Catania

Catania (kätä`nyä), city (1991 pop. 333,075), capital of Catania prov., E Sicily, Italy, on the Gulf of Catania, an arm of the Ionian Sea, and at the foot of Mt. Etna. It is a busy port and a major commercial, agricultural, and industrial center. Manufactures include chemicals, silk and cotton textiles, processed food, and asphalt. The city also has a fishing industry. Founded (late 8th cent. B.C.) by Chalcidian colonists, Catania was a flourishing Greek town and was later a Roman colony. It was rebuilt after earthquakes in 1169 and 1693 and after a severe volcanic eruption in 1669. In 1862, Garibaldi organized at Catania his expedition to Rome that was stopped at Aspromonte. The city was heavily damaged in World War II. Points of interest include the extensive Bellini Gardens (named for the 19th-century composer, who was born in Catania); the cathedral (originally built in the 11th cent.); and Ursino castle, built (13th cent.) by Emperor Frederick II. The city has a university (founded 1444) and an observatory.

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Catania

City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 306,464), Sicily, Italy. It was founded by Greeks in 729 BC at the foot of Mount Etna on the Gulf of Catania. Taken by the Romans in the First Punic War (263 BC), Catania was made a Roman colony by Octavian (later Augustus). Catanian Christians suffered under the emperors Decius and Diocletian; their martyrs included St. Agatha, patron saint of the city. Catania fell successively to the Byzantines, Arabs, and Normans, and it suffered devastation by earthquakes especially in 1169 and 1693. In World War II the city was severely damaged by bombing. Rebuilt, it is Sicily's second largest city and is an industrial and transportation centre.

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Catania

a port in E Sicily, near Mount Etna. Pop.: 313 110 (2001)