Catania in Italy was never one of the places on my radar to visit. It's on Sciliy, an island in the south of Italy, and looks like a ball being kicked away by the Italian boot (check the Worldmappin map below if you don't know what I mean). When I knew I would be here for a day (it was a stop on a cruise holiday), I checked for things to do for my 8 hours visit. I found two interesting things to do.
First impressions
My first reaction to Catania was beautiful architecture but very drabby, the buildings all looked 3D - dull, dirty and depressed. Even the clear blue sky above couldn't lift the mood up much. I subsequently found out that Catania is also called the black city. It's located at the foot of Mount Etna, a volcano that has erupted often in the past centuries. The soot and dust from the eruptions land on the buildings, making them look drabby. Now it all makes sense.
I had to find Piazza del Duomo to go to the first place on my list, it's one of the busiest place in the centre of the city. But I kept on getting lost in the labyrinth of side roads and alleys. Well, it wasn't as bad as it sounds, I got to see more of the city. Eventually I got to the Piazza, I knew because there was an elephant standing on the fountain. The elephant is the iconic symbol for the city, a relationship that dates back to Roman times, though the fountain wasn't built later until the 18th century.
My objective here was to climb up the church dome for the 360 degree of the city. I read it was a must do. It was a Sunday morning and the church, or rather the cathedral was quite busy. When I went inside it was packed with people and I couldn't see the dome entrance. I tried asking a staff but my Italian was as good as their English so we got nowhere. It was very odd, the dome was clearly at the rear of the cathedral, but where was the entrance? I walked around both inside and outside but still couldn't find the way up.
Mixed identity
Sudddenly, I looked around, and saw some people outside a dome at another church on the other side of the road!!! That was the church I was looking for - Chiesa della Badia di Sant'Agata. The one I was in just now was the Basilica Cattedrale Sante’Agata!! What a silly mistake 🙃
This church was more intimate, and less busier, most people came here for the climb up the dome. I paid the Euro 3 entrance fee and proceeded up the narrow staircase that was only wide enough for one person.
After what seemed like climbing for ages, I got to the top. The views here are very nice and truly 360 degrees. There was the Ionian Sea from one side and supposedly Mt Etna from the other. Sadly the clouds were too low, masking any sight of that.
I made sure I left our Hive and Worldmappin mark here before I left. If anyone comes here and see this in future, please let me know. I'd love to connect with you via this post.
Benedict Monastery
The second place I wanted to visit in Catania is the Benedict Monastery. Life started here in 1558 and was one of Europe's biggest monasteries. If you google the monastery, you will read about how it was destroyed by earthquakes and volcano eruptions, and how it has been rebuilt and restored, leading to a mixed bag of architecture. I won't bore you with the details, otherwise I will end up writing an entire post just on the history of it. Anyway, today the monastery is part of the Universirty of Catania. Lucky you students to study at such a beautiful building. I hope you appreciate it. Just look at the intricate carvings outside the building, and the beautiful decor that extends inside.
Cloisters
There are two cloisters at the monastery, each of a different architecture style. This is the Cloister of the Levant, it has a neo-gothic Caffeau in the center. This is a place where the monks used to gather for drinks. Beer or tea? I wonder? The gardens are quite lush here.
I couldn't say the same for the second cloister, the Marble Cloister. This has a late baroque style four clover leaf fountain made of marble in the center. It's built on a platform with four steps leading up to it. The fountain itself is beautiful and elegant. However, my advice is best to admire it from a distance. When I walked near it, the whole courtyard was pretty grim and sad. The bare vegetation patch looked so lonely, and how can a fountain be a fountain when there's no water?
Ponte Manica
When the monastery was restored for the University, the area between the two courtyards were converted into a student study area called the Ponte Manica. This is a very creative use of space linking the monastery through times, from the 16th centure to modern day. Even though most of the monastery was destroyed by the earthquake in the past, and then rebuilt, some of the original structure remains. Part of the walls are left exposed, and a staircase takes you down to see the ground level and remains of the original flooring that is now protected underneath the glass cover.
A modern element here is the wooden walkway built along the 18th century cross vault white wall area. Desks were added into the alcove allowing students to look out into the cloisters. How many student can claim they have such an amazing view when studying?
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With students being students, they still get bored during their revisions. Though I have to say, the pig drawing is nicely done.
The cat in the garden
Before I left, I went for a walk in the garden. Gardens aren't the most vibrant in November, most plants have died or are on their way out. The were a few cats roaming around, and not being an animal lover, I ignored them of course. One little cat kept following me around, meow meow it kept on crying. Hey, leave me alone kitty, I don't like cats and I'm not going to pat you. I turned to look at kitty and was horrified and heartbroken at the same time. One of his/her eye was injured, like someone had poked through it, it was horrible. My heart of stone was shattered and it hurt. I couldn't stay around for any longer let alone offer kitty any comfort. I'm sorry kitty, I hope whoever did this to you was punished and the monastery is taking good care of you. Stay safe.
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