Fish, Arancini, an Elephant and then a Fake Bird ?! Interesting stories from Catania, part II (:

On the third day in Catania, my sister's boyfriend and I went to get breakfast, to buy some arancini and surprise the rest of the group. We got the al ragù ones, the classic flavor that's on every must-try list. We also got some mini pizzas, just in case we didn't like the arancini. Everyone liked the arancini, they were really good. The taste reminded me of mixing two Serbian dishes, đuveč and gulaš. :D With that thick yogurt we bought on the first day, they were perfect!

After that, the beach, the same place, Lido Azzurro, swimming, ice coffee, sunbathing... In the evening we were completely exhausted, so we didn't go into the city. We sat on the terrace of the apartment, sipped beer and hoped for at least a little breeze, just enough to blow a bit, googled about Etna, wondered when it last snowed in Sicily, and then Google told us that it had snowed on Etna that very morning, phahahha. We laughed at ourselves about that. We played a few rounds of rummy and went to bed.

LA PESCHERIA

For the next day, we had a different plan. Since my fiancé and I prefer sightseeing, walking all over the city from one end to the other, we woke up earlier and started with: La Pescheria (a fish market).

Just to mention that our idea of "waking up early" and leaving the apartment was around 9 in the morning, so by then the crowd at the market had already decreased by half, but we still caught enough of the vibe we were looking for. Loud vendors, wet cobblestones, the smell of fresh fish, one vendor takes a piece of fish in his hand and slaps it against his other palm, showing it to us and saying smth like: "Eccolo, eccolo". We smile, I find the whole thing absolutely adorable, while my fiancé isn't exactly thrilled by the smell of fish, but he is impressed by the people and ther marketing skills. 😍

We walk through the market once again and get freshly squeezed citrus juices, which they call spremuta. We stop by the stalls with nuts, olive oil, spices, looking around and an older man who is selling starts singing a beautiful serenade, literally that picture.... I wanted us to get a cone of fried seafood - catch of the day, but we arrived during the break. So we decide to go to Chiesa della Badia di Sant'Agata first.

A VIEW FROM ABOVE

That's a beautiful Baroque church located right next to Catania's Cathedral (I'll write about it in the next blog), in the heart of Piazza del Duomo. Built in the 18th century after the devastating earthquake of 1693, it is known for its elegant façade and impressive dome. There is a terrace on the dome, offering a lovely panoramic view over Catania and the surrounding area, including Mount Etna if it's a clear day.

Not to make the story too long, the following pictures show the inside of the church and the view from the dome over Piazza Duomo and the nearby streets best. Absolutely beautiful!

As we climbed the slightly wider stairs first to the terrace and then up the even narrower spiral staircase all the way to the top of the dome, I took these three photos. Stepping out onto the first terrace was a great little break, especially for the two of us who are slightly claustrophobic.

And voilà! A charming view right in front of you, the kind of view that simply takes your breath away. It is only when you see a city from above, from a viewpoint like this, that you truly realize just how beautiful it is.

We quickly got hungry, so we decided that breakfast would be, guess what, guess what, you only get one try, ARANCINI, but a different flavor this time. We got pistachio mozzarella, yum, and of course two coffees, actually one coffee and one cappuccino. I still can't get used to the fact that over there, cappuccino doesn't count as coffee, hihi. That was where I had my first espresso macchiato in the city, and it was amaaaazing.

A funny story from that place. We're sitting there, eating, enjoying view, a man walks between the tables with an accordion, playing the melody from The Godfather and a few other Italian songs we knew. Every now and then I look up, there are colorful umbrellas above us, but right above my head, some huge bird is standing on a terrace and just won't move. I forget about it, we keep sitting there, sipping our coffees, I look up again, and the bird is still there. It hadn't moved at all, strange. Until my fiancé revealed to me half an hour later that it was fake, some kind of decorative figure that was just there as a joke, and that he had realized it immediately and told me, but I wasn't listening to him, as usual, hihi.

A few more photos from the top of the dome and then I am finally getting to what I probably should have said first about Piazza del Duomo.

Believe me, and you probably will, since many of you have gotten to know me through my writing, I am only now learning some things about the places we visited. That is why we have the wonderfully clever internet, to teach us interesting things even after we come back from our travels.

Btw, I actually love this part, looking back on the trip, going through tons of photos in my gallery and Googling interesting facts, even a couple of months after the trip. <3

PIAZZA DEL DUOMO

Piazza del Duomo is the heart of Catania and one of the city’s most beautiful historic squares, surrounded by impressive Baroque architecture. The square is home to the famous Elephant Fountain, the Cathedral of Saint Agatha and the Palazzo degli Elefanti, while the Porta Uzeda connects it with the lively streets and market nearby.

One of the most famous symbols of Catania is the Liotru, the black lava stone elephant standing in the middle of Piazza del Duomo. The elephant is an ancient sculpture, while the obelisk on its back and the fountain around it were added later, in the 18th century. There are several legends about its origin, including one that says the elephant had magical powers and could protect the city from the eruptions of Mount Etna. Of course, I couldn't leave Catania without taking a little photo with Liotru. 😊

Also here we have the no less famous and no less beautiful Fontana Amenano, located at the edge of the square, right by one of the entrances to the fish market. The fountain is fed by water from the underground Amenano River, which has an interesting story of its own. Did you know that this river became an underground river after the historic eruption of Mount Etna in 1669, when the hot lava completely covered its original course and the city of Catania, forcing the river to find its way through underground caves and layers of basalt rock. Amazing, right?

CARRETO SICILIANO

Another thing that kept catching our eye everywhere, even on fridge magnets, were these colorful horse-drawn carts. They are called Carretto Siciliano and are one of the most recognizable symbols of Sicilian culture, history and folk art. Originally used to transport goods such as wine, citrus fruits, grain, wood.... owning a beautifully decorated cart and a horse or donkey eventually became a symbol of wealth and prestige. What makes them especially fascinating are the colorful paintings covering the wooden panels, which in the 19th century served almost like little traveling storybooks for a largely illiterate population, depicting knights, battles, religious figures, legends and scenes from everyday life. Even the colors and decorations had meaning, with red and yellow being the dominant Sicilian colors, while the horses and donkeys were decorated with feathers, ribbons, mirrors and bells.

That's all for this blog, people. Thank you so much for reading. See ya in another one.
Virtual huggs for all. (*つ´･∀･)つ
And if you missed the first part of my blog about Catania, here's the link >

@bibana/sicilyyyyyyy-our-first-two-days

Enjoy! <3

[//]:# (!worldmappin 37.50187 lat 15.08697 long Catania, Sicily d3scr)