Via Etnea
can be considered the historical nucleus of the city centre. It
is one of the most important and beautiful street of Catania.
Partly closed to traffic, Via Etnea has the most elegant shops
and coffee bars of the city. From Piazza Duomo where it
starts, we can gaze up along the full length of via Etnea to
where in ends at Tondo Gioeni (after about three Km) and it has
in its background the grandeur of “Mount Etna”. Via Etnea was
planned according to the will of the Duca di Uzeda, after the
earthquake of 1963, which almost completely devastated
Catania. Firstly it was called “Via Duca di Uzeda”, then “Via
Stesicorea” because the street ended up in “Piazza
Stesicoro”(named after the VI century A.D Greek poet); at the
present time is called Via Etnea.
It starts
from Piazza Duomo, a triumph of Sicilian Baroque style.
Immediately on the left of Porta Uzeda stands the Palazzo dei
Clerici (built in the early years of the eighteenth
century).Opposite stands Palazzo degli Elefanti or City Hall,
designed by Vaccarini. The monumental Cathedral stands on the
right. It boasts a fantastic façade designed by Vaccarini from
1733 to 1761.In the centre of the square there is the Fontana
dell’Elefante (1736) that is a curious blend of the sacred and
of the profane, a mixture of pagan and Christian cultures. From
Piazza Duomo we go towards Piazza Universita’ where on the
right-hand side there is Palazzo dell’Università; the main
historic university building, that contains a courtyard and a
loggia designed by Vaccarini. On the left there is another
university building “Palazzo di Sangiuliano”. On our way we can
admire the spectacular curves of the façade of the Basilica
Collegiata (1768) “Stefano Ittar’s masterpiece” which the
Aragonese rulers chose as their Royal Chapel. Continuing we
reach the crossroad (via Antonino di Sangiuliano and via Etnea)
known locally as “Quatro Canti”. From here we go towards “Piazza
Stesicoro” and on our way we can admire, on our left, the fine
Church of the Minoriti (Minor Clerics), a great work of F.
Battaglia. In Piazza Stesicoro we can admire the striking
spectacle of the Roman Amphitheatre, brought to light during
excavations carried out from 1904 to 1906. The Amphitheatre
dates from the II century AD. It is oval in shape, built from
lava stone, brick and marble. Only a part of it is visible
today, as the bulk of the Amphitheatre is buried under Piazza
Stesicoro.
Behind the Amphitheatre stands the church of San Biagio (also
known as Sant’Agata alla Fornace). Going up Via Etnea, we will
find on our right the imposing Central Post Office building,
the “ Palazzo delle Poste e dei Telegrafi” ( designed by Fichera,
1919 -1929). On the left, there is a monument to Unification
patriot, Giuseppe Garibaldi ( by Ferrari, 1912). To the right
there is an entrance to the Villa Bellini public gardens. This
splendid park (which covers 70.945 sq.m.) belonged to the
aristocratic Biscari family who sold it to the local Council in
1853. It was opened to the public after many years’ work. It had
been graced with a decorative entrance, a pond to house swans,
and statues of the arts in the open space of the entrance. The
park was considered one of the finest in Europe, because of its
ancient trees, palm trees and floral decorations. This part of
Via Etnea that stretches down to Piazza Duomo offers sightseers
a host of grand baroque buildings to admire. Some of these have
been renovated recently. A particularly noteworthy building is
the neoclassical Palazzo del Toscano (1870),that looks over
Piazza Stesicoro. Going up via Etnea we reach Piazza Cavour,
which has two churches: the church of Saint Agata al Borgo,
which was constructed after the earthquake (1963) and on the
south side, the eighteenth-century Church of SS. Crocifisso
(Holy Crocifix). In the middle of the square there is “Fontana
di Cenere”(1757). Going along Via Etnea we will take us to the
public gardens at Tondo Gioeni from where we can gaze on the
splendid sweeping panorama and look down along Via Etnea,
towards Piazza Duomo and Porta Uzeda, where we started out
from.
