Catania, the unique city of Mamma Etna
It was a couple of years ago when I first glanced on the towering peaks of the Etna. I was part of the crew, and the first week in of developing my sea leg. We set a sail in Malta, leaving St Elmo’s Bridge behind.
After a short overnight stay at the port of Ortegia and an extremely strenous day of stowing the ship with provisions, Etna appeared enchantedly hiding herself behind a thick layer of clouds, its white snowpeaks showing just enough to seduce a grown man.
We contimued our voyage towards Taormina, but the sentiment of seeing that beautiful and peaceful peak have stayed with me for years to come.
Catania is a mixed bag, and that’s a good thing
It’s no secret that I love food -who doesn’t?-, and the lush hills of the Etna produces some of the best and freshest food that a depleted body of the north, after a long winter craves. And this hits hard especially at the beginning of March when spring is oh so close, but oh so far. We’re talking oranges, strawberry, cauliflower- all that Austria denies from us. And fish.
Hence, after landing, our first trip led to the fish market. A feast for the eye and the nose -okay, that is debatable.
The famous swordfish is being sold here-although you probably have to come early to get the best cuts.
Swordfish are abundant in the Strait of Messina in Sicily due to the strong currents. The strait’s waters, particularly on the Sicilian side in the Ionian Sea, also have cooler water that attracts the fish.
The first time I saw this practice was at the Aeolian Islands. The ships from which they launch their harpoon has a mast of around 25 meters that serves as a lookout to spot the animals under the surface.
Catania- life in the shadow of Mount Etna
Catania is known as the black city, as it’s been repeatedly rebuilt from the ash and soot of Mount Etna, giving it a distinctive appearance.
Our guide claimed that this well earned title makes it easy for local politicians to conceal the real cause behind- namely the heavy traffic.
During our stay we were blessed with British weather from day two. These pictures might not represent Catania, rather those days of rain and street lights that left us with a lasting impression.
We stayed right between Castello Ursino and Via Plebescito- a lively neighbourhood with many local shops and eateries, famous for their selection of horse meat.
The castle was originally built on the shores of the Ionian Sea- it even survived the 1683 earthquake, when it was surrounded by the lava. The castle now is a kilometre away from the coast.
If my guide is right, it took almost a century till locals could start building on top of the newly acquired land of cooled down lava.
And lava is everywhere. It is the building block of most buildings here, due to its resistence to earthquakes.
A trip to Etna
As opposed to our Catanian friend’s advice back in Vienna, we decided to take the public transport to Etna. However, we only had one chance- there was only one bus leaving each morning with limited availability, to which the ticket is only sold in a non-descript cafe.
We were the first ones to arrive. Enventhough it was off season, the bus filled up nicely with a cheerful crowd.
The bus ride to the southern slope of Etna, to Rifugio Sapienza was passing by some lava filled valleys with houses and livelihoods as a testament to some of the recent outbursts of this mighty volcano.
We were a group of a dozen people that took Mario, our volcanic mountain guide to take a 5 hour hike to the unique and ever changing landscape up top.
The temperature up there is likely to be at least 10-15 degrees colder than in Catania, and at the altitude of 2900 meters, where Torre del Filosofo is, the effects of a mild altitude sickness can further make the hike somewhat harder.
The snow already melted, and everyone talked about the viral Instagram videos of skiers sweeping through the freshly fallen snow next to the glow of the erupting volcano that started on the 9th of February.
But by the beginning of March they were both a thing of the past, the snow melted and the tiny black rock sediment and ash on the now icy snow turned the landscape into a grayscale picture where only the blue of the sky provided a relief of color to the eyes.
The photos on the backside of my camera seemed so wrong that I even had to check my color settings.
Since we were not prepared for the freezing cold, the hot rocks which our guide grabbed from the steaming holes were a godsent.
As the ground is continuosly melting the thick ice on the less sunny eastern slope, big, man-sized ice caves have formed with translucent roof. It was unexpectedly cosy in spite of the harsh conditions.
With our final reserve and heavy legs we hiked up to the edge of a crater near Torre del Filosofo, where in Torre del Filosofo was the highest outpost of Mount Etna, from where it was possible to see closely the eruptions and stay overnight. The name refers to the place, where the greek philosopher, Empedocles threw himself into a crater.
A niche getaway
With the steady increase of tourism since the pandemics, it’s more important than ever to choose our destination wisely.
A lot can be said about Catania, but it really impressed me with its genuinity and simple charm. It’s far from postcard perfect, and a bit rough around the edges.
But it’s a city where you can wonder around – even on a rainy day, – and always come across something new.
In a world of uniformity, practicality and social alienation, just simply visiting half a dozen specialty shops on Via Plebiscito and talking to the locals will definitely make you want to come back. Maybe when the rain’s gone….
