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70-477: Serra Orlando was identified as Morgantina by Kenan Erim following the discovery of a number of coins bearing the Latin word HISPANORUM . Erim used these coins and passages from Livy to argue that the city found at Serra Orlando was in fact the ancient city of Morgantina. The name appears in different forms among different authors: Morgantia , Murgantia and Morgantium in scholarship; in ancient sources Strabo used

140-460: A hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ). The city has hot summers, one of the hottest in the whole country of Italy. Temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) are surpassed almost every year a couple of times. Winters are mild, with significant nighttime cooling. Precipitation is concentrated from October to March, leaving late spring and summer virtually dry. The city receives around 500 millimetres (20 inches) of rain per year, although

210-514: A stoa to the main entrance, centrally located at the east wall of the auditorium. A rectangular substructure held wooden benches where the assembly sat to listen to the speakers. Stone buttressing, connected to this substructure, supported the south retaining wall. Today, only the foundation and parts of the south side of the auditorium are preserved. A regional museum was opened in Aidone in 1980 to house finds from Morgantina. The building, dating from

280-628: A basin or a bay" and "a bowl, a vessel or a trough", thanks to the city's distinctive topography. Around 900, when Catania was part of the emirate of Sicily , it was known in Arabic as Balad al-fīl ( بلد الفيل ) and Madīnat al-fīl ( مدينة الفيل ), respectively meaning "the Village (or Country) of the Elephant" and "the City of the Elephant". The Elephant likely referred to the ancient lava sculpture, now placed over

350-735: A consortium of primarily Scandinavian institutions at Monte Polizzo . In 1955, a major project was begun by Princeton University , under the supervision of Professors Erik Sjöqvist and Richard Stillwell. The excavations on the (then unidentified) town were intended to serve as training for graduate students in Princeton's Department of Art and Archaeology. Major figures who participated in work at Morgantina include Kenan Erim, Donald White, T. Leslie Shear Jr., Ione Mylonas Shear, R. Ross Holloway, Stephen Miller, Paul Deussen, and Karl Erik Östenberg. Special mention should also be made of Sweden's King Gustaf VI Adolf , who came to Morgantina on several occasions in

420-535: A curse and a blessing. On the one hand, violent outbursts of the volcano throughout history have destroyed large parts of the city, while on the other hand the volcanic ashes yield fertile soil, especially suited for the growth of vines. (Strab. vi. p. 269) Two subterranean rivers run under the city; the Amenano, which surfaces at one single point south of Piazza Duomo, and the Longane (or Lognina). Catania experiences

490-452: A large fleet of warships at his base at Messana , with many slaves joining from the villas of patricians. After the victory of Augustus in 36 BC much of the vast farmland in Sicily was either ruined or left empty, and much of this land was taken and distributed to members of the legions which had fought there. Catania suffered severely from the ravages but was afterwards one of the cities raised to

560-462: A local center of learning. The philosopher and legislator Charondas (late 6th c. BC), born in Catania, putatively wrote program of laws used here and in other Chalcidic cities, both in Sicily and through Magna Graecia . suggesting a link between Catania and other cities during this time. The poets Ibycus and Stesichorus ( c.  630 –555 BC) lived in Catania. The latter putatively was buried in

630-455: A magnificent sepulchre outside one of the gates, therefore named Porta Stesichoreia . Xenophanes ( c.  570 -475 BC), one of the founders of the Eleatic school of philosophy, also spent the latter years of his life in the city. The first introduction of dancing to accompany the flute was also ascribed to Andron , a citizen of Catania. Catania appears to have remained independent until

700-619: A massive castle, Castello Ursino and also made Catania a royal city, ending the dominance of the bishops. Catania was one of the main centers of the Sicilian Vespers revolt (1282) against the House of Anjou and was the seat of the coronation of the new Aragonese king of Sicily, Peter I . The city remained a key Sicilian port during the War of the Sicilian Vespers . After a civil revolt in 1299,

770-565: A position of great prosperity under the Roman rule. Around 135 BC during the First Servile War , it was conquered by rebel slaves. One of the most serious eruptions of Mount Etna happened in 121 BC, when a great part of Catania was overwhelmed by streams of lava, and the hot ashes fell in such quantities in the city itself, as to break in the roofs of the houses. Catana was in consequence exempted, for 10 years, from its usual contributions to

