Almost six hundred years and not feeling it: the University of Catania unveils its secrets

The University of Catania tells

Hello everyone, my name is Università degli Studi di Catania and today I want to tell you my story. For almost six centuries I have watched the city change, grow, and rise again after difficulties.

My life began on October 19, 1434, when King Alfonso V of Aragon, known as "the Magnanimous", granted the city of Catania the privilege to establish a "Studio Generale". Shortly after, in 1444, Pope Eugene IV gave me the name Siculorum Gymnasium.

At first, I had only three faculties: Medicine and Arts, Law, and Theology. My students took few subjects, but they had a great desire to learn. The first classes were held near Piazza Duomo, then called Platea Magna. As the years went by, my students became more numerous, and I had to find a new home.

In 1684, I moved to the premises of the ancient Ospedale San Marco. But fate had a terrible test in store for me. In January 1693, the earth shook with devastating violence: the great earthquake of Val di Noto almost completely destroyed Catania, and my headquarters was also reduced to rubble. For a moment, I thought my story was over. Instead, my students and professors did not give up. Together with the city, we began to rebuild.

From 1696, the construction of my new home, the Palazzo dell’Università, began, which still represents me today. The work lasted many years, but in the end, an elegant and solemn building was born, worthy of my long history.

The Palazzo dell’Università speaks

Hello visitors, I am the Palazzo dell’Università. I was born after the great earthquake of 1693 and I proudly carry the Sicilian Baroque style, rich in elegant shapes and decorations. One of my creators was the architect Giovan Battista Vaccarini, who designed my central cloister in 1730.

Over the centuries, I have changed and transformed. In the twentieth century, my ground floor decorations were enriched with floral motifs in the Liberty style thanks to the architect Filadelfo Fichera. I have also felt the earth shake several times, as in 1785 and 1818, but each time someone took care of me, restoring me and making me even stronger.

Within me, I hold precious places. On the first floor is the grand Aula Magna, adorned with a fresco created by the artist Giovanni Battista Piparo. Not far away are the offices of the rector and an extraordinary library that houses hundreds of thousands of books, some of which are very old. In my archives, the oldest documents of the university are also kept, including the act that recounts its birth.

But I am not alone. Next to me lives a younger place that holds surprising stories.

The Museum of Knowledge and Sicilian Wonders

Hello everyone, I am the Museum of Knowledge and Sicilian Wonders. I am the youngest in the family: I was born in 2019, although my idea had existed for many years. Inside me, I collect some of the most precious treasures of the University Museum System.

Those who enter my halls can travel through art, history, and science. At the beginning of the journey, I display objects that tell the memory of the university and the city: the gonfalone with the goddess Minerva seated on the elephant, the symbol of Catania, a large tapestry created in 1934 to celebrate the five hundred years of the university, and portraits of illustrious Catanese figures, including the composer Vincenzo Bellini.

Then the journey continues into the world of science. Among my collections, I hold ancient anatomical tables, physics instruments such as microscopes and compasses, volcanic rocks from Etna, and precious gems. One of my most fascinating treasures is the skeleton of the prehistoric dwarf elephant found in Cassibile, which once led the Greeks to imagine the existence of the Cyclopes.

I also preserve maps, rare books, and even a large lava bomb from Etna, which tells of the power of the volcano that dominates the landscape of eastern Sicily.

An Invitation

We three — the University, the Palazzo, and the Museum — are witnesses to centuries of history, study, and knowledge. During the FAI Spring Days, we open our doors to share these stories through the voices of the students, the Apprendisti Ciceroni. Come listen to us: every stone, every object, and every room has something to tell.

State Artistic High School "Emilio Greco"