Catania

Catania, a city and seaport of Sicily, near the foot of Mount Etna, 59 miles by rail SSW. of Messina, and 54 NNW. of Syracuse. The fertile and well-cultivated plain of Catania, extending along the south-east base of Mount Etna, is styled 'the granary of Sicily,' and has given to Catania the title, 'La Bella Catania.' By eruptions of the great volcano and attendant earthquakes, the city has been several times almost entirely destroyed—especially in 1669 and 1693; but out of its ruins it has always risen with increased beauty, and it is now the finest city in Sicily, being built throughout on a beautiful and consistent plan, from which no deviation is allowed. The harbour of Catania, formerly good, was choked by a stream of lava in 1693, and is still unsafe, in spite of a mole constructed at great expense. Of several squares, the finest, in front of the cathedral, has a fountain with an ancient statue of a lava elephant bearing a granite obelisk. Among the chief buildings are the Benedictine convent of San Nicola, secularised in 1866; the cathedral, founded by Roger I. in 1091, and containing the relics of St Agatha; and the university, founded in 1445. Pop. of town (commune, 1894) 121,000; of province, 572,000. The Catanians are distinguished for their commercial spirit and industry. Catania has manufactures of silk and linen goods, and of articles in amber, lava, wood, &c. Among the remains of ancient times that earthquakes have spared, are those of a theatre, a temple of Ceres, Roman baths, and an aqueduct. The ancient Catana was founded by a Greek colony of Chalcidic origin, in the latter part of the 8th century B. C., and as early as the beginning of the 5th was esteemed one of the most flourishing towns in Sicily. It was taken by the Athenians under Nicias, and was desolated by Dionysius I.; but again rose under the Roman sway into its former importance. It suffered at the hands of the Goths, but once more, under the Byzantine empire, became one of the principal cities in the island.