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840-472: A terrace of nine steps, and walls, as well as what he called 'a Roman house'. Morgantina has been the principal site of American research on classical Sicily. Currently there are two other sites on the island with significant American presences: the Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Catania 's excavations at Palike , and the work undertaken by Stanford University and Northern Illinois University as part of

910-550: A time (Plut. Dion. 58); and when Timoleon landed in Sicily in 344 BC Catania was subject to the despot Mamercus who at first joined the Corinthian leader, but afterwards abandoned this allegiance for that of the Carthaginians. As a consequence he was attacked and expelled by Timoleon in 338 BC. Catania was now restored to a fragile independence; changing sides during the wars starting in 311 BC of Agathocles of Syracuse with

980-455: A wealthy and flourishing city; it retained its ancient municipal institutions, its chief magistrate bearing the title of Proagorus ; and appears to have been one of the principal ports of Sicily for the export of corn. In the Sicilian revolt from 44 BC Sextus Pompeius selected Sicily as his base and Catania gave in to Sextus' revolt and joined his forces. Sextus amassed a formidable army and

1050-455: Is a grave memorial to Professor Erim near the reconstructed Tetraplyon. Catania Catania ( / k ə ˈ t ɑː n i ə / , also UK : /- ˈ t eɪ n -/ , US : /- ˈ t æ n -/ ; Sicilian and Italian: [kaˈtaːnja] ) is the second-largest municipality in Sicily , after Palermo , both by area and by population. Despite its reputation as

1120-642: The J. Paul Getty museum , the parts of two acroliths purchased by Maurice Tempelsman , and the Morgantina treasure purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art . All the works were returned to Italy and are on display at the museum of Aidone. Since 2003 Sandra K. Lucore (formerly of the University of Tokyo , now an independent scholar) has led excavations of the 3rd century BC North Baths complex that have produced interesting results including evidence of one of

1190-663: The Metropolitan City of Catania , which is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Italy. The population of the city proper is 311,584, while the population of the Metropolitan City of Catania is 1,107,702. 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

1260-488: The Mezzogiorno , namely a heavy gap in industrial development and infrastructures, and the threat of the mafia . This notwithstanding, during the 1960s (and partly during the 1990s) Catania enjoyed development and a period of economic, social, and cultural success. In the first decade of the 21st century, Catania's economic and social development somewhat faltered and the city is again facing economic and social stagnation. This

1330-463: The Second Servile War , Morgantina was besieged and taken by slaves. The final mention of Morgantina comes again from Strabo, who notes that in his own time, the first century CE, the city had ceased to exist. A few literary sources describe Morgantina and its economy. Most famous of these are the references to the vitis murgentina , a strain of grape mentioned by Cato , Columella , and Pliny

1400-700: The University of Edinburgh on the protohistoric settlement on Cittadella. The site's archives are currently housed at the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University, though some materials also exist at the University of Illinois. By the 1980s, a number of works looted from or near the Morgantina site were marketed to major collectors and institutions, with the now-disgraced dealer Robin Symes serving as an intermediary. The works include an Aphrodite purchased by

1470-459: The University of Virginia , took over the project with the goal of publishing the Morgantina material. Bell was a former Princeton graduate student (Sjöqvist had been Bell's advisor until his retirement) who had written his dissertation on terracotta figurines found at Morgantina. He has conducted investigations on Serra Orlando since 1982, each time with the intention of answering specific questions raised by earlier work. Bell used his dissertation as

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1540-553: The 1693 earthquake, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The ancient indigenous population of Sicily, the Sicels , named their villages after geographical attributes of their location. The Siculian word katane means "grater, flaying knife, skinning place" or a "crude tool apt to pare". Other translations of the name are "harsh lands", "uneven ground", "sharp stones", or "rugged or rough soil". The latter etymologies are easily justifiable since, for many centuries following an eruption,

1610-724: The 17th century, is a former Capuchin monastery . The museum is run by the Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Enna . There are two floors of exhibits, covering the site's prehistoric, archaic, and classical periods, along with a thematic display that draws attention to aspects of ancient daily life. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Bunbury, Edward Herbert (1857). "Morgantia" . In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . Vol. 2. London: John Murray. pp. 370–371. The Morgantina Studies series: Kenan Erim Kenan Tevfik Erim (13 February 1929, İstanbul – 3 November 1990, Ankara )

