area: Campagna
Nearby locations such as Acireale famous for its mythical carnival, the Cyclops Riviera: Aci Castello, Many myths are linked to this area: the most important is the one that attributes the birth of the eight spectacular Scogli dei Ciclopi to Polyphemus who, blinded, detached these rocks from Mount Etna and hurled them at Ulysses and his companions fleeing from the Cyclopes, Zafferana and Milo the last towns before reaching Mount Etna from two different sides and by various routes.
Aci Trezza is the fishing village where Giovanni Verga set I Malavoglia. Another ten-minute drive and you arrive in Catania where you can visit numerous important examples of Baroque architecture, which is why in 2002 it was included in the Val di Noto list of UNESCO heritage sites.
The peculiarity of Catania Baroque lies in the use of black lava stone.
The Baroque style developed after the eruption of 1669 and the terrible earthquake of 1693, the undamaged fortifications were exploited and the city was given an entirely Baroque face, whose protagonists were the imagination of local stonemasons and a host of architects.
First among these was the abbot Giovan Battista Vaccarini - a pupil of Bernini, appointed city architect in 1730 The important monuments to visit in Baroque Catania, the Piazza del Duomo, is home to several of the city's attractions, first and foremost the Cathedral of Saint Agatha, the city's patron saint, the church was built between 1078 and 1094, its Baroque essence is due to reconstruction after the destruction caused by the earthquake, inside there are still remains and signs of its origins and constructions from previous centuries. In the Piazza del Duomo we find the town hall housed in the Palazzo degli Elefanti, several designers participated in its reconstruction: Giovanni Battista Longobardo, Giovanni Battista Vaccarini and Carmelo Battaglia. Inside we find an opening staircase created by Stefano Ittar. Vaccarini realised between 1735 and 1737 a symbolic work of the city: the elephant fountain (u Liotru in Sicilian). The elephant's trunk is turned towards the Cathedral of Sant'Agata, on its origin it is said to have been carved from a lava stone, another seductive itinerary is found on the other side, via the motorway from Catania we return and head towards Messina, we find the Greek Giardini Naxos and every tourist's favourite destination...the seductive Taormina.
Points of interest
* Distances as the crow flies
