Page 296 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

Bang in the middle of the Ionian coast, with Mount Etna looming high above it,
Catania is Sicily’s second-largest city, a major port and transport hub and a
thriving commercial centre. Its airport is the point of arrival for many of the
island’s foreign visitors, though few stay long. Those who do are usually

pleasantly surprised, however. An intensely vibrant city, Catania has a uniformly
grand appearance, its historic centre full of jaunty Baroque buildings of black
lava and creamy white limestone built in the wake of the 1693 earthquake that
wrecked the whole region. There’s an iconic fish market, plenty of good

restaurants, an easy-going drinking and nightlife scene and just enough historical
sights to pique your interest without being overwhelming.

The jagged volcanic coast to the north sustains a series of small resort-villages around
the Baroque town of Acireale, while to the south the main driving routes to Siracusa,
Ragusa and Enna cross the fertile plain of the Piana di Catania. This rich agricultural

region was known to the Greeks as the Laestrygonian Fields after the Laestrygonians,
a race of cannibals who devoured several of Odysseus’s crew. It’s a pretty enough
ride through the flat, windmill-dotted fields, but the only detour of interest is to the
archeological museum at Lentini, one of the earliest Greek colonies to be founded in
Sicily.

There’s absolutely no mistaking the single biggest draw in the province, namely

Mount Etna, Europe’s highest volcano, whose foothills start a few kilometres north
of Catania. It’s still highly active and its massive presence dominates the whole of this
part of the coast, with every town and village in the neighbourhood built at least partly
from the lava that it periodically ejects. A road and a small single-track railway, the
Ferrovia Circumetnea, circumnavigate the lower slopes, passing through a series of

hardy towns, such as Randazzo, almost foolishly situated in the shadow of the
volcano and surrounded by swirls of black volcanic rock. Meanwhile, higher villages
and ski stations like Nicolosi and the Rifugio Sapienza are the base for escorted tours
and ascents to the summit craters. Depending on the weather and volcanic conditions,
you should be able to experience the heights of Etna at first-hand between April and

May and September to October.