1680-463: The 1950s at the invitation of Sjöqvist, his former secretary, to work at the site. In the mid-1960s, Princeton graduate student Hubert L. Allen assumed a role in the administration of the excavations. Upon receiving his doctorate, Allen was hired by the University of Illinois , which then began to co-sponsor the Morgantina project. The death of Sjöqvist and retirement of Stillwell in the early 1970s led to Princeton's withdrawal from direct involvement in

1750-640: The Carthaginians. When Pyrrhus landed in Sicily in 278 BC, Catania was the first to open its gates to him, and welcomed him with great splendor. During the First Punic War , Catania was one of the first cities of Sicily to submit to the Roman Republic after their first successes in 263 BC when it was taken by Valerius Messalla . A sundial was part of the booty which was placed in the Comitium in Rome. Since then

1820-503: The Elder . These grapes were prized for their wine — Pliny called it "the very best among all those that come from Sicily" — and had been transplanted from Sicily to mainland Italy by the 2nd century BCE. Diodorus Siculus mentioned the Gorgus of Morgantina ( Ancient Greek : Γοργὸς Μοργαντῖνος ), surnamed Cambalus ( Ancient Greek : Κάμβαλος ) who was one of the chief men of wealth and authority in

1890-456: The Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Catania residents is 41 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Catania declined by 3.35 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85 percent. The reason for this population decline in the comune di Catania is mainly due to a large segment of

1960-447: The Italian average of 9.45 births. As of 2006 , 98.03% of the population was Italian . The largest immigrant groups come from Sub-Saharan Africa : 0.69%, South Asia : 0.46%, and from other European countries (particularly from Ukraine and Poland ): 0.33%. There is currently a small community of Samaritans from Israel. Around 729 BC, the ancient village of Katane was occupied by Chalcidian Greek settlers from nearby Naxos along

2030-479: The Morgetes were led by a king named Morges. The earliest historical date associated with Morgantina is 459 BCE, when Ducetius , leader of the indigenous Sicel population of central Sicily, attacked the city and captured it. Morgantina was probably still under Ducetius' control when he was defeated at Nomai by Syracuse in 449 BCE. No later mention of Morgantina is made until Thucydides lists it as part of

2100-550: The Roman state. The greater part of the broad tract of plain to the southwest of Catana (now called the Piana di Catania , a district of great fertility), appears to have belonged, in ancient times , to Leontini or Centuripa (modern Centuripe ), but that portion of it between Catana itself and the mouth of the Symaethus was annexed to Catana and must have furnished abundant supplies of grain. Cicero repeatedly mentions it as, in his time,

2170-559: The Triple Alliance.  After one year, Italy joined the Allied forces. Many promises made to secure Italy’s help during the war were not kept resulting in stability issues throughout the country leading to the adoption of fascist ideations. As the second World War began, the new regime opted to support Adolf Hitler, resulting in Catania and all the surrounding areas on Sicily being destroyed by Allied bombing. During World War II , Catania

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2240-538: The United States. He took his first degree in Classical archaeology at New York University (NYU) in 1953, and his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1958. In 1957, he lectured at Indiana University , and from 1958 onwards he was employed by NYU, where he became full professor in 1971. The NYU Institute of Fine Arts , alongside Oxford University, continues to supervise the excavations at Aphrodisias to this day. There

2310-411: The amount can vary greatly from year to year, from over 1,200 mm (47 in) to under 250 mm (9.8 in). During winter nights, lows can occasionally reach below freezing. Highs under 10 °C (50 °F) may happen during winter. Snow, due to the presence of Etna that protects the city from the northern winds, is an uncommon occurrence, but occasional snow flurries have been seen over

2380-681: The basis for the first book in the Morgantina Studies series published in 1983. Six volumes have appeared in the series, which is the main vehicle for the definite publication of the excavation results. In 1990, Carla Antonaccio, then on the faculty of Wesleyan University but now at Duke University , herself a Princeton graduate, assumed responsibility for publishing the post-7th century BCE settlement on Cittadella. Since that time, both Virginia and Wesleyan, along with many other American and Italian institutions, have sent scholars and students to conduct research. Notable scholars currently working on

2450-491: The city and his father who was also named Gorgus. Both were killed by thieves. The earliest excavations at Morgantina were undertaken by Luigi Pappalardo in 1884. He uncovered part of a necropolis, a large terracotta drain and two houses. One of the houses he found, the Pappalardo house, was named for him by later American excavators. Paolo Orsi recorded stray finds from Morgantina and excavated trial trenches in 1912. He located

