Catania, Sicily: Baroque Lava-Stone City, La Pescheria Fish Market, and Mount Etna

Piazza del Duomo, Catania's central square, demonstrates the city's Baroque ambition and the particular aesthetic of Sicilian Baroque — more theatrical, more theatrical, and more exuberantly decorated than the mainland Italian version. The Catania Cathedral (dedicated to Saint Agatha, the city's patron) occupies the north side, its lower facade in volcanic black lava stone alternating with white limestone in a pattern that gives Catanian Baroque its distinctive appearance. The Fontana dell'Elefante at the center of the square — a black lava elephant (the city's symbol since antiquity) supporting an obelisk — is the most photographed object in Catania. The Via Etnea, running north from the square, is the city's main commercial street and the axis from which Etna's summit is visible on clear days at the end of the long perspective.

La Pescheria, Catania's daily fish market, occupies a series of lanes and a sunken court just east of Piazza del Duomo and runs from early morning until midday. The market is considered one of the finest fish markets in the Mediterranean for the quality and variety of its stock — swordfish, tuna, sea urchin, octopus, mussels, clams, anchovies, cuttlefish, and the full range of Sicilian coastal seafood arranged on ice and marble slabs in a display that is theatrical in itself. Buyers from the city's restaurants shop here each morning; the noise and the intensity of the transactions between fishmongers and buyers make it worth an hour even for those who are not buying. The surrounding street food stands and cafes around the market are the best places to try granita — Catania's granita is made from Sicilian almonds, blood orange, pistachio from Bronte, and local citrus in a coarser, more crystalline texture than the Palermo version.

Mount Etna, visible from virtually every part of Catania and rising to 3,357 metres (the height changes with each eruption), is Europe's tallest and most active volcano, erupting on average every two to three years with lava flows and ash clouds that have periodically threatened the city over two millennia of recorded history. The Rifugio Sapienza, at 1,923 metres on the southern slope, is reached by cable car from Nicolosi; from the cable car's upper station, 4WD vehicle tours with guides reach the 2,900-metre level. Summit crater access above 2,900 metres requires a permit and a guide and depends on current volcanic activity; the Etna's crater zone is an active area of fumaroles, lava features, and periodic eruptions that INGV (Italy's volcanological institute) monitors in real time.

Pasta alla Norma — spaghetti or rigatoni with fried eggplant, tomato, basil, and ricotta salata — is the most specifically Catanian of Sicily's pasta preparations, named for Bellini's opera (Bellini was born in Catania and the Teatro Massimo Bellini on Via Perrotta is named for him). Arancini in the Catanian style are typically round (Palermo's are cone-shaped) and filled with ragù, peas, and caciocavallo. The pistachios of Bronte, a town 42 kilometres northwest of Catania on the slopes of Etna, are among the most prized in Italy and are available in everything from gelato to pasta to pastry throughout the city. Taormina, 40 kilometres north of Catania on the Ionian coast highway, holds a second-century Greek theatre still in use as an outdoor performance venue, with Etna behind it and the sea below — the most dramatic setting of any ancient theatre in Europe and a 45-minute drive from Catania.