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Catania is the second largest city of Sicily and is the capital of the province which bears its name. With some 306,000 inhabitants (750,000 in the metropolitan area) it has the second highest population density on the island. The city's patron saint is Saint Agatha.
Catania is located on the east coast of the island, half way between Messina and Siracusa and is at the foot of the active volcano Mount Etna.
 HISTORY OF CATANIA
Catania was founded in the 8th century BC by Greek colonizers from Chalcis in Euboea led by Euarchos. Initially called Aítne or Ætna, after the volcano, the city was later known as Katáne. It was extensively destroyed by earthquakes in 1169 and 1693 and by lava flows which ran over and around it into the sea.
The first Sicilian university was founded in Catania in 1434.
SIGHTS OF ROMAN AGE CATANIA
The city has been buried by lava a total of seven times in recorded history, and in layers under the present day city are the Roman city that preceded it, and the Greek city before that.
Much of the ancient monuments of the Roman city have been destroyed by the numerous earthquakes. Currently, remains of the following buildings can be seen:
• The Theater (2nd century)
• The Amphitheater (2nd century)
• The Odeon (3rd century CE)
The symbol of the city is u Liotru, or the Fontana dell'Elefante and was constructed in 1736 by Giovan Battista Vaccarini. It is a manufact in lava stone portraying an elephant and surmounted by an obelisk.
Legend has it that Vaccarini's original elephant was neuter, which the men of Catania took as an insult to their virility. To appease them, Vaccarini appended appropriately elephantine testicles to the original statue.
The Sicilian name u Liotru is perhaps a deformation of Heliodorus. A similar sculpture is in Piazza Santa Maria della Minerva in Rome.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
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