SLEEPING IN THE CENTER OF CATANIA

The Bella Stella Bed and Breakfast: is located in Via Vittorio Emanuele II no. 319, on one of the most important streets of the historic center of Catania.

B&B Bella Stella in Catania 200 meters from the Greco-Roman Theatre

The theatre, most likely built starting from a pre-existing Greek structure, dates to the Roman Imperial era, between the 1st and 2nd century AD. Like many buildings from ancient times, the Theatre was made of marble and lava stone, materials that gave the characteristic black/white coloring visible in many city monuments. Today only some elements of the ancient Greco-Roman Theatre are visible, such as the cavea, the orchestra and some parts of the stage, while other elements over the centuries have been turned into homes.

Greco-Roman Archaeological Theatre in Catania

The Bella Stella Bed and Breakfast is located in Via Vittorio Emanuele II no. 319, one of the most important streets of the historic center of Catania, where you can stay overnight and sleep comfortably downtown with us.

A few steps from the city of Catania’s most important archaeological, artistic, cultural and natural sites. Along this street, in fact, you will find the Greco-Roman Theatre and the Odeon, symbols of Catania’s history.

Other important places are: the Civic Museum Castello Ursino in Piazza Federico Di Svevia, Porta Garibaldi in Via Garibaldi, the birth homes of Giovanni Verga and Vincenzo Bellini a little further on, in Piazza Dusmet also called Piazza San Francesco d'Assisi we find the statue of Cardinal Dusmet and the Church of the Immacolata; here begins the historic Via Crociferi, entirely in Baroque style, with its 17th-century churches close to one another, where you can breathe an atmosphere from another time.

The Cathedral of Saint Agatha, located in Piazza Duomo in Catania, is only 600 m from our bed and breakfast. Not far from it there is an ancient 17th-century palace, entirely in Baroque style, open and visitable: Palazzo Biscari in Via Vittorio Emanuele.

From our Bed and Breakfast, in 7 minutes you reach the heart of Catania nightlife: Piazza Teatro Massimo Bellini, Piazza Stesicoro, Piazza Università, Piazza Mazzini, Via Plebiscito, Via Sangiuliano, where pubs, bars, pizzerias and restaurants serving fish and meat are found.
By day, in Piazza Carlo Alberto we find the Piazza Carlo Alberto Market, popularly called Fera 'o Luni, that is Monday fair or Monday market, together with the Fish Market, it is the oldest market in Catania.

For those who want to shop, there are the downtown streets: Via Umberto, Corso Italia, Piazza Europa and Via Etnea that make this splendid Baroque city lively and fashionable.

We are 40 minutes from Sicilia Outlet Village, in the province of Enna, the shopping center of major brands and labels.

20 minutes from our bed and breakfast there is the SiciliaFiera exhibition center with its exhibition spaces and seasonal themed event pavilions in the town of Misterbianco, easy to reach also with the Catania metro stop.
The sea of Catania, with a sandy coast and the beach called La Playa on Viale Kennedy, is only 11 minutes away. Every year the most important international tango event in Sicily is held and international dancers arrive, the most important on the Argentine tango scene.

At the far end of the city is Viale XX Settembre, Piazza Trento, Piazza Giovanni Verga and Piazza Europa, full of elite, trendy bars, shops and little venues, a large parking area for cars; from the square you reach the Ognina seafront with its cliff in the middle of the sea, with its port, where there is a huge cycle path, the small rocky beach of San Giovanni Li Cuti, with its fish restaurants and seafood specialties, all 15 minutes by car from our b&b.

From Cannizzaro Hospital we are 18 minutes by car; from Garibaldi-Nesima Hospital about 10 minutes; from the University Hospital Policlinico Vittorio Emanuele Ferrarotto facility we are 18 minutes by car; from Santo Bambino Hospital we are 5 minutes on foot and 3 minutes by car; from the Humanitas Oncology Center we are 21 minutes away.

We are only 30 minutes by car from the enchanting seaside village of Aci Trezza with its lava-stone rocks called "Faraglioni" and its protected marine area. The Protected Marine Area of the Cyclops Islands (simplified P.M.A. Cyclops Islands) is a protected area that extends along the stretch of sea in front of Aci Trezza and includes the small archipelago of the Cyclops Islands and the stretch of sea between Capo Mulini and Punta Aguzza. In the port of Acitrezza and in the sea stacks you can see the characteristic columnar basalt formations formed by very ancient lava flows from Mount Etna volcano.

We also find Capo Mulini, an ancient seaside village surrounded by fish restaurants and seafood specialties; we also mention Aci Castello with its castle called Castello Aci, nested in volcanic rocks, offering a panoramic, fascinating view, and Acireale is known for its carnival, for its Baroque and, until a few years ago, for its thermal baths. Close to Etna, its territory includes a series of seaside villages with small harbors, including Santa Maria la Scala .

Taormina and Giardini Naxos, one of the most important international tourist centers in the Sicilian region, is known for its natural landscape, seaside beauty and historic monuments, and was an important stop on the Grand Tour in Sicily. Taormina, Giardini Naxos has been one of Europe’s main tourist destinations since the 19th century and is about 1 hour away from our Bed and Breakfast in Catania; the Alcantara Gorges geological and botanical park, formed over the centuries by lava eruptions, creating inlets between water and rocks like great canyons. These gorges are up to 25 meters high and, at the narrowest points, 2 meters wide, and at the widest points 4–5 meters. The natural canyon, contrary to what is commonly thought, was not carved over thousands of years by water. The peculiarity of this gorge lies in the structure of the walls, created by flows of lava basalt.

From the wonderful city of Syracuse and Ortigia, Noto, an ancient historic Greek-Roman, Arab, Byzantine-Norman city. We are about 1 hour away by road from Syracuse and Marzamemi, a seaside and fishing village; nearby is the Vendicari Oasis nature reserve; then there is Noto, a fascinating Baroque city and UNESCO heritage site. Piazza Armerina and Morgantina, with its Roman Villa del Casale, are 1 hour and 10 minutes from our Bed and Breakfast in Catania.

Also, 11 minutes away, after the railway station, is the Historical Museum of the Landing in Sicily in 1943, in Piazzale Rocco Chinnici on Viale Africa.

The Le Ciminiere exhibition center in Catania, which is a multifunctional complex where fairs and conferences are held throughout the year; in fact, the facility is used for concerts, theatrical and film performances. International conference and exhibition events have also been held there. The now annual event hosted in the complex is Etna Comics.

B&B Bella Stella is 9 minutes by car from Catania Central Railway Station and 11 minutes from Catania’s international airport "Fontanarossa".