Catania Landmarks.
A tour of the best sights and historical landmarks in Catania and its main saint, Sant’Agata.
Guided Tour
2 hour visit of Catania
Availability
All year round
A city tour of Catania
During the persecution decreed by emperor Decius, in the III century AD, a rich and beautiful girl named Agata (from the Greek language, “the good one”) shows the strong will to resist the injunctions of the roman emperor and she faces cruel tortures and even death keeping faithful to her belief in Christ. She was cruelly murdered on the 5th February 251.
The case was so emblematic that not only the Christian community, but the whole town of Catania realizes Agatha’s total devotion to god, so that she becomes the patron saint of the city. Still today, the feast for Sant’Agata is one of the most important of the Christian world, ant it lasts every year for three days and three nights, at the beginning of February.
Catania landmarks highlights
- The magnificent Cathedral
- The celebrations of the Saint
- Religion and culture connections
” We aim on your experience making it both as personal and enjoyable as possible. “
Tour Prices and Details.
Tour Guide available in the following languages : English, Français, Español, Deutsche
Children under 10 years benefit of a 10€ DISCOUNT and for all children under 3 years, the tour is FREE.
Upon request we can provide a child safety seat or booster seat (free service)
Catania Landmarks
Full description
During this tour we will retrace the stages of the martyrdom, visiting the 4 churches dedicated to Agata. We’ll start from the cathedral, in Piazza Duomo: here the bust and the reliquary are conserved, in a special “cameredda” (a little room), protected by three different gates, and they exit only the second day of the Celebrations.
The cathedral is a very interesting example of “ecclesia munita”, church-fortress, built in the Middle Age, destroyed during two earthquakes and reconstructed in the XVII century.
Once exit from the Cathedral, we’ll start to walk in the huge Via Etnea, the most important street of Catania, and we’ll continue towards piazza Stesicoro, where the other three churches stand: Sant’Agata La Vetere, Sant’Agata al Carcere, Sant’Agata alla Fornace.
Piazza Stesicoro is one of the main squares of the city, where we can also admire a part of the ancient roman amphitheater. The story of the martyrdom is very interesting, and it’s very important to learn it, in order to deeply understand the real culture of Catania inhabitants, their customs, their traditions.
After the visit we will come back to Piazza Duomo, passing though the splendid Piazza Università. That’s a good choice to visit the major landmarks of Catania’s town.
” Fun for the whole family! “
MORE EXCURSIONS…
For more information about access to the Etna volcano, you can consult the following links:
Parco Dell’Etna – National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology – Mount Etna News