Catania

Katane, as it was called in ancient times, is one of the main municipalities of eastern Sicily, on one side washed by the sea and on the other flanked by Europe's highest volcano, Mount Etna.  

Baroque Catania developed in the late 1600s, the year of its beginning precisely being 1693. Two catastrophic events forced the city and its population to recreate and rebuild, we speak of a real breaking point that occurred between 1669 and 1693: the eruption of Etna and the Val di Noto earthquake. Among the main monuments to visit is Piazza del Duomo, home to several of the city's attractions, first and foremost the Cathedral of St. Agatha, the city's patron saint. In the Piazza del Duomo we find the town hall housed by the Palazzo degli Elefanti and the elephant fountain with the trunk turned toward the Cathedral of St. Agatha of which is said to have been carved from a lava stone. 

Other must-see towns that you can visit in a day are Aci Reale and Aci Trezza to enjoy, apart from the excellent fish and fishing traditions, the cathedrals and churches that make manifest the splendor of Sicilian Baroque. 

Also worth visiting is Torre Archirafi, an enchanting little seaside village from which a bicycle touring route starts and ends near the Alcantara River.