence until the Imperial Age. After the decadence caused by the invasions of the Barbarians and the Byzantine conquest, the town was occupied by the Arabs, who redistributed the land and promoted agriculture and commerce. In 1071, after the Norman conquest, construction began on the cathedral, and numerous country villages were founded, each under the jurisdiction of a monastery . Under the Swabians, Frederick II built the Castello Ursino here, in order to complete his fortifications in this part of Sicily. The arrival of the Aragonese in Catania, which the Court often chose as a centre for its activity, led to the foundation of the Siculorum Gymnasium, the first prestigious Sicilian university. The great eruption of 1669 and the terrible earthquake in 1693, which affected all E Sicily and destroyed most of the city, annihilated an economy that was already in a critical state. Catania was eventually rebuilt, and it spread considerably; it then suffered the effect of a new agricultural crisis, before recovering yet again. It was elected provincial capital in the 19th c. and again began to expand towards new zones, until it achieved in our own days its present-day image of a modem city.

Places of interest.

Holiday area Aci Bonaccorsi.
Holiday area Aci Catena.
Holiday area Aci Sant'Antonio.
Holiday area Acicastello.
Holiday area Acireale.
Holiday area Adrano.

Holiday area Belpasso.
Holiday area Biancavilla.
Holiday area Bronte.

Holiday area Calatabiano.
Holiday area Caltagirone.
Holiday area Camporotondo Etneo.
Holiday area Castel di Judica.
Holiday area Castiglione di Sicilia.

Holiday area Fiumefreddo di Sicilia.

Holiday area Giarre.
Holiday area Grammichele.
Holiday area Gravina di Catania.

Holiday area Licodia Eubea.
Holiday area Linguaglossa.

Holiday area Maletto.
Holiday area Maniace.
Holiday area Mascali.
Holiday area Mascalucia.
Holiday area Mazzarrone.
Holiday area Militello in Val di Catania.
Holiday area Milo.
Holiday area Mineo.
Holiday area Mirabella Imbaccari .
Holiday area Misterbianco.
Holiday area Motta Sant'Anastasia.

Holiday area Nicolosi.

Holiday area Palagonia.
Holiday area Paternò.
Holiday area Pedara.
Holiday area Piedimonte Etneo.

Holiday area Raddusa.
Holiday area Ragalna.
Holiday area Ramacca.
Holiday area Randazzo.
Holiday area Riposto.

Holiday area San Cono.
Holiday area San Giovanni La Punta.
Holiday area San Gregorio di Catania.
Holiday area San Michele di Ganzaria.
Holiday area San Pietro Clarenza.
Holiday area Santa Maria di Licodia.
Holiday area Santa Venerina.
Holiday area Sant'Agata Li Battiati.
Holiday area Sant'Alfio.
Holiday area Scordia.

Holiday area Trecastagni.
Holiday area Tremestieri Etneo.

Holiday area Valverde.
Holiday area Viagrande.
Holiday area Vizzini.

Holiday area Zafferana Etnea.