Catania Guide Italy

Churches and Museums

Churches and Museums

• Cathedral (Duomo) – the Chapel of Sant’Agata
  Catania's Cathedral was built in the 12th century, and was then entirely rebuilt in 1600 after the earthquake and the volcano eruption destroyed most of the city. The Chapel of Sant’Agata, the city’s patron saint is inside the Cathedral, where precious treasures are kept.
  
• Church of San Giuliano
  This is thought to be one of the Catania’s most beautiful churches. It has a splendid dome enclosed in a polygonal open gallery and its interior is full of marble decoration and a golden-bronze altar. The church was built in the first half of the eighteenth century by Vaccarini.
  
• Church of San Nicola
  This majestic church was first built in 1687, but work was interrupted by the earthquake (1693) that destroyed most of the city's buildings. Building began again and the church was finished. The spaces inside the church are noteworthy: the aisle and two naves inside are 105 meters long and the dome is 62 meters wide.
  
• Benedictine Monastery
  The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe, is more like a palace than a religious building, an aspect that is probably due to close links with the Benedictine monks and the Catania nobility. In the eighteenth century it was one of the most important cultural centers in the whole of Sicily, attracting many visitors who were amazed by the luxury and the pomp of the building. It is now the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy for the University of Catania.
  
• Basilica of San Nicolò l’Arena
  This imposing religious building, next to the Monastery, dates back to the end of the seventeenth century and is still partly unfinished. San Nicolò l’Arena was built modeled on the basilicas in Rome, following the wishes of the Benedictine monks. The interior of the church is almost totally bare.
  

The museums houses in Catania that are dedicated to the famous personalities who were born in this city.

• Emilio Greco Museum
  This museum, opened in 1994, contains about 1500 graphic works by the Catania artist: engravings, lithographs and etchings, including the famous “Commiati”.
  
• Giovanni Verga's House Museum
  This eighteenth-century palace, that is in Via Sant’Anna, was the home of Giovanni Verga during the last twenty years of his life. Inside the house there are many objects that belonged to the famous veristic writer. The library that contains almost 3000 volumes by various authors such Deledda, Tolstoy, Gorky, Flaubert and Dumas is extremely valuable.
  
• Bellini Civic Museum
  This is the house where the famous composer lived before he moved to Naples. The museum is spread over a route that shows the private and artistic life of Vincenzo Bellini. There are also some very interesting, original musical manuscripts signed by the artist inside the museum.
  
• Biscari Museum
  The wonderful Palazzo Biscari, which is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, was the residence of Prince Biscari. Inside there are halls full of frescoes, galleries, archaeological finds, statues, marble and other artistic wonders.
  

Go to directories of the Web Sites

• Art & Culture in Catania