Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bars and pavement cafes, it's busy at most times but heaves on Saturday afternoons, when
shoppers pile in from the suburbs to hang out and update their wardrobes.
At its southern end, Piazza dell'Università is a great place to take stock over a coffee
the Vaccarini-designed building that houses the city university. On the eastern flank is an-
To escape the madding crowds, continue up to the lovely
Villa Bellini
(
8am-8pm)
gardens
where you can relax on a shady bench and admire views up to Etna.
Museo Belliniano
MUSEUM
( 095 715 05 35; Piazza San Francesco 3; 9am-1pm Mon-Sat)
One of Italy's great opera
composers, Vincenzo Bellini was born in Catania in 1801. The house has since been con-
verted into this museum, which boasts an interesting collection of Bellini memorabilia, in-
cluding original scores, photographs and his death mask.
In his short life (he died aged 34), Bellini composed 10 operas, including the famous
trio:
La sonnambula
(The Sleepwalker),
I puritani
(The Puritans) and
Norma
, which has
since been immortalised as the name of Sicily's most famous pasta dish -
pasta alla
Norma
.
Via Crociferi
A lovely, tranquil spot for a morning stroll, Via Crociferi is one of Catania's most attract-
ive streets, famous for its exuberant baroque churches and imposing 18th-century
palazzi
.
dictines in 1704, marks the beginning of Via Crociferi. According to legend, the arch was
built in a single night to defy a city ordinance against its construction on the grounds that
it was a seismic liability.
STREET
Chiesa di San Francesco
(Piazza San Francesco; 8.30am-noon & 4-7.30pm)
The piazza is lorded over by this church, which
houses six of the 11 giant candelabras that are paraded around town during the Festa di
Sant'Agata.
CHURCH
