The Province of Catania

• All the photos of the Catania province • Cinema schedule

• A post card from the province of Catania • Where to stay in the province of Catania

• Restaurants in the province of Catania • Pizzerias in the province of Catania

• Web sites on Catania • Firms of the province of Catania

• Travels in the province of Catania • Books on Catania

• Events in the province of Catania • News on Catania

• E-mail of the province of Catania • Feasts and Festivals

• Agritourism in the province of Catania • Map of the province of Catania

The province of Catania comprises fifty-eight cities totalling an extension of 3,552 square kilometres and over a million inhabitants. Catania is most renowned for its neighboring, European’s highest, and still active, volcano, that has played a decisive role in the city’s history. Catania has survived numerous disasters – as were several eruptions and at least three big earthquakes numbering victims in the thousands – always regaining its former splendor.

Also renowned is the city’s devotion to its patron Sant’Agata, celebrated on 3 February by a procession of “Candelore”, huge candles carried by the devotees, preceded by a wooden chandelier where are portrayed scenes of the saint’s martyrdom. Other processions take place on the following days.

Catania is renowned for being the birth-place of illustrious figures, such as musician Vincenzo Bellini and writer Giovanni Verga (born at Vizzini), and boasts an important culinary tradition that much owes to the province’s thriving agriculture. Much appreciated are the “pizze” and the “scacciate” (kinds of local pastries) and the seafood and fish cuisine, notably along the seaside.