2520-475: The city became a civitas decumana i.e. was subject to the payment of a tenth of its agricultural income as a tax to Rome. The conqueror of Syracuse, Marcus Claudius Marcellus , built a gymnasium here. It appears to have continued afterwards to maintain its friendly relations with Rome and though it did not enjoy the advantages of a confederate city ( foederata civitas ), like its neighbours Tauromenium (modern Taormina ) and Messana (modern Messina ), it rose to

2590-419: The city has always been rebuilt within its black-lava landscape. Around 263 BC, the city was variously known as Catĭna ( Latin: [ˈkatɪna] ) and Catăna ( Latin: [ˈkatana] ; Ancient Greek : Κατάνη [katánɛː] ). The former has been primarily used for its supposed assonance with catina , the Latin feminization of the name catinus . Catinus has two meanings: "a gulf,

2660-456: The city in 1669 and it suffered severe devastation from the 1693 Sicily earthquake . During the 14th century, and into the Renaissance period, Catania was one of Italy's most important cultural, artistic and political centres. It was the site of Sicily's first university , founded in 1434. It has been the native or adopted home of some of Italy's most famous artists and writers, including

2730-413: The city of Catania. During the years 1923 and 1928, Catania endured two major eruptions of Mt. Etna. The 1923 eruption lasted twenty-nine days, from June 6 until June 29. A large lava flow occurred in the 1928 event and was the first to destroy a population center in over two hundred years. At the onset of World War 1, Italy was part of a defensive alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary referred to as

2800-553: The city was captured by an Angevin army, which occupied the city until the Angevins evacuated their holdings on Sicily in 1302. In the 14th century it gained importance as it was chosen by the Aragonese as a Parliament and Royal seat. Here, in 1347, it was signed the treaty of peace that ended the long War of the Vesper between Aragonese and Angevines. Catania lost its capital role when, in

2870-485: The city, sold its citizens as slaves, and repopulated the town with Campanian mercenaries. However, the Carthaginians would take possession of Catania under Himilco and Mago , after the nearby great naval Battle of Catana (397 BC) where they defeated Leptines of Syracuse , and in 396 BC forcing the local Campanian mercenaries to relocate to Aetna . Calippus , the assassin of Dion of Syracuse , held Catania for

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2940-461: The coast. It became the Chalcidian colony of Katánē under a leader named Euarchos (Euarchus) and the native population was rapidly Hellenised . Thucydides states that it came into existence slightly later than Leontini (modern Lentini ), which he claims was five years after Syracuse , or 730 BC. The settlement's acropolis was on the hill of Monte Vergine, a defensible hill immediately west of

3010-537: The composers Vincenzo Bellini and Giovanni Pacini , and the writers Giovanni Verga , Luigi Capuana , Federico De Roberto and Nino Martoglio . Catania today is the industrial, logistical, and commercial centre of Sicily. Its airport, the Catania–Fontanarossa Airport , is the largest in Southern Italy. The central "old town" of Catania features exuberant late- baroque architecture , prompted after

3080-473: The conquest by the despot Hieron of Syracuse ; in 476 BC, he expelled all the original inhabitants of Catania and replaced them with his subjects from the town of Leontini – said to have numbered no less than 10,000, consisting partly of Syracusans and Peloponnesians . Hieron changed the city's name to Αἴτνη ( Aítnē , Aetna or Ætna, after the nearby Mount Etna , and proclaimed himself the Oekist or founder of

3150-409: The current city centre. The port of Catania appears to have been much frequented in ancient time and was the chief place of export for the corn of the rich neighbouring plains. Catania was associated with the ancient legend of Amphinomos and Anapias, who, on occasion of a great eruption of Etna, abandoned all their property and carried off their aged parents on their shoulders. The stream of lava itself

3220-399: The earliest examples of dome and barrel vault construction. The bouleuterion in Morgantina is a rectangular building located west of the agora of the city. It was founded during the 3rd century BC, a period of great prosperity for Morgantina, which, from the 5th century BC on had acquired a profoundly Hellenic character. The building had a bipartite plan. A walled forecourt led through

3290-587: The early 15th century, Sicily was turned into a member of the Crown of Aragon , and kept its autonomy and original privileges specially during the period from 1282 to 1410. In 1434 King Alfonso V founded here the Siciliae Studium Generale , the oldest university in the island. With the unification of Castile and Aragon (early 16th century ), Sicily became part of the Spanish Empire. It rebelled against

