Catania (province) Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

The Metropolitan City of Catania (Italian: Città metropolitana di Catania) on the eastern coast of Sicily, includes the city of Catania, with its ancient centre and Baroque architecture, and the small towns in the Simeto and Dittaino river valleys, the beaches along the Strait of Messina and the winter sports centres on Mount Etna.

Map of Catania (province)

• 37.50266915.0872691 Catania — a busy city with a UNESCO World Heritage Listed Baroque centre. It's a university city and economic center, great for nightlife, the gate to Mount Etna
• 37.23333314.5166672 Caltagirone — a World Heritage town, famous for its ceramics
• 37.27423414.7933333 Militello Val di Catania — another World Heritage town
• 37.56154615.1574924 Aci Trezza — fisherman village on the coast of Catania
• 37.7914615.209195 Fiumefreddo di Sicilia — Marina di cottone, it reserves natural neighbor very beautiful river that flows in a splendid sea
• 37.61666715.0166676 Nicolosi — a stop for those visiting Mt Etna, with ski slopes for winter sports and a panoramic cable car
• 37.8773614.950127 Randazzo — the closest town to the summit of the Mount Etna
• 37.73183115.2057618 Riposto — a seaside town at the other end of the Circumetnea railway.

• 37.75083514.993221 Mount Etna — Europe's tallest active volcano
• 37.98910514.9132142 Alcantara river with its Gole dell'Alcantara, deep impressive gorges carved by the river flow on the edge of Etna

The Metropolitan City of Catania is an administrative division of Italy. It replaced the former Province of Catania on 1 January 2015.

• 37.50553815.0865573 Punto Informazioni, Via Etnea, 63/65 95121 Catania (Palazzo Minoriti), ☏ +39 095 4014070, [email protected]. The info point of the Metropolitan City of Catania. (updated Feb 2017)

The provincial capital is easily reached on the Messina - Catania - Syracuse motorways (toll) and from Palermo. The Orientale Sicula runs parallel to the toll motorway AS18 from Messina in the north to Catania and from there further south to Syracuse. The Catanese leads via Paterno and Leonforte to Enna , which circles Mount Etna to the west and leads via Bronte to Randazzo. A little further south, the motorway runs parallel to the Fiume Dittaino and also to Enna. The Sicula runs southwest to Caltagirone, and the Sicilian Riviera runs via Lentini - Francofonte to the south as far as Ragusa.

Railway connections are available via the electrified Messina - Catania - Syracuse line in a north-south direction, the Catania - Motta Sant'Anastasia- Enna - Caltanissetta line provides connections to Palermo, and the Caltagirone - Gela line provides connections to the south. The Ferrovia Circumetna narrow-gauge railway is of particular importance for tourism.

The Catania airport is the principal airport of Sicily.

A narrow-gauge commuter railway line runs clockwise around the Mount Etna.

• Ferrovia Circumetnea. M-Sa. Borgo station, the line's terminal in Catania, is located next to the eponymous station of the Metropolitana di Catania. From there you could continue to reach villages on the slopes of the mount Etna. The other end of the line terminates at the town of Riposto at the sea shore (use Giarre for connections with Trenitalia ). Trains from either direction terminate at Randazzo, so change there if you want to go the whole way. There are no services on Sundays and holidays. (updated Mar 2017)

In addition to the city of Catania, the Etna region with the adjacent Nebrodi National Park and the various nature parks along the rivers are particularly worth a visit.

In addition to bathing, holidaymakers have access to a whole range of activities, from hiking to skiing in winter (a pastime particularly enjoyed by Sicilians and southern Italians who head here at that time).

Sicilian cuisine is dominated by fish and seafood only near the sea; inland and mountainous regions, local cheeses, speck, and cured meats are more common. Not to be forgotten are the wide variety of desserts available throughout Sicily, from marzipan to cannoli, almond pastries of Arabic origin, gelato, and granita.

Watch out whenever walking on the streets in the centre because drivers can drive over your feet if you're not careful. Also, make sure you follow the main roads to and from your place of stay so that you don't wind up in some ghetto, because they don't seem so safe especially if you're a female or a solo guy. Otherwise, the main streets seem pretty safe, full of friendly Italians of whom a lot know basic English. If you arrive hy car, be sure to park in a guarded parking lot.