Catania

Catania takes two to three days, because the sights cluster around Piazza del Duomo, while Etna, Syracuse and Taormina each ask for a further day. The city was wrecked by an eruption in 1669 and an earthquake in 1693, and rebuilt in Baroque from black volcanic stone.

The walk starts at Piazza del Duomo, because everything shows at once: the cathedral of St Agatha, the city's patron, and the Elephant Fountain, a lava-stone elephant with an Egyptian obelisk on its back, assembled in 1736 by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini. The same architect raised the cathedral façade after the 1693 earthquake. You enter without a ticket, free, and the cathedral is open 8–12 and 15–18 (outside mass times). St Agatha's feast is on 5 February.

Behind the square begins La Pescheria, the fish market, free to walk through and closed on Sundays. You go on a weekday morning; Monday is the quietest. Alongside it you eat on the move, an arancino €2.50–3.50 (arancino).

South of there stands Castello Ursino, a castle raised in the 13th century by Emperor Frederick II and now the city museum. Entry is €6 (€3 reduced), open daily 9–19 (last entry 18). From the fortress you head back towards the centre, to the Roman Theatre and the Odeon, sold on one ticket, €10 (€5 reduced), open daily 9–19 (last entry 18.30), 365 days a year.

From the square the main axis, Via Etnea, runs straight at the volcano, and on it lies Villa Bellini, a city park named after the composer Vincenzo Bellini, born in this city. The park is free, 6–23 in summer, 6–21 in winter. In the old core, by Piazza Dante, stands the Benedictine Monastery, visited only on a guided tour, €10 (from €3 under 19, discounts for students/groups), about an hour and a quarter, with booking recommended. The city has been on the UNESCO list of the Baroque towns of the Val di Noto since 2002.

Catania has its own airport, Catania–Fontanarossa (CTA). From it to the centre runs Alibus (AMT), direct line airport–centre–Stazione Centrale, 20–28 min, €4. Once the centre is done, a day goes to Etna, and the coach to Taormina, about 1 h 15–1 h 30, takes another free day.