3360-415: The excavations. Allen continued to lead the project until 1975, when he was denied tenure at Illinois and took a position with University of Illinois computer sciences. At that point, American work at Morgantina was put on hold. The excavations had produced vast amounts of artefacts and data, but as yet there was no final publication. In 1978, Malcolm Bell III, professor of classical art and archaeology at

3430-495: The foreign government in 1516 and 1647. In 1669 the city's surroundings suffered great material damage from the 1669 Etna eruption . The city itself was largely saved by its walls that diverted most of the lava into the port. Afterwards, in 1693 the city was nearly completely destroyed by a heavy 1693 Sicily earthquake and its aftershocks. The city was then rebuilt in the Baroque architecture that nowadays characterizes it. Catania

3500-573: The fountain in Piazza Duomo. The sculpture is most likely a prehistoric sculpture that was reforged during the Byzantine Era, prized as a protective talisman against enemies, both human, natural or geologic. Another Arab toponym was Qaṭāniyyah ( قطانية ), allegedly from the Arabic word for the " leguminous plants ". Pulses like lentils , beans, peas, broad beans , and lupins were chiefly cultivated in

3570-480: The hegemony of Rome when Hieron became a Roman vassal in 263. In 214, Morgantina switched its allegiance from Rome to Carthage. Morgantina remained autonomous until 211 when it became the last Sicilian town to be captured by the Romans. It was given as payment by Rome to a group of Spanish mercenaries. In 133, Morgantina was the place where Eunus , the leader of the slave rebellion known as the First Servile War , died. In

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3640-506: The latter had forced an entrance, the Athenian leader Alcibiades made a famous speech in front of the assembly. Catania became an ally, and the headquarters of the Athenian army for the first year of the expedition, and a base of their subsequent operations against Syracuse. After the defeat of the Athenians, Catania was again threatened by Syracuse. In 403 BC, Dionysius I of Syracuse plundered

3710-507: The name Μοργάντιον , Diodorus Siculus used Μοργαντίνη and Stephanus of Byzantium writes that it was also called Μοργεντία . The name is variously written by Latin writers as Murgantia , Murgentia and Morgentia . The inhabitants were called Murgentini by Cicero and Pliny the Elder . According to Strabo Morgantina was founded by a pre-Roman Italian group known as the Morgetes of Rhegium . Dionysius of Halicarnassus wrote that

3780-562: The name Aetna). The old Chalcidic citizens returned to the city in 461 BC. The period that followed appears to have been one of great prosperity for Catania, as well as for the Sicilian cities in general. In 415 BC, Catania became involved with the expedition to Sicily pursued by the Athenians to punish Syracuse. Initially the Catanaeans refused to allow the Athenians into their city, but after

3850-463: The new city. For this he was celebrated by Pindar , and after his death he received heroic honours from the citizens of his new colony. A few years after the death of Hieron and the expulsion of Thrasybulus of Syracuse , the Syracusans combined with Ducetius , king of the Sicels , to expel the newly settled inhabitants of Catania, who went on to settle in the fortress of Inessa (to which they gave

3920-634: The period of the Roman Empire ; so that in the 4th century Ausonius in his Ordo Nobilium Urbium , notices Catania and Syracuse alone among the cities of Sicily. Catania was sacked by the Vandals of Gaiseric in 440–441. After a period under the Ostrogoths , it was reconquered in 535 by the Eastern Roman Empire , under which (aside from a short period in 550–555) it remained until the 9th century. It

3990-506: The plains around the city well before the arrival of Aghlabids . Afterwards, many Arabic agronomists developed these crops and the citrus orchards in the area around the city. The toponym Wādī Mūsá ( وادي موسى ), or "the Valley of Moses" (from the Arabic name of the Simeto River), was rarely used. As observed by Strabo , the location of Catania at the foot of Mount Etna has been both

4060-466: The population leaving the city centre to go to live in the uptown residential areas of the comuni of the Metropolitan area. As a result of this, while the population in the comune di Catania declines, the population of the hinterland comuni increases making the overall population of the Metropolitan area increase. The current birth rate of Catania is 10.07 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to

