Metropolitan City of Catania in the context of "Acireale"

Catania (/kəˈtɑːniə/, UK also /-ˈteɪn-/, US also /-ˈtæn-/, Sicilian and Italian: [kaˈtaːnja] ) is the second-largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the centre of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, which is among the largest in Italy. It has important road and rail transport infrastructures, and hosts the main airport of Sicily (fifth-largest in Italy). The city is located on Sicily's east coast, facing the Ionian Sea at the base of the active volcano Mount Etna. It is the capital of the 58-municipality province known as the Metropolitan City of Catania, which is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Italy. The population of the city proper is 297,517, while the population of the metropolitan city is 1,068,563.

Catania was founded in the 8th century BC by Chalcidian Greeks in Magna Graecia. The city has weathered multiple geologic catastrophes: it was almost completely destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake in 1169. A major eruption and lava flow from nearby Mount Etna nearly swamped the city in 1669 and it suffered severe devastation from the 1693 Sicily earthquake.

Eastern Sicily (Italian: Sicilia orientale) is an area formed by the territories of Sicily on the Ionian and Eastern Tyrrhenian coast of the isle, namely the provinces and metropolitan cities of Messina, Catania, Siracusa and Ragusa.

Eastern Sicily was originally settled by the tribe of the Sicels during the island's prehistory, and later on it was taken over by the Greeks.

Mount Etna, or simply Etna, is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina and Catania. It is located above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is one of the tallest active volcanoes in Europe, and the tallest peak in Italy south of the Alps with a current height (September 2024) of 3,403 m (11,165 ft), though this varies with summit eruptions. For instance, in 2021 the southeastern crater reached a height of 3,357 m (11,014 ft), but was then surpassed by the Voragine crater after the summer 2024 eruptions.

Etna covers an area of 1,190 km (459 sq mi) with a basal circumference of 140 km (87 miles). This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. Only Mount Teide on Tenerife in the Canary Islands surpasses it in the whole of the European–North-African region west of the Black Sea.

Nicolosi (Sicilian: Niculusi) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about 160 kilometres (99 mi) southeast of Palermo and about 12 kilometres (7 mi) northwest of Catania.

Nicolosi borders the following municipalities: Adrano, Belpasso, Biancavilla, Bronte, Castiglione di Sicilia, Maletto, Mascalucia, Pedara, Randazzo, Sant'Alfio, Zafferana Etnea.

Mineo (Sicilian: Minìu; Ancient Greek: Μέναιον, Μέναινον or Μεναί; Latin: Menaeum, Menaenum or Menae) is a town and comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania, part of Sicily, Italy. It lies 64 kilometres (40 mi) southwest of Catania, 56 kilometres (35 mi) from Ragusa, 54 kilometres (34 mi) from Gela, and 22 kilometres (14 mi) from Caltagirone. It has approximately 5,600 inhabitants. It serves as the center of the cult of Saint Agrippina of Mineo.

Adrano (Italian: [aˈdraːno]; Adernò until 1929; Sicilian: Ddirnò), ancient Adranon, is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Catania on the east coast of Sicily.

It is situated around 41 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Catania, which was also the capital of the province to which Adrano belonged, now a metropolitan city. It lies near the foot of Mount Etna, at the confluence of the Simeto and Salso rivers. It is the commercial center for a region where olives and citrus fruit are grown. Neighbouring towns include: Biancavilla, Bronte, Paternò, Randazzo, Santa Maria di Licodia and Centuripe.

Belpasso (Sicilian: Malupassu, Marpassu or Mappassu) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about 150 kilometres (93 mi) southeast of Palermo and about 10 kilometres (6 mi) northwest of Catania. Belpasso is the second biggest comune of the Catania's area for area (after Catania).

The original town was destroyed by the lava flows from Mount Etna in 1669. Rebuilt in a lower plain, that habitation was known as Fenice Moncada; the latter name derives from the family of the Princes of Paterno who owned the feud. This habitation proved malarial and was heavily damaged by the 1693 Sicily earthquake, causing the spot to be abandoned and named Malpasso, and the present town was founded in 1695 in lands belonging to the Duke of Montalto.

Biancavilla (Arbëreshë Albanian: Callìcari) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is located between the towns of Adrano and S. Maria di Licodia, 32 kilometres (20 mi) northwest of Catania. The town was founded and historically inhabited by the Arbëreshë community.