Catania - Duomo di Catania

With a population of about 310.00 Catania is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. It is located at the base of the active volcano, Mount Etna, and it faces the Ionian Sea.

Catania was founded in the 8th century BC by the Greeks. At the beginning of the First Punic War, it was conquered in 263 BC. occupied by the Romans. In 535 AD Belisarius conquered Catania, which had fallen into the hands of the Goths and which, under Byzantine rule, once again became one of the most important cities in Sicily. In the 9th century, Catania fell into the hands of the Arabs. In 1071, the Norman Roger I expelled the Arabs from Catania, installed a bishop here and founded a Benedictine monastery. In 1170, a severe earthquake destroyed almost the entire city. 1197 were the rebellious Sicilians before Catania by the army of Emperor Henry VI. struck, after which the city was largely destroyed. Emperor Frederick II also razed the renegade city to the ground and built the Ursino Castle there from 1239 to 1250.

During the 14th century, and into the Renaissance period, Catania was one of Italy's most important cultural, artistic and political centers. It was the site of Sicily's first university, founded in 1434. A major eruption and lava flow from nearby Mount Etna nearly swamped the city in 1669 and it suffered severe devastation from the 1693 Sicily earthquake.
A lovely building although in dire need of some 'tender loving care'.

I have already uploaded a lot of photos previously taken in Sicily. Now I will add only a few. If you want to see more, follow this link:

www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/album/1238300