Acireale, Catania

Acireale, like other small coastal towns north of Catania, owes the prefix of its name to a watercourse, now underground, that mythology linked to the love story of Aci and Galatea.

The town overlooks the sea, 16 km from Catania, on the natural terrace where it was founded in 1326. At the heart of the town is the beautiful Piazza del Duomo, with its major historical buildings; first and foremost comes the Duomo, which only adopted its present Latin cross plan with nave and two aisles in the 17th century, then the basilica of Santi Pietro e Paolo, which has an 18th-century facade produced to a drawing by Pietro Paolo Vasta, and Palazzo di Citta, repeatedly rebuilt following the damage caused by earthquakes although it has fortunately maintained its original late-baroque appearance.

Also in the vicinity is the basilica of San Sebastiano, the most significant example of local baroque style and restored after the 1693 earthquake.

A visit ends with the Santa Venera spa, known to be of ancient origin because the spa waters were used by the Greeks and Romans, and the Zelantea Library, one of the most important cultural institutions on the island.

The annexed Pinacoteca houses works by the Sicilian school dating from the 16th-20th centuries.

During Carnival or when on a spa holiday, after seeing the churches and monuments, you must sit at the table of one of the many ice cream shops in Piazza del Duomo or Corso Umberto I, where locals and visitors alike watch time peacefully pass by as they perform a timeworn ritual.