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Catania is situated in one of Sicily's most productive areas between the Ionian sea and Mount Etna, the city of Catania is exceptional for the rich production of citrus fruits, fruit, vegetable, and cereals. The locals also make handicraft, this is popular with tourists as they use lava rock.
The name Catania originates from the Sicilian term Katane, that mean’s "flaying knife, grater" because the city rises over a lava stone land. Catania, during the Roman era, grew thanks to the large shipping industry.
Between 1669 and 1693, the city was devastated by a lava eruption first, and by a terrible earthquake afterwards. The current inhabited centre was rebuilt after 1693, thanks to the new urban project designed by the lieutenant and duke Giuseppe Lanza of Camastra.
Worth a visit in Catania are some of the most exceptional monuments including the Chiesa di S. Nicolò and the annexed homonymous Benedictine Monastery, both of the XVII century.
Architecturally outstanding are the Castello Ursino erected in 1239, today it hosts the Civico museum and Picture Gallery. The Belliniano museum set in the residence of Vincenzo Bellini. The Roman amphitheatre of the Augustan era, not forgetting the home where the writer Giovanni Verga was born, currently housing his personal museum.
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