4130-537: The population to flee to the countryside. After heavy fighting across eastern Sicily, Catania was eventually captured by the British 8th Army on 5 August 1943. After the conflict, and the constitution of the Italian Republic (1946), Catania attempted to catch up with the economic and social development of Italy's richer northern regions. The problems faced in Catania were emblematic of those faced by other towns in

4200-506: The project include Barbara Tsakirgis of Vanderbilt University on the houses of Serra Orlando, Jenifer Neils of Case Western Reserve University on figured pottery , Barbara Barletta of the University of Florida on architectural mouldings, Rosa Maria Albanese Procelli and Enrico Procelli, both of the University of Catania on the Bronze Age material, John Kenfield of Rutgers University on architectural terracottas, and Robert Leighton of

4270-460: The recent years, especially in the hilly districts. More recently, light snowfalls occurred on 9 February 2015, 6 January 2017 and 5 January 2019, but the last heavy snowfall dates back to 17 December 1988. In January 2015, there were 315,601 people residing in Catania, of whom 47.2% were male and 52.8% were female. Minors (people under age 18) totalled 20.50 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 18.87 percent. This compares with

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4340-503: The second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, and among the largest in Italy. It has important road and rail transport infrastructures, and hosts the main airport in 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 region known as

4410-599: The status of colony by Augustus which restored its prosperity through the settlement of veterans, so that in Strabo 's time it was one of the few cities in the island that was flourishing. Another revolt led by the gladiator Selurus in 35 BC created mayhem for a while. The Roman aqueduct of Catania was the longest in Roman Sicily at 24 kilometres (15 mi), starting from the springs of Santa Maria di Licodia. It retained its colonial rank, as well as its prosperity, throughout

4480-682: The terms of a truce in the war of 427–424 BCE between Syracuse and the Dorian cities of Sicily on one side, and Kamarina , the Khalkidian cities of Sicily, the Sikels, and Athens on the other side. Thucydides says that Syracuse agreed at the Congress of Gela to give Morgantina to Kamarina in return for payment of an indemnity. Kamarina was destroyed in 405 by the Carthaginians . Morgantina, therefore, must have been independent from at least this date, although it

4550-830: Was a Turkish archaeologist who excavated from 1961 until his death at the site of Aphrodisias in Turkey . Erim's father, Tevfik Erim, was a diplomat who was a member of the Political Section of the Secretariat of the League of Nations in the 1930s (attending as such the Évian Conference ) and of the Turkish delegation to the United Nations in the 1950s. Kenan Erim was raised and educated in Geneva , Switzerland, and undertook university studies in

4620-531: Was heavily bombed by the Allied air forces, owing to the presence of two of the main Axis airfields in Sicily ( Gerbini and Fontanarossa ) and for its strategically important port and marshalling yard . Altogether, the city suffered eighty-seven air raids. The heaviest took place in the spring and summer of 1943, before and during the Allied invasion of Sicily ; they caused heavy damage to the city (among others, twenty-eight churches and most historic palaces suffered damage), killed 750 inhabitants and prompted most of

4690-428: Was one of the vanguards of the movement for Sicilian autonomy in the early 19th century. In 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi 's expedition of the Thousand conquered Sicily for Piedmont from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . Since the following year Catania was part of the newly unified Italy , whose history it shares since then. The first half of the twentieth century was a cycle of repeated destruction and rebuilding for

4760-484: Was said to have parted, and flowed aside so as not to harm them. Statues were erected to their honour, and the place of their burial was known as the Campus Piorum ; the Catanaeans even introduced the figures of the youths on their coins, and the legend became a favorite subject of allusion and declamation among the Latin poets , of whom the younger Lucilius and Claudian have dwelt upon it at considerable length. The Greek polis of Catania appears to have been

4830-408: Was soon recaptured by Dionysios of Syracuse in 396. Syracuse retained (occasionally more nominal than actual) control of Morgantina until the Second Punic War . In 317, Morgantina received the tyrant Agathocles , then in exile, and offered him help in returning to Syracuse. He was elected praetor at Morgantina, and later dux . As part of the Syracusan kingdom of Hiero II , Morgantina fell under

4900-421: Was the seat of the Byzantine governor of the island. Catania was under an Islamic emirate for two centuries, after which it fell to the Normans of Roger I of Sicily . Subsequently, the city was ruled by a bishop-count (1072). In 1194–1197 the city was sacked by German soldiers during after the conquest of the island by emperor Henry VI . In 1232 it rebelled to the former's son, Frederick II , who later built

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