Going around Catania

• Morning

• Afternoon

Go to Via Etnea, an elegant street lined with Baroque-style buildings and shops that crosses the city from Piazza Duomo to Piazza Stesicoro, where you can see the Vincenzo Bellini Monument, the imposing Roman Amphitheater, one of the few remains from the Roman era that survived the volcano eruption and the earthquakes and the Church of Saint Agata alla Fornace, one of the eight churches in Catania that are dedicated to the city’s patron saint. Once you have reached this point, you will be able to dedicate the rest of the afternoon to a relaxing, charming walk in the splendid Villa Bellini, one of the most popular places for the Catania people. 70000 sqm of squares, bridges, borders and fountains.

• Evening

   Concert in front of Teatro Massimo

• Nightlife

Catania is famous for its legendary nightlife, and not just in Sicily. Legendary to the extent that it has the right to speak about its “movida”. Here is quite normal to have dinner after midnight. After the dinner in Piazza Castello Ursino where you can find typical Sicilian dish of horse meat, one of the most popular meeting places is the Scalinata Alessi, a staircase in the center of the university area of the city, just a short walk from Via Crociferi, where there are lots of clubs. One of the most famous clubs is Nievski, the first pub that opened up in the city. Now there are about 120 of them, that are always crowded and lively. Catania is a university city that attracts students from all over the south of Italy, and they and the city’s “viveur” inhabitants make Catania’s nightlife so interesting that it seems natural to stay out until dawn. In Castello Ursino square there is the famous disco called MA – Music Action that during the winter time represent the starting point of every cool weekend.

In summer the nightlife shifts to sea: in the seaside “la playa” there are lots of clubs on the beach. But you have to visit also the seawalk of Acitrezza where you can find different pubs on the coast where will of fun is always on!

The choice of fun things to do is never-ending: there are 25 theaters and an endless variety of clubs. You can choose between Arabic-like, hi-tech, kitsch or minimal Japanese atmospheres. The more sophisticated wine bars are  in Corso Italia, in the stretch between Piazza Europa up to the crossroads with Via Monfalcone, a modern, exclusive city area

that goes as far as the seafront.

If you get hungry after walking, talking and dancing there is always the Etoile d’oro that was the first bar to stay open 24 hours a day in 1977 and that now makes 1000 arancini per days, offered in a thousand different varieties.

• Eating and drinking

The tasty Catania cuisine offers a range of typical local delicacies. Catania’s most famous dish is Pasta alla Norma, a pasta first course with tomato sauce, fried eggplant, basil and lots of salty ricotta cheese. The name came from “Norma”, the most important Bellini’s opera, which opened the Massimo Bellini Theater in 1890.

But there are a number of sicilian dishes that you can appreciate with us or directly at the restaurant. Arancini di riso (rice balls) are i.e. one of the most common recipes used in delicatessens and food shops; they are usually  enriched with minced meat and sometimes with mushrooms and pistachio nuts. Catania’s “arancini” are different to the ones made in other Sicilian cities as they are long and cone-shaped and not round. Scacciate are another local recipe: bread-dough pies, filled with local cheeses “tuma”, anchovies and different type of vegetables.

Fish-based recipes include marinated “mascolini”, fresh anchovies marinated for at least 24 hours in extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice and “pasta coi mascolini”, pasta with fried anchovies, onion, peas and wild fennel.

If you are in Catania you have to taste our cannoli, the most typical Sicilian desserts, made up with crunchy pastry filled with ricotta cheese and chocolate flakes or candied fruit.

Another delicacy are icecreams and granite: crushed ice drinks, flavored with almonds, lemon, coffee, or chocolate and served with hand-whipped cream. In summer we use to have cold breakfast with hot briosche or croissant  and granita.

The kiosks spread out around the city offer special local drinks such as lemon seltzer, made with squeezed lemon, seltzer and salt or tamarindo with lemon and bicarbonate of soda.

Olivette di Sant’Agata, cakes with green almond paste made for the traditional festival of Sant’Agata are another Catania delicacy. These little cakes are linked to an ancient legend that tells the story of the city’s patron saint, pursued by Roman soldiers, who stopped running to tie her shoe and just at that moment, a huge wild olive tree grew in front of her that hid her from her pursuers, and offered her olives to eat.

• Local wines include the DOC red wines that come from the foot of Mount Etna.

• Shopping

In Via Reitano, near to Castel Ursino there is a craft shop belonging to the Napoli family, the historical Catania puppet-making family that has made the famous Sicilian “pupi” for centuries and that has given shows at the Theater Opera dei Pupi. The famous Catania “pupi” are made differently from the Palermo ones: they are 135 centimeters tall and can weigh from 15 to 30 kilograms!

The craft objects made from lava stone following traditional techniques and the famous painted pottery mostly made in nearby Caltagirone, but which can be found in any souvenir shop in Catania, are extremely characteristic.

Another typical craft product that you can find in Catania are candelabras: unique pieces often in Baroque style that are made by hand, mostly in wood, and are carved, decorated and then painted.

If you want to dedicate yourself to food and drink products, we recommend you to go to one of Catania’s markets, so that you can experience the true atmosphere of everyday Catania life. The ideal place for such an experience is the picturesque Pescheria, the historical market that spreads behind our school. There are fresh fish stalls (though fish is a little difficult to take home as a souvenir, no matter how good it is), and also dried fruit, bottles of extra virgin olive oil and red wine made on the foothills of Mount Etna, bags of dried pulses for tasty, local recipe soups and lots more too.

For those of you interested in shopping for famous names, Corso Italia is full of all the boutiques of the most famous Italian and international designers.