J + 4 : Catania - Once Wealthy Baroque Town

The Neighbourhood between our Marina and Catania's

Town Center was once wealthy but is now a bit run down

Walking from Catania's Yacht Harbour to the town center is quite an experience. We passed through a decommissioned, old customs building, walked through an ugly car park, crossed under the battrered arches of Sicily's Ionian Railway Line and finally ended in a rough, but once wealthy neighbourhood. The contrast between the beauty of the buildings and how badly they are maintained could not be starker. Welcome to the contrasts of Catania!

The elegant Piazza Duomo with the Elephant Monument, Catania's Town Symbol

Since its beginning, Catania was a wealthy town. Located between the gentle and fertile slopes of the Etna and the Ionian Sea, Greek and Romans loved it. But Catania's location is a mixed blessing. Ever so often, the town suffers from catastrophic events. In 1669, lava from the Etna almost eclipsed it. Had it not been for the strong town walls, which deviated the molten rock, Catania would have disappeared under a layer of glowing basalt. Only 24 years later, one of Italy's most powerful earthquakes ever with an estimated magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale levelled the town. There was almost no building left standing. Thanks to the generous help from the Spanish Kings, Catania was rebuilt in the short span of just 50 years.

The Lava Flow of 1669 which almost burried Catania

The town got a new grid with the Via Etna and the Via Umberto III as a cross. Big squares were created to allow the population to gather in safety once a tremor started. Principal roads were widened to keep them open in case buildings collapsed or allow the population to flee if necessary and rescuers to move in. Catania's architectural style is best described by the term "Spanish Baroque". But whilst the buildings follow standardised hight and width, the architects interpreted Spanish Baroque individually. Not one building looks like the next but all stand in great harmony. The Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza del Universita are easily the most elegant places.

The Palazzotto Biscari alla Colleggiata near the Pizza Università

Catania houses Sicily's olderst university. It was established in 1434 and now has 60'000 students. Getting an university education is inexpensive. It costs only a few hundred Euros per year. More than 40% of Sicily's young people now have an university degree. At the same time, youth unemployment (15 - 25 years) fluctuates between 30 - 40%. I wonder whether Sicily would not be better off with an appreticeship system like in my home country. Young people need practicle skills to join the work force. Not a backpack full of theory. The 60'000 students are quite an economic power though for a town of 250'000 people. Many of them come from Eastern Europe and Greece.

Catania's Daily Fish Market is a Must See - So full of Life

The beauty of Catania's older buildings and its now apparent poverty (salaries are about half of Milan's) is an intriguing contrast. How could a once so wealthy town descend into relative poverty? For me, there are a couple of facts that stand out:

• Prior to 1914, Catania refined 90% of the world's sulphur but it could not meet the demand from World War I and competitors took over

• The town was also a big silk producer but Nylon, invented in the US during the Second World War, made this industry obsolete

• The sale of ice from Mount Etna, a precious commodity for many hundred years, collapsed with the introduction of fridges and freezers to households in the 1960

• Between 1900 and 1960, Sicily lost 50% of its people due to emigration - usually the most clever and industrious people emigrate

• Having Sicily's biggest harbour, Catania suffered considerably from World War II. The town was right in the center of the British advance from Gela to Messina. Its harbor, railway and industrial area were heavily bombed.

Other towns suffered similar fates though in their history and re-invented themselves.

Catania's Restaurant District is surprisingly small for its Size

Catania chose to develop the public sector to create new jobs - an approach which always and everywhere runs out of money. To generate good and stable tax receipts, you need a thriving private sector. Which in turn requires an environment which fosters innovation and a tax system which allows people to keep the upside from the economic risk they take. Sadly, Catania did none of this. It made some investments in the transportation infrastructure (airport and cruise ship hub) and hopes to benefit from the new High Speed Train Line which links it by 2030 to Palermo and Messina. But even the hospitality sector is not well developed. Thus, most of Rome's & the EU's financial assistance ends up directly or indirectly in consumption. What a pitty for the amount of support the town gets.

We are leaving Catania at 13.00 h to sail to Taormina - old Custom Building in the Back