Catania

 

Catania in eastern Sicily is the other major city on our OAT trip that we are not going to stay at now due to the Corona virus.  Catania is the second largest city in Sicily and lies close to Mt. Etna, that volcano featured in Lesson ii of Latin for Americans, the textbook that Mother bought for us one summer decades ago in Spokane.  Its first real lesson is about Sicily:  Roads in Sicily are not good.  New roads are not long.  There aren't large forests in Sicily.

Not a very positive picture of the island.  I never got past lesson iv in that book but I've held on to it, always hoping someday I would fulfill Mother's wish and learn Latin.  But I know a little Italian.  Does that count?

It's been a lot harder to find good information on Catania than it was for Palermo.  A Google search brings up ad after ad after ad, all renting villas.  But I've been looking for information about Palermo since my first Italian class years ago so perhaps now I know more specific terms to use in a search.  In any case, here are a couple of newspaper articles for an introduction.

"The Sights and Smells of Sicily’s Second City", by the Frugal Traveler in the New York Times is an appreciative article from May 2018, particularly of the Fish Market (Pescheria) near the port.  The market has more than fish, fortunately, and all commentators have liked it, especially Rick Stein in his Mediterranean Escapes.  I don't know if we'll get to the market as we are now staying in Zafferana, a village 45 minutes away from Catania and we only have a walking tour of the city in the morning.  

"East Sicily: what to see plus the best bars, beaches, restaurants and hotels" from The Guardian of June 2017 covers more than Catania and is more appreciative of Siracusa.  "Catania is hard to love at first sight: noisy, trafficky, and built of dark volcanic stone. But in time, the charms of this studenty city emerge."  One gets the impression that the British are more interested in beaches than in gritty cities.  And another source says the dark buildings are from the smoke and ash, although the elephant statue is supposed to be made of black tufa.

But fortunately there are blogs:

The Cutlery Chronicles:  10 Places To Eat At And Things To Do In Catania In Sicily, in which Londoner Leyla Kazim and 3 friends review a residence for HomeAway in Catania:  A high-end five bedroom, five bathroom, luxury penthouse palace, right in the heart of Catania, set over two floors, with a roof garden and terrace, two huge kitchens, full of art, and an outstanding view of the mighty Mount Etna.  (The photo on the left is obviously not of the palazzo.)  Now this is my idea of a vacation because they go to the market on Saturday morning and cook on Sunday.  Unfortunately this was just a weekend trip.

Minne di Sant'Agata

The Complete Food Lover's Guide to Catania from Luca's Italy lists the foods one must try in Catania, which include arancini (masculine and cone-shaped in Catania, feminine - arancine - and round like an orange in Palermo), especially those made with eggplant (alla Norma); cartocciate and cipolline which are filled savory pastries; arrusti e mangia (grilled horsemeat); and especially Pasta alla Norma, that famous eggplant and pasta dish named after Bellini's opera.  Even more unique are the Minne di Sant'Agata, the breasts of St. Agata.

I am sure that, in time, I will come up with more excellent sources on Catania, although they might be in Italian.  Or Sicilian.  Here's one dish that is especially appropriate, Spaghetti al nero di Seppie dell'Etna, which is squid ink pasta with squid ink sauce, ricotta salata and tomato sauce.  It looks like Mount Etna with snow on top and